Thursday, April 12, 2007

Don Imus & Duke Lacrosse

So apparently Don Imus' sin warrants the loss of his contracts with MSNBC (television) & CBS (radio syndication). What he said was hurtful and reckless, but I think the scapegoat approach by the two networks is short-sighted. In 6 months, Imus in the Morning will simply move to Sirius or XM where there are no FCC regulations. He will get his money there & he will have learned no lesson.

So since the NACCP & other bleeding heart liberals are so concerned with how one gray-haired white man irresponsibly used his words, what will they do next? Will they go after Mike Nifong, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and others who made it their business to do a public smere campaign on what a state Attorney General calls three innocent young men. Here's a group of students who will probably still carry the stain of these allegations throughout their professional careers.

Is there a double standard in our society regarding who is allowed to be reckless with their words & who is not?

1 comment:

David Johnson said...

Good point. I actually hadn't kept up with the Duke lacrosse story. I knew they'd been charged, and I heard a little bit about it--I remember especially the impression that their accuser was changing her story and that the DNA tests did not confirm her accusations. I decided I didn't think they'd be convicted. But I vividly remember when the story first broke and it seemed like everyone in the media was rabidly against them. I didn't hear anything about Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton smearing them, but they do a lot of that kind of thing. I did hear part of a couple of the guys' speeches on FoxSports talk radio yesterday. There was much discussion of how much America seems to have lost sight of the "innocent until proven guilty" idea. Ever since the OJ trial, I think people have begun to assume that if a celebrity or sports figure is charged with anything then that person is guilty.

I hope this doesn't stick with these guys, but only time will tell. I'd like to think that this is a wake-up call to cynical America, but only time will tell.