The pot calling the kettle...

Unless you've been living under a rock for the last several days, you've heard that Don Imus made some insulting comments about the Rutgers Women's Basketball team. He tried to make a joke and failed miserably. Now, people are calling for his head on a platter.

The comment was, to say the least, stupid and insensitive. He has been suspended for two weeks and has apologized innumerable times for it. Whether that was enough is being debated ad infinitum. But is anyone looking at the whole picture.

First, let's look at Don Imus. He's a shock jock. That's his job. Did he shock people? Yes. That means he did his job. Did he go over the line? Yes. That's why he apologized and is being punished. Don Imus has a 40-year history of offending people on the radio and doing good deeds off the radio.

Next, let's look at his two main critics Reverends Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. As reverends, I would expect them to be familiar with the phrase "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." This has obviously been lost on these two or they would have kept their mouths shut. Jesse Jackson has apparently forgotten about his "Hymietown" comment from a few years back. In his opinion, it's okay for him to go on with his career after insulting an entire religion and New York City, but Imus should be crucified for insulting a basketball team. Of course, Sharpton isn't innocent himself, having falsely accusing people of assault and rape in the Tawana Brawley case. I don't remember so much as an apology from either of them, never mind any kind of punitive damage. Maybe they should at least remember the phrase, "To err is human, to forgive divine."

Then, there's the comment itself. First, Imus didn't say anything that rappers don't shout across the airwaves every day. That fact is being dismissed by people saying "but it's a cultural thing." No, it isn't. By saying that, you're saying one group has rights that another group doesn't. Hmmm, that sounds familiar. Where could I have heard that before? Oh right, the same people that are claiming those rights have been fighting against that concept for the last half century. Second, these were words aimed at the Rutgers Basketball team. The women on that team are the only ones that have any right to be upset by the comment. Everybody else who is complaining should shut up because those women are smart enough and strong enough to speak for themselves. I think the bigger insult to these women is that everybody thinks they're so fragile that everyone needs to rush to their defense. They stated their opinion. They did it eloquently, with class and grace. They should be commended for the way they're handling all of this. Finally, these women were hit with WORDS, not bullets or rocks, or anything that really has any power other than what the listener allows them to have. If the people who heard the insult choose to give it this kind of power, they must have serious self-image issues to deal with. We all learned in elementary school, "Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me." It's time to get a thicker skin if words cause this much damage.

One more thing. Al Sharpton keeps threatening to go to the FCC and complain. I'll remind him of one more quote. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." He should know that because it's the First Amendment and he's made a career relying on free speech. It's what gives him the right to rant about all this. It's what gives me the right to post this. And it's what give Don Imus the right to say what he said, apologize, and move on.

"I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend with my life your RIGHT to say it." -- Voltaire.