An addendum...

(Sigh…) You know, I think that it’s probably time that we just honestly assess where we’re at as a nation and sign the deed to our country over to China, the Islamo-fascists, or whoever is next in line. Why draw out the suspense? Why keep us waiting on baited breath to see what’s going to happen? I’m so tired of mob rule coercion in this country. This is hopefully my last entry on this Imus thing, but I’m just so disgusted with the whole way this went down. The double standards for judging anything in this country are baffling me. What do I mean?

Don Imus got fired first by NBC from his TV gig. Then CBS followed suit with his radio show. Now, I don’t listen to this guy. I don’t even think we can get him in the Minneapolis area. Plus, he’s not been a bastion of good will over the years. Nonetheless, I feel that he got the shaft. If NBC and CBS really wanted to fire him over these comments, great. It’s their right to do so as a private business. This is capitalism at work. But the delay in doing so tells me that there probably wasn’t the outrage at network that would have led to this. Instead, there was an endless protest to have him fired. The phone calls, e-mails, letters, and picketing didn’t stop. What he said was stupid and awful, but I really don’t think that many people in America were so outraged that these words ruined their lives. How many people stayed up at night with their stomachs churning over this? I’ll tell you who. It’s the same people every time. People like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton that need to be in front of the cameras to keep their fragile egos going. This is the kind of thing that they made their reputation on. They are the equivalent of ambulance chasers, looking for any reason at all to whip people up into a frenzy and keep race relations strained.

It was the endless protests that coerced the networks into firing Don Imus. That, to me, is wrong. Use your free speech to voice your disdain for what he said, and leave it at that. In fact, don’t listen to Don Imus anymore if you feel that way. Let his ratings plummet. Let the system work itself out. This mob rule coercion… this playground bullying has to stop. If you don’t like what I have to say, don’t read my blog, don’t download my music, forget I exist.

Here’s the other thing. Al and Jesse, as Christians shouldn’t we forgive him? He apologized. We haven’t even given him a chance to see if he is truly repentant or not. That is today’s world. One screw up and you’re done. There are no such things as second chances. Isn’t Christianity all about second chances? Where would we be, if God had not forgiven us?

I just don’t see any consistency here. I don’t see Al and Jesse whipping up the troops to protest broadcast companies that play offensive music. I's like to know how many of these protesters listen to rap music? How degrading is rap to African Americans and women? Yet, these people aren’t protesting to have these vile songs pulled off the air. Our children are exposed to these songs everyday. Is that not more important than one misguided statement on a single radio show? I guess not. The shoe doesn’t fit on the other foot. These rappers have the right to make any music they want. I’m not saying censor them. It's their own duty to be responsible citizens. I’m saying, if you really believe that words that incite ill will among race and gender have no place in the public forum, then go after music with the derogatory message that is broadcast over these same air waves. Stop listening to it yourselves if the message is so offensive. It won’t ever happen. There’s a double standard in this country, and the world-at-large.

One more thing, did you see this morning that the governor of New Jersey was critically injured in a car crash? (I hope that he's okay, and has a speedy recovery.) And where was he headed? Why, on his way to take part in the meeting between Imus and the Rutgers girl’s basketball team. Was it worth it, Jon? Does the government really need to get involved in this? Shouldn’t adults be able go give and receive apologies on their own? It’s those New Jersey tax dollars hard at work! I’ve been offended a number of times, yet I’ve never had the governor of Minnesota come facilitate an apology session on my behalf. (And with the astronomical tax burden in the state of Minnesota, I know you’ve got the money sitting around to fund the thirty minute drive.) Oh, I get it. I’m not as important, because my offense wasn’t in the media. It’s the whole “I’ve-gotta-be-in-the-camera-lights” complex again.

We’ve got to stop politicizing events to create some sort of a show for things that happen on an everyday basis. There are normal people who suffer everyday, and no camera will ever capture their pain. No person will ever step in to make sure that everything is made right. Those are the real injustices, if you ask me. Jesse and Al, you got Don fired. Congratulations. Do you feel happy now? Is the world better off for your work? Have you eased the pain and suffering of the multitudes? When are we going to get down to the basics of our duty on earth to help the underprivileged, and stop acting like we’re winning the war on evil in the world by forcing our own agendas on something as inconsequential as Don Imus?