Dear Salon,

"Susan Sunflower" got right at the heart of the entire matter (for me at least) when she wrote: "..This time, as several African-American spokespeople said, he attacked their daughters and in this case the daughters anyone might wish were their own."

That (for me and by my standards) is more than enough.

Where I'm from, the only "apology" from Imus that would have borne any weight whatsoever would have obliged his going to the doorstep of every single family whom he insulted by his comment. Whether the apology was even received (much less accepted) would be a very private matter, to be determined by the young women he grossly insulted with his "joke"... and their families. What if you were the younger sister or brother of one of those basketball players and heard that man saying that about your older sister? Good Lord....THAT'S the question I'd have for Imus if I met him.

I'm awfully sorry about this whole mess......I live two blocks from the Duke "Lacrosse House" and, during the whole past year, have considered the matter only in terms of how much damage the business would do to the good work done by hardworking,well-intentioned people over decades.

I'm very sorry that the good work and admirable dedication of those young (I keep recalling that fact)women has been overshadowed by this Imus junk.

I heard that a fraternity on the Rutgers campus sent each of the players a dozen red roses. I'd do so myself if I knew how to do so. THEY are the news (and I'd really like to think that they are the future)...not Imus.

Actually....does anyone know how I could send flowers to them? I'm serious about that.

We need to make THEM the news...not Imus and not ourselves. I'd like to think we can do that.

Thank you,

David Terry

www.davidterryart.com

dterrydraw@aol.com

(again from that wiki article) All the while, prominent African-American leaders including The Rev. Al Sharpton and Sonny Carson came on the scene to incite the riots. - that helped cause the riot to last two more days (but i don't know if Anthony Gaszioli, died then. just as dead, but forgotten by everyone except those that loved him.)

I am *SO INSULTED*! I *demand* that letter's author be removed from Salon immediately! This is an outrage! An outrage, I tell you! Why, in this day and age, splutter splutter, et cetera, ad nauseum, ad infinitum...

Tell you what: sell your home and move downtown, your black brothers and sisters will welcome you with open arms and we can all live in peace and harmony. Put up or shut up.

You will be treated like meat. But at least you'll be able to say that you stood by your alleged convictions.

MSNBC should not have pulled the plug on Don Imus despite his reprehensible comments.

What bothers me is a double standard in that two of the loudest voices calling for his dismissal are Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, both of whom have made comments that, to me, were every bit as bad as Imus, yet Sharpton and Jackson are still around.

Start with Jackson. This is the same guy who referred to New York as "Hymie Town," remember? That was cleary an anti-semitic comment that should have marginalized him forever, but no one said that he should be removed from his executive positions at Operation Push and the Rainbow Coalition even though both relied heavily on white support, some of which, I'm sure, came from Jews. Yes, he was roundly criticized, but that's all that happened.

Then there's Sharpton. This is the guy who singlehandedly nearly brought New York City to the brink of racial hostilities because he accused the city of failing to investigate the alleged rape of Tawanna Brawley by a bunch of crazed white cops. The black community and no doubt many whites bought into it. Problem was, that just like the alleged rape at Duke, it never happened. Still Sharpton continued to try to rile up the African-American community despite the commission's findings. Do you think he is any different with his radio show?

I occasionally watched the Imus show on MSNBC and even though he and his bigoted producer Bernard McGuirk put me off with their snide and crude attempts at stereotypes which they took lightly and now must pay for, I still liked the program because of the substance of the interviews with their guests. Sometimes I learned more from those interviews than I did from the spin that we are fed.

Still more double standards--Michael Richards is justifiably pilloried for using the n-word, but Chris Rock gets laughs when he uses it. And when Carol Moseley Braun, an African American, was Illinois U.S. Senator, on at least one occasion, Rush Limbaugh broke into a chorus of "Movin' On Up" from "The Jeffersons." That isn't racist? Why didn't any conservative call for his head? I know-I know--a rhetorical question.

Anyone ever read Nat Hentoff's "Free Speech for Me, But Not for Thee?" I defy anyone to tell me there isn't a double standard in these matters. Until I see everyone else treated the same way, I don't see why Imus should lose his show while demagogues like Sharpton keeps his.

while imus surely intended it as a slur, and the word "nappy" has previous negative connotations, it been embraced by legions who wear their hair in its natural, curly state. there is no definition for "nappy" in my american heritage dictionary new fourth edition, but i surmise its roots are derivative of nap 2: "a soft or fuzzy surface on fabric or leather." but most black people know what nappy means, and not having seen the game that provoked the comment, i can't attest to what the girl's hair was doing when imus saw it, but the press conference revealed each and every player to have sleek, straightened hair -- nary a nap! .. i think he just wanted to say he thinks they're ugly. fuck him. he's a clown. and unless we're going after all the clowns who freely use the word "ho" in their “art,” there's no justification to single imus out.

his words were meant to be hateful, and it's more hateful because they're just kids, but it pains me that something like hair is being used to paint these great athletes as victims. will black women forever be victims of hair politics? Face it, the dominant culture celebrates eurocentric standards of beauty (not to mention poor sportsmanship). Let’s get the Lady Scarlet Knights some subscriptions to Essence Magazine and move on.