Letters to the Editor
-
Is misogyny not even worth a mention?
Mr. Miller,
Regarding the beginning of your article: "On Monday, in his second attempt at damage control in the wake of racist remarks..."
Why are you only qualifying Imus's remarks as "racist," when they were clearly at least as misogynist? Is misogyny is irrelevant in the face of bigotry? Or is it that misogyny doesn't involve men, like bigotry does, therefore it pales in comparison to bigotry and doesn't even deserve a mention?
Likewise, why is only Imus being singled out for his behavior when McGuirk initiated this train of thought with his "hardcore ho's" comment? The black community should have the integrity to condemn the misogyny along with the bigotry. It's not like we're going to think that the black community has gone all "off-mission" or something by condemning the misogyny. McGuirk and Imus's comments were racist and misogynist and should be uniformly condemned as such, no matter who you happen to represent.
-
Distinction without a difference
C. Mosby writes: "This distinction may be a bit too subtle for you to discern; but can you cite any rap song, which specifically singles out the Rutgers female basketball players as 'nappy-headed hos'?"
I confess that my knowledge of rap lyrics is sadly lacking, although I do remember the immortal words of 2 Live Crew: "Get the f*ck out, get the f*ck out, get the f*ck out my house, bitch."
If you are arguing that addressing the word "ho" to specific black women whom you don't even know is worse than merely referring to all black women as hos, well, I get your point -- sort of.
But what is worse: to utter a stupid and cruel comment on the spur of the moment in a talk show, or to intentionally pen lyrics filled with "hos," "bitches," and "niggas," to perform those lyrics in public, and then do distribute them to millions of young people through recordings?
What I'm arguing for is some sense of proportionality. Imus' remarks were a shotgun, in comparison with which certain parts of the rap industry are artillery. Who is really responsible for the greater damage?
-
OK, it was a abd thing but....
I guess my problem with this whole situation, besides the obvious disgust, is the hypocrisy of the so called leaders of the African American community. If they truly want to stop hate speech they need to start in their own house. Is Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson organizing rallies outside rap concerts? Or protesting the FX’s Shield or HBO’s The Wire? I guess having black actors calling each other a nigga is OK. It is perfectly expectable because they have replaced the er with an a.
I caught part of an Imus broadcast on MSNBC once and he referred to a NASCAR driver as a cracker, not cracka so hit was obviously hate speech.
-
Rap Music and Don Imus
I'm a black woman. I've never referred to New York as Hymie town nor do I care about Tawana Bradley (in fact at the time it was happening I was pretty sure it was all hype.) I do think they should fire Imus. His remarks pissed me off more the Michael Richards. You know why? Because at least Richards was shouting insults at someone who was shouting insults at him. It just got out of hand. Imus, however, though it was perfectly okay to denigrate those woman. And now he says he learned it from listening to hip-hop.
I don't listen to a lot of mainstream hip hop because of it's misogyny and use of the n-word. But, despite what everyone on this board thinks, it's not like every black person listens to HipHop and approves of the lyrics. Anyone who knows anything about the black community in this country knows there's been a lot of dialogue about rap music since the the 80s, thank you very much. I'm sure Rev. Sharpton has done radio shows about it. I know News and Notes on NPR does it, Tavis Smiley, Tom Joyner in the Morning has done it, and everyone knows Oprah doesn't put rappers on her show. Remember that?
So it's not like black people in this country give hip-hop artists a free pass. Perhaps its the mainstream white media that does that.
Rev. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson do not speak for me. I say, as an African American, and as a Woman, that they should fire him. What he said was hurtful and just plain mean.
-
Not Funny
I agree with Stackey-Ackey about Imus' misogyny being the larger issue. Another point could be made that he really isn't very funny...
-
Song Lyrics
These are the lyrics from a 2001 Ludacris song. Read this carefully, and then think about what Don Imus said. Shame on you Americs for such dramatic double standards. Black community: "Don't do as we say, or do as we do, because only we're allowed to."
[Chorus]
Hooooooooo (Ho)
Youza Hoooooo (Ho)
Youza Hoooooo (Ho)
I said that youza hooooo (Ho)
[Repeat 1x]
[Ludacris]
You doin ho activities
With ho tendencies
Hos are your friends, hoes are your enemies
With ho energy to do whacha do
Blew whacha blew
Screw whacha screw
Yall professional like DJ Clue, pullin on my coat tail
an why do you think you take a ho to a hotel?
Hotel everybody, even the mayor
Reach up in tha sky for tha hozone laya
Come on playa once a ho always
And hos never close they open like hallways
An heres a ho cake for you whole ho crew
an everybody wants some cuz hoes gotta eat too
[chorus x2]
[Ludacris]
Cant turn a ho into a housewife
Hos dont act right
Theres hos on a mission, an hoes on a crackpipe
Hey ho how ya doin, where ya been?
Prolly doin ho stuff cuz there you ho again
Its a ho wide world, that we livin in
feline, feminine, fantastical, women
Not all, just some
You ho who you are
Theres hoes in tha room, theres hoes in tha car
theres hoes on stage, theres hoes by tha bar
hos by near, an hos by far
Ho! (But can i getta ride?!)
NO! (Cmon, nigga why?!)
Cuz youza
[chorus 2x]
[these lyrics are found on http://www.songlyrics.com]
[Ludacris]
You gotta run in your pantyhos
Even your daddy knows
that you suckin down chocolate like daddy-o's
You hos are horrible, horrendous
On taxes ya'll writin off hos as dependents
I see tha ho risin
it aint surprisin
its just a hoasis
with ugly chicks faces
but hos dont feel so sad and blue
cuz most of us niggaz is hos too
[chorus x2]
(Ho)
Muthafuckas im so tiired of yall niggaz always talkin
bout hos this, hos that, you tha muthafuckin ho nigga
I wasnt no ho last night
(Pimp)
Ho, bring yo ass!
(Ho)
Ok, hold on