The Imus Ifuss

Okay, the Imus issue.  My two cents.

 

There are really two questions here – the first is should Imus have been fired. The answer is quite simply – ‘absolutely’ – but NOT because of what he said. Imus should have been fired because, as they say in
Hollywood you are only as good as your last movie. Imus was a marketing commodity, a forum that may have had intelligence, insight, a place that may have encouraged radical thinking, but when the market gets pissed you stand to lose your place. He had 10 years of getting by. He’s an agent of free will, AND his job is to appeal to the public. For whatever reason, and there is alas no justice needed, NBC felt he had become more of a liability than an asset. What monies he made for NBC, what fame he carried was overshadowed by a case of public embarrassment and outcry. Bye-bye Imus.

 

The second issue is trickier and is what is REALLY getting everyone worked up. Was Imus  wrong? Let’s be clear, firing Imus was not a punishment for what he said, it was merely the reaction to how the audience responded. A business, not an ethical decision. He was not being punished for verbal transgression, he was being eliminated for losing a adoring fan base. Imus has been letting loose with vulgar and ‘ist’ (as in racist, sexist, classist) diatribes for much of his career – as have other ‘shock jocks’ (hence the name).  No news there at all. And yes, he is correct, hip-hop, comedians etc have been using such slang for a while now. In truth Imus was a cheap knock-off of ‘ghetto talk’.  People can love a movie star through flick after flick – and then one day they suddenly get tarnished. John Travolta and Tom Cruise are both Scientologists. Cruise takes up some pointless crusade against Brooke Shields and he becomes persona non grata (least for a while – as no doubt Imus will be re-incarnated). Cruise may be cute but the public didn’t like his attitude that day and he lost a lot of polish in the act.

 

So nowthere was another warp in the space time continuum and Imus’ comments rubbed too many listeners the wrong way;  maybe it was the words themselves, maybe it was the delivery (as many claimed) or maybe it was that he picked on a group of folks who didn’t have their dukes up and weren’t spoiling a fight, just some young women trying to do good. For what ever reason this time he tripped the land mind. But is it ‘wrong’?

 

Ethics and wrong are not the same. Right and wrong are about our ‘freedoms’, ethics is about how we act. Imus had the freedom to act as he did. Nor was he the first or the only person in the media to make such comments – as the well illustrated issue of rap stars and comedians demonstrates. He did not even act out of character, his whole career is made up of saying crude and insulting remarks. Somewhat akin to Simon Cowells put downs of the American Idol contestants (though without the obvious slurs). From a legal and social point of view Imus was just ‘doing his job’.

 

Let me be clear – I hate ‘ghetto talk’ – I hate vulgarities and abuse slang, I had slurs – racial, ethnic, gender or whatever – I don’t think it’s too sensitive or politically correct to hate those things. I hate them because they are sloppy and cruel, they are a form of bullying and demonstrate a mental status that resorts to the cheapest use of language. I hate them because words form the basis for actions and actions inform out values, our ethics, and ethics drive our deeds, our lives. I hate slurs and abusive slangs because they are like flies or mosquitoes – they carry disease, disease which can sometimes kill.

 

But yes, Imus has a right to say it – just like the hip-hops boys and the kids in the street and the author of the foul mouthed book or even the comedian.  You may say in response ‘but what about our rights?’ – well yes,  I know that  I too have my rights and they are as follows;  1) In my personal space I can forbid certain language, 2) I can expect and demand that the place I work is free of such talk (or behavior)  and 3) I can insure that my children do not say it.  It’s dicier when it comes to friends and relatives. I can ask that they not speak a certain way, but ultimately I cannot control that – and I must be prepared to make a decision as to how I want to react and how it will affect the relationship. When it comes to public places and perfect strangers, again, I can speak out, ask that others refrain – but other than leave the premises I cannot do anything else.

 

However, most significantly, when it comes to any form of entertainment or any economically based service I have one mighty force – I can refuse to listen, to purchase, to be an audience. So after one hearing of Imus I never listened to him again. I do not have hip-hop in my house, I would leave a comedy show that used abusive slurs (for the record I don’t go to Woody Allen movies either, not since he married his daughter).

 

But I have read Mark Twain. And I have listened to Wagner (though I wouldn’t in
Israel). I have paid to see Picasso. I have worn (and like to wear) diamonds. Choices.

 

Let me refer to two other stories that garnered some but far less spotlight. In comparison these stories speak even further to the rather confused sense of righteousness in the American public.

 

A children’s book, aimed at the 10 year old set, used the word scrotum. An uproar ensued, several libraries refused to carry the book and a small bit of heyday was created.  Whether he book was ‘appropriate’ or not seemed irrelevant; to the extent that libraries get to choose their books they choose their books. I would be sorry if my library refused to carry it, I would even write a letter asking them to do so and wondering why they made such a choice. No one visiting the library had to look at the book but those wanting to could. Such a fuss over a word that had absolutely no negative connotation. A word about a body part for goodness sake. If that was the worst that these kids heard they were in for a pretty smooth life.

 

The second incident was very similar. A group of young women in
West Chester, New York wanted to do a skit for their High School performance night. Problem was the skit was from the Vagina Monologues and they would have to say the word ‘vagina’ in public. The principal demanded they not use the word. The girls went ahead anyway. They were wrong to defy the principal but his desire to put the kibosh on the word vagina had a whiff of it’s own kind of sexism or ethic-ism or something-ism. Vagina is a body part, it is not an insult, it is used in health classes (I hope, at least, that they aren’t saying hoo-hoo in health class), it is used on TV, in the newspaper, in ads in magazines. It is not ungodly or violent or belittling or anything else. Yet at least one person in
West Chester, New York got all sweaty and nervous about someone talking about one.

 

After the West Chester incident I got thinking about words – how can we define them, how can we establish what’s right or wrong, what’s derogatory, what’s not – whether a student or a teacher gets expelled or punished for using any given word – is the n word worse than the k word? Are those words worse than ‘slut’ or ‘ho’ (which we are allowed to print).  A while ago an article in the Times talked about the casual use of the word slut among teenage girls, regardless of race or economic class – it had become a pal word, a defused negative. Or had it?

 

In the same week as that article another appeared with the results of an informal survey among young men. Slut still carried weight with them and furthermore it seems they could even define it. Twenty partners was the limit. Beyond 20, for a female, you earned the title. It just gives me an urge to buy a t-shirt and print ‘#21 and counting’ on it.

 

I don’t like the word slut and don’t want my daughter to use it, friendly or otherwise. It doesn’t matter if it’s girl to girl – when she uses it she votes for it, she keeps it alive. But I also don’t call it the ‘s word’ ; it’s used in print, it has a linguistic history and a meaning. It’s just a word and to keep it just a word I won’t sanctify it with euphemisms. Not all agree with me on this. Once upon a time to call someone a queer was a pretty powerful insult. Today gays have morphed queer into their own (and how, in the first place, did queer become ‘bad’ and ‘gay’ become good?).  Now we have ‘queer studies’, books about ‘being queer and proud’ etc etc – calling a homosexual a queer doesn’t amount to much.  Does the homosexual population have the right attitude towards words, take them over and soon they have no power?  

 

It would seem then that the use of a word was okay, so long as it wasn’t directed at an individual or individuals. But then what about idiot? Or ‘retard’? Or ass—-? Or for that matter calling someone a sphincter muscle? A dimwit?

 

To stir the pot further let’s consider our newest verbal antagonizer – Alex Baldwin calling his daughter a pig. Was it horrendous only because he was her father? (and how may parents live in glass houses?) Would it be horrendous for anyone to call someone a pig? Is it worse if the recipient is very heavy?  What about the mockeries made towards Mr. Cho, telling him to ‘Go back to China’ – regardless of the fact that he was Korean  (and please, I do not believe for one iota of a second that any of those taunts drove Mr. Cho to his crimes – but that is another essay). Bullying with ‘innocuous words’ is akin to abuse.  Groups that identify violence against women make the point – just because he doesn’t use his fist doesn’t mean you aren’t abused. Just because it isn’t a slang term doesn’t mean it isn’t a slur.

 

My only point here is that when you start policing words you start burning books. The public eye tends to have the tail wag the dog.  Get the dog to use it’s head, don’t buy the records or the movies or listen to the radio if you find it offensive. No matter if the reviewers say that this album represents the cultural icon of urban rage, no matter if the handsome senator from the liberal state spends an hour with the viewing audience trading genteel barbs on the show.  I assure you,  if Imus had stopped making money, if listeners had voted with their dials, turned to another station then the politicos and the movie stars and the authors would cancel their appearances. And then Imus would have quietly been sent packing a long time ago. Your almighty dollar can speak loud and clear.

 

Beyond that remember the Wizard of Oz – start in your own backyard. Don’t allow it with your children, make it clear to them that words are powerful – powerful for good and powerful for bad. Make them love words, appreciate words and seek words out in their richness and fullness. Don’t applaud sarcasm, don’t laugh at cutting witticisms – or make them yourself. Don’t encourage put downs, treat people with respect – even when, especially when, they can’t even hear you. Encourage your children to refuse to deal with people who put them down, whether through slurs or in any other demeaning way. Give you self and your children an appreciation for the diversity of language and they will appreciate the diversity of people.

 

Imus – he’s nothing, in six months it will be long forgotten. The boys in the mall will still be calling their girlfriends ‘ho’s’ and they girls will still giggle and put up with it. Hip-hop  albums will still sell. Folks in some places will ban the words ‘vagina and scrotum’ and in other places will ban Huckleberry Finn.  Some males will still think any woman who has had sex with more than 20 men is a slut while any man who has sex with more than 20 women is a stud, some will think it’s okay to call a girl ‘ho’ to her face and the c-word to her back. The n-word will still cause an uproar and the gays will all be happily queer.

 

The best I can do –  spend my dollar where I think it’s worthwhile and spend the coin of my time on what I believe enlightens not prejudices. There are rules in my home and my daughter knows she is not a ‘ho’ or a ‘slut’ or a ‘bitch’  - and she also knows that if she chooses to use those words outside of my range it’s, well, it’s her choice. I give her that. She also knows that every choice has consequences, that words can damage, but most importantly of all she knows the wonder and joy and excitement and beauty of words. And that too is her choice. May she make it wisely.