When Least Expected™

Archive for April 9th, 2007

Don Imus, How Dare You!!

Today, my wife, KWiz, and I have similar posts and have shared some of the same resources and information. So don’t think that your mind is playing tricks on you if you frequently visit both of our sites.

During last week’s nationally syndicated talk show, “Imus In The Morning,” Don Imus and executive producer Bernard McGuirk (and others), commented on the Rutgers women’s basketball team the following. Click here at MediaMatters.org for a detailed account and video of what Imus said while the Rutgers University Women’s Basketball team played the University of Tennessee in the NCAA championship last Wednesday.

IMUS: That’s some rough girls from Rutgers. Man, they got tattoos and –

McGUIRK: Some hard-core hos.

IMUS: That’s some nappy-headed hos there. I’m gonna tell you that now, man, that’s some — woo. And the girls from Tennessee, they all look cute, you know, so, like — kinda like — I don’t know.

McGUIRK: A Spike Lee thing.

…ROSENBERG: It was a tough watch. The more I look at Rutgers, they look exactly like the Toronto Raptors.

As the father of a 3-year old pearl of a girl, I got angry because that could have been my daughter Imus was talking about. My wife just happen to be styling our daughter’s hair this morning while listening to Rev. Al Sharpton during his nationally syndicated talk show, “Keepin’ It Real.” This civil rights activist addressed Imus’ racially-charged criticism of women who didn’t deserve to be disrespected.

During the Michael Baisden show (a nationally-syndicated Black radio talk show airing weekday afternoons), a young Black girl called and expressed herself in the form of a powerful poem. She cried as she passionately read her soul stirring poem on air. I want to personally thank Mr. Baisden for posting the following poem on his forum at MingleCity.com.

Violent
By Yvonne Espinoza

We’re violent because this is all we know
You taught us this along time ago
We’re violent because you made us this way
You beat us naked, you hung our people,
Raped our kids and stripped us of our pride
And you now wanna ask why?

Give us a reason not to be

You can’t, it’s impossible

Because to give us a reason, you’d have to right all the wrong you’ve done

But you can’t and if you could then
You’ve only just begun
You’d have to beg for mercy, plead and cry
You’d have to feel the pain we felt

The pain that took lives

You go through the hardships,
The trials and tribulations,
The suffering, the heartache, the dying babies
You sit on a boat full of hundreds of sick,
Old people living to die
How about you dance to make money
Look ignorant on t.v.
Go to jail for nothing
Harassed because others don’t like what they see

Have your people get beat to death
By those who get paid to protect
You eat trash to survive
How about you watch your people and babies die
Get sold for a dime

Kill themselves because they don’t want to live this life

We went through it then and we go through it now
And you know it’s true, and you still ask why?
How dare you have the audacity
Who made you king?

Despite common belief and despite what you think
There is only one king, one God
And he walks with me, with us
The ones who were forced to live in grief
Who were cut, killed, raped and beat
Like animals, brainwashed to think like you

You hacked away, pulled and dragged us down
Until we didn’t want to be Black or Brown
We didn’t want to be Colored or Negroes
We wanted to be High, Suddity, White Folk
We though if we looked, smelled, and act like you
We could live a regular life, and though we tried
You still continued to beat and lay us out
To hang us from our necks, to laugh at our bodies

You could never blame us for being this way
Because you taught us violence
So how dare you think of forming any kind of alliance
Now we know that two wrongs don’t make a right
But since we have none,
Why should we spare your life?

It’s your fault for all of this
And if you didn’t teach us violence
Then who did?
It couldn’t have been us
Because, remember, we’re ignorant!

You should be careful what you say
Because your words have power
Say it enough and it’ll come true…
I know you’ve heard of karma
God have mercy on you.

As the father of a pearl of a girl, I’ve been struggling since last Thursday to “intellectualize my emotions.” But my efforts have been in vain. Hence, I’ve been praying about my public response to the egregious remarks Mr. Don Imus espoused while on the air for millions of people to hear. Once again, this “shock jock” has deeply hurt the feelings of the beautiful women I love. For the women who know me, I will not hesitate to protect them with my life as every man should.

During Rev. Al Sharpton’s talk show, Imus did offer what he referred to as an “apology” for his ugly remarks. Since this is not the first time Imus has put his foot in his mouth, an apology is not enough. As Sharpton emphatically stated today, Imus must be held accountable for the damage he’s done to the image of the women he referred to as “nappy headed hoes.” Unfortunately, the damage has already been done as evidence by the aforementioned poem. Imus could have been talking about your daughter.

Today’s post should get the attention of the real men who love, honor, and respect all women. Matters not the colour of their skin, I honestly believe that every woman should feel safe and secure when in the presence of a real man. I’ll be the first to admit that one too many men have done a lousy job of protecting women.

Nevertheless, the focus of today’s post is Imus, a man who has developed a reputation for making insensitive, racist, remarks about Black women as evidenced by Ms. Terry Howcott’s “Imusinbordinaition” article. This type of inexcusable behavior must stop. Men, our women and daughters deserve better. Don’t you agree?

“Don Imus, how dare you!!”

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