Letters to the Editor
Juliebird
Published Letters: 1641 Editor's Choice: 101
-
it's the misogyny, stupid
[Read the article: Imus offends]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]While I agree that "nappy-haired" is not a compliment in Imus' context, the word that offends me most (as a woman, as a professional, and as a mother to daughters) is "ho."
These women from Rutgers are beautiful, smart, and gifted athletes, a credit to themselves and their school. Imus and his producer erased everything but their vaginas when they called the Scarlet Knights whores.
It is a sad truth that we still live in a world where a woman's entire character can be equated with her sexual purity, where a woman's reputationcan be forever tarnished by suggesting - however untruthfully or preopsterously - that she is less than "pure" (and she can also be cut by the other of that sword by being too pure: to men like Imus, virginity is equally derided).
So this is my beef with Imus: he insulted all women, and set the planet back even further from true gender equality.
-
It's important to read all the words.
[Read the article: Imus offends]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]David,
Gee, if you remember the laws on the books that allowed a man to beat his wife with a rod as thick as his thumb. If you remember that until well into this century women were not allowed to own property, conduct business, sign for loans, divorce abusive or adulterous husbands, or vote for political leaders. If you count the routine raping of women by enemy armies, rival ethnic groups, or other "enemies" as a way to render her unweddable. If you understand that young women are considered frigid or a tease until they put out, and then they are immediately considered a slut. If you recall that women have been blamed for everything from witchcraft to autism by noted academics.
Then yeah, I have been shaped by history. As have you. As has Imus. And everyone else.
What has happened to me personally is actually none of your business. You are not my friend. And I'm not out to say who has been done the most wrong. My point was (and still is) that Imus didn't just make remarks that were racially offensive (though they were). Imus insulted Women. As in 3 billion+ people on this planet. He said, (I am paraphrasing, so I am not using quotation marks): It doesn't matter what you do, how smart you are, what you have to offer your school, athletics, society or the world. You are an object for my desire or disdain. No more. And you're ugly too.
That is why these women are hurt. "Nappy-haired" isn't the barb of this arrow (though it was also insulting). "Ho" is. That is what should be discussed with Imus, with talking media heads, and with ou own sons and daughters.
-
the word inspires the deed
[Read the article: News flash: Rape jokes aren't funny]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I am so tired of people saying "Grow a thicker skin" inresponse to ugly screeds like the Gazette's so-called spoof. Thinking and writing about women in these terms makes it easier for the reader to see women in these terms as well. And that makes it easier to treat women with less respect, to abuse women physically and sexually.
Clearly, this doesn't apply to jjust women. There are ample examples in history for derogatory speech leading to dehumanizing acts.Look at all the anti-Semitic doggeral produced by the Third Reich to help good Germans to think of Jews as less-than-human. Look at the tortured logic in our own nation's legal code that somehow made black people 2/3 human (or was it 4/5? I can't remember, thank goodness). Then there's Ann Coulter and her "faggot" remark, and Don Imus and his "ho's" and that nauseating attack that included death threats and sexual violation against a well-known female blogger.
This kind of verbal bullying is not something that overly-sensitive people are over-reacting to. It is the first step towards physical bullying. It persuades readers to see the object of derision as, well, an *object* instead of a human being. When that happens, we all become a little less human, and a little more bestial. This shouldn't be tolerated against anyone.
Language is a gift. Words change worlds. We should all use them wisely, and for the betterment of ourselves and our fellow human beings.
-
WTF?
[Read the article: Imus offends]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]David,
I do not understand how you came to this conclusion:
"and if you were raped by a black man (and didn't want to say it) i'm not surprised, black people are too fucking physical, both on white and on black."
David Sugarman: Don't. You. Dare. EVER! To assume you know anything about me. Not my race, not my experience, and not my opinions. You don't know me. And you don't have the right to make assumtions on what I think based on your own fantasies.
Everyone else: I do not share David's opinions.
-
Public Enemy # 1 million
[Read the article: No more whining excuses]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I am in no way defending what Imus and his cohorts said: I have even posted my views on how misogynistic and hateful these comments were in Broadsheet's letters).
But, when I think of Rush Limbaugh calling women "feminazzis" and Bill O'Reilly threatening callers with visits from Fox Security, I wonder if Imus is a scapegoat? Is what he said more damaging than what these other so-called entartainers say on a regular basis? I think not: at the very least, Imus never pretended to be reporting fact, and LImbaugh, O'Reilly and mny like them (on both ends iof the political spectrum) often disseminate false information while claiming calling it truth. Should we demand that these shows be banned from the public airwaves as well?
If anything, this whole Imus scandal has shown us the power we citizens have when we choose to use it: Imus was fired because the public complained to advertisers, the network executives, and the media. I am glad that the Scarlet Knights know they have the support of many Americans, and that derisive epithet Imus used to describe them is not going to stick. I just wish we could use our power to do something of magnitude for this country.