The Truth is...

A wiry white-haired old man referring to anybody as a "ho" is enough to raise an eyebrow and result in acquiescence to some level of inappropriateness. This... this is just sick and sickening on an entirely different level.

As a Black American woman, I feel this Imus guy just doled-out a dose of second-class treatment so incorrigible, how can we -- "we" being all women and people with naturally nappy hair (most are Black) -- possibly sit by and let this slide with a paid vacation? For one thing, I don't know how him going to talk to Rev. Al Sharpton* is an indication of real desire to admit wrongdoing-- he was merely addressing the hype. Then one can only remember Michael Richards and his quick turn with who was it... Rev. Jesse Jackson*?

I respect both of these Black men for their respective positive contributions to "the struggle." But they represent the type of leader Black people looked to when we were all in the same boat--discounted, disregarded, and still delegated the responsibility of builing the country (think of it as an antiquainted Guest Worker type of thing... only tax on Blacks fine print spoke in epochs of generations... not years) Once the efforts of the fervently religious leaders manifested into equal treatment, Black folks went out to seize freedom of opportunity. Some were content with the principle of being recognized; while others continued to challenge the status quo and reach higher heights.

Since the limit of man's success in history still appears boundary-less, the idea of "what Black people need," has morphed from something agnate to many abstract ideas of how our individual successes can be obtained. As a woman, this same principle is applicable to our struggle for equality; lest we forget, the movement for voting rights for both of these groups occurred in the 20th century.

As NBC makes a statement by pulling Mr. Imus' simu-cast from MSNBC, I can only laugh at the irony of a corporation finally using the race card as its cop-out. Honestly, I laugh to stop myself from crying... men making decisions about men and what men are allowed to say about women... what a crock of sh*t. Though Imus referred to the majority white Lady Vols squad as "cute" just prior to strongly contrasting the appearance of the Rutgers team, I wonder if he compared aesthetics of the two teams that competed for the men's NCAA crown.

The bottom line is... this is a 66-year old with long held, and conveyed, misogynistic and racist views. He is NOT the exception, but is now being made into the rule.



*This is an issue of misogyny first and race second. Devil's advocates for this issue have been quick to throw rap lyrics into the equation as the underlying cause. Well, it's been reported that Mr. Imus purports to have gotten this vernacular from a Spike Lee joint... Are we NOW gonna boycott our most outspoken and revolutionary film maker? In 2007, "we" can barely be used to group Black people beyond physical similarity. What "we" need is some self-respect and self-determination--NOT people who look like us making the world believe they can still group us into one, give us the once-over, and appease oh "we" Black folk.