Imus and the Trouble with Words
By Alan Stewart Carl | Related entries in Media, RaceWords are slippery little things. Meanings can shift with the slightest alteration in modifier or tense or conjunction. Even writers who labor over every word choice can oftentimes compose sentences or whole paragraphs that end up far too open for interpretation. The spontaneity of the spoken word can create even greater confusion.
Take Don Imus’ most recent comments on his radio show. Here’s the interchange between Imus and sportscaster Warner Wolf as they discussed troubled NFL player Adam Jones:
“He’s been arrested six times since being drafted by Tennessee in 2005,” Wolf said.
“What color is he?” Imus asked.
“He’s African-American,” Wolf responded.
“Well, there you go,” Imus said. “Now we know.”
Blatantly racist, no? Actually, maybe not. Imus claims he wasn’t making a racist remark about African-Americans’ propensity to commit crimes but was instead supporting Jones by making the point that law enforcement authorities often wrongly target African-American men.
Can you know without a doubt whether Imus’ explanation is an obfuscation or the truth? I can’t. It’s impossible to know intent based on the words said. Imus didn’t clarify his meaning at the time he made the original statement so, now, any and all interpretations are possible. As such, Imus will likely get off the hook for this “shocker.â€
Goes to show you. With words, specificity must be paramount or meaning will suffer.
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June 24th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Personally I give two-sh@%! what Imus thinks or says. I love how America debates garbage while real world-changing issues go unsolved. Did Imus say this or that? Who cares! He’s a radio shock-jock, he’s supposed to say, uh, shocking things.
I’m ultra liberal and I don’t care whether Imus is a racist or not. If he wants to be a racist he should have that right. As long as he is not espousing violence against others it’s his First Amendment right. I’m so sick of this politically correct crap that diverts our attention from more pressing issues. He said, she said gossip is sadly the only thing the majority of Americans understand. I want news and information. Not infotainment.
June 24th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
We have to keep these folks honest, and Don Imus should be NO exception.
Maybe, he was being “sarcastic”, but he either continues to try to re-write the history of his “nappy hos” comment in order to escape further guilt, or he is a closet RACIST who continues to be INFATUATED with a person’s skin color! OsiSpeaks[dot]com
June 24th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Everyone in this country who wears a badge should be outraged that Imus said “What people should be outraged about is that they arrest blacks for no reason, and I mean there’s no reason to arrest this kid six times,” he said. “They shoot blacks for no reason.”
This is nothing but “shifting the blame” away from his comment to make the criminal Pacman the victim along with Imus.
It’s time for him to go.