The media-shaking potty-mouth comment about the Rutgers University's women basketball players by MSNBC morning talk show host, Don Imus, has brought "posturing" to a new high, or low. First and foremost is poser Imus himself.
Did he immediately recognize his repugnant remarks and apologize? No.
Although he did apologize a day or so later, he didn't go into full grovel until after the weekend following when the call to fire him had picked up volume and mass. What followed on his part was embarrassingly over-the-top self-flagellation in a last ditch effort to save his job... and his reputation.
Many didn't buy it, starting with MSNBC and NBC who dropped his show after initially slapping him on the wrist with a two-week suspension.... something he surely viewed as a welcome vacation and a chance to dodge the misogynist-racist spotlight.
MSNBC said the reason they were severing their relationship with Imus was because of the outcry from their employees and the requirement to uphold NBC's reputation.... more first-class posturing. Their "reputation" wasn't bothered after previous countless outrageous comments by Imus.
The tipping point for MSNBC surely was when Imus advertisers started deserting his showboat....Proctor & Gamble, Staples, General Motors, American Express, Ameritrade, GlaxoSmithKline, Sprint Nextel, Ditech.com, Bigelow Tea.... along with the outcry from fed-up folks everywhere.
Last, but almost worse, is the pose of outrage from black "leaders" who themselves have made nasty, racially charged comments like Jesse Jackson's referring to New York as "Hymietown," or really shameless, the profit-motive excusing of abhorrent rap lyrics as "art" by the black entertainment community.
I admit that I watched Imus in the morning, looking forward to his political interviews. But, with increasing regularity I had started switching away from his program as his brand of humor.... mainly sophomoric ridicule.... or his obsessive talking about himself, made his show increasingly crass or just plain boring.
I had cringed when he berated his wife during her live appearances with him, or when he continually referred to his sportscaster (and countless others) as "fat," dissing him ad nauseam because his new wife kept her name after their recent marriage, or, pulling his guests through knotholes when he felt moody. This isn't entertainment. This is a power-bloated bully.
So, now it's up to CBS, where Imus still has his morning radio show, to decide whether or not to continue enabling him to continue on the public airways after a two-week cooling-off period.
Imus prided himself on being powerful.... through his puzzling hold on his pet powerful whom he kept on a short leash.... and untouchable as he held court and passed judgments.
Now it's up to CBS to stop the "monitoring the situation closely" posturing. "What doesn't belong and why?" Imus!
Did he immediately recognize his repugnant remarks and apologize? No.
Although he did apologize a day or so later, he didn't go into full grovel until after the weekend following when the call to fire him had picked up volume and mass. What followed on his part was embarrassingly over-the-top self-flagellation in a last ditch effort to save his job... and his reputation.
Many didn't buy it, starting with MSNBC and NBC who dropped his show after initially slapping him on the wrist with a two-week suspension.... something he surely viewed as a welcome vacation and a chance to dodge the misogynist-racist spotlight.
MSNBC said the reason they were severing their relationship with Imus was because of the outcry from their employees and the requirement to uphold NBC's reputation.... more first-class posturing. Their "reputation" wasn't bothered after previous countless outrageous comments by Imus.
The tipping point for MSNBC surely was when Imus advertisers started deserting his showboat....Proctor & Gamble, Staples, General Motors, American Express, Ameritrade, GlaxoSmithKline, Sprint Nextel, Ditech.com, Bigelow Tea.... along with the outcry from fed-up folks everywhere.
Last, but almost worse, is the pose of outrage from black "leaders" who themselves have made nasty, racially charged comments like Jesse Jackson's referring to New York as "Hymietown," or really shameless, the profit-motive excusing of abhorrent rap lyrics as "art" by the black entertainment community.
I admit that I watched Imus in the morning, looking forward to his political interviews. But, with increasing regularity I had started switching away from his program as his brand of humor.... mainly sophomoric ridicule.... or his obsessive talking about himself, made his show increasingly crass or just plain boring.
I had cringed when he berated his wife during her live appearances with him, or when he continually referred to his sportscaster (and countless others) as "fat," dissing him ad nauseam because his new wife kept her name after their recent marriage, or, pulling his guests through knotholes when he felt moody. This isn't entertainment. This is a power-bloated bully.
So, now it's up to CBS, where Imus still has his morning radio show, to decide whether or not to continue enabling him to continue on the public airways after a two-week cooling-off period.
Imus prided himself on being powerful.... through his puzzling hold on his pet powerful whom he kept on a short leash.... and untouchable as he held court and passed judgments.
Now it's up to CBS to stop the "monitoring the situation closely" posturing. "What doesn't belong and why?" Imus!
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