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04-17-2007, 12:51 PM
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 | Super Moderator | | Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: The sun, the moon, and the stars.
Posts: 30,320
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Candidly, I think the whole matter is far too complex to be whittled down into a simple one-idea editorial, as all editorials are. But if I had to summarize my own opinions, I'd say:
The Fairness Doctrine should never, ever have been revoked, as it was by the US Federal Communications Commission under the new set of commissioners Reagan appointed. It made hate media an accepted form of influential entertainment (and even, sad to say, information, to some) in the US.
Imus was far from the worst. He said a lot of equally rabid things about issues all over the place. He was an all-purpose curmudgeon. But...you don't, IMO, slander individuals, or groups of people who are without power. The rich and powerful have many friends and tons of means of redress. The Rutgers women's basketball team had none. (That the media jumped on this does not make them a friend of the underdog. They've let far worse go by on the likes of Limbaugh, Hannity, Coulter, and yes, Imus.)
The fact that gangsta rap is a vile, denigrating thing that slams women, doesn't excuse Imus. All of this should cause the nation as a whole to engage in self-examination, but it's been my experience that the US population is the least willing to consider its own actions, and prefers a constant meal of bread and circuses to anything requiring thought.
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To the Righteous belong the fruits of violent victory. The rest of us will have to settle for warm friends, warm lovers, and a wink from a quietly supportive universe. |
Quote:
What you have to say will get noticed in the appropriate place--but in this case, I do think the content differs significantly from the "Dignity Versus Freedom of Speech" thread, which is why I didn't combine them.
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