Imus Played the Race Card. And Lost.

People love controversy. People love listening to talking heads and shock jocks who push the limits. That is why Imus, Stern and all of those highly-offensive, not-very-compelling personalities became popular. They say things of immediate consequence that fade into oblivion within minutes in our attention-deficit society. But in the aftermath of Imus' slur, the public outrage, Imus' suspension, and subsequent firing, the race card is being played on many different levels. Imus is a white guy who insulted a successful women's basketball team as black women. He apologized for his words but then exposed the double standard that appears in rap lyric and music videos (of course, most rap artists are black and feature derogatory portrayals of women, mostly black women). This back and forth, which is both an acceptance of responsibility but also a red flag against popular culture, had spawned discussion about the condition of our media and why targeted social groups passively accept their image.

I think what most people are neglecting to talk about is the deep, underlying race issue. If the slur, which I will not repeat because we all know what it is, was cut down to the last word, would the public be so up in arms?

I think not; well, not to extent it was taken. This is not a gender issue, this is a race issue. First of all, Imus had no need to add the racially-specific adjective. Why was that necessary? But of course one could argue why is anything Imus says necessary, but he knew what he was doing. I hardly doubt Imus would say those three words together in his off-air life, so why bring it out on the air when he knew the consequences?

But maybe he didn't know the consequences. In the shock jock business, very few are fired. They are brought in to stir up the waters, to bother people, to (duh) SHOCK people. That is their thing. It is not pretty, not nice, not necessary at all, but the radio industry embraced it. Imus probably thought he would say the slur, ruffle the feathers of a few people, maybe get slapped on the wrist, and life would go on as normal. Unfortunately for him, that did not happen and his career in this incarnation is over.

Is Imus really to blame? In a country where Mad Max can drunkenly insult Jews, where Kramer can drop the N-word at a comedy club and where our cheap labor (and not the war we are fighting) is blamed for all our economic problems, is it really shocking for some radio personality to use racially-charged language on the air? I am not defending the slur, but I am just floored when people claim that America no longer has a race problem. Clearly there are people in this country, even famous people, who have racial prejudices. Racial stereotypes are still being used as punchlines, from Chris Rock's jokes about "crackers" to stealing a watermelon from a grocery store, and we laugh. But we did not laugh at Imus. Why? Because he is white. Black people can tell jokes about white people and themselves, but white people cannot return the laugh. The double standard is present and justified, but unfortunately for Imus, he tried to be funny and now nobody is laughing.

Yes, this reflects badly on the media. Rap music is the perfect example; it objectifies black women to the point where they will have someone swipe a credit card between their butt cheeks (see Nelly's Tip Drill video...but view at your own risk). The media allows this indecency to broadcast and be heard or viewed by whoever happens hear or see it on radio or television. However, this reflects even worse on our society. Why we (African American women as well as all women) accept this is beyond me. I would never allow myself to be portrayed that way and yet I am accepting it by allowing these songs and videos to be play without public outrage.

Imus will be a footnote in the book on Race in American Media. To avoid this happening again, we need to address the bigger issue and not worry about what those stupid shock jocks are saying just to get a laugh or a groan.