Why should anyone really have to be punished harshly for saying something like that? Sure, it's wrong, but he apologized and was off the air for six months! This is America, and we have a little something we like to call the First Amendment, which pretty much means that anyone is free to say almost anything (as long as they say 'sorry' if they said something bad). Plus, he's good at what he does, so we pretty much have to welcome him back!
Wait.....what??
Let's hop over to reality... Don Imus said something uncalled for. If only people would just cease to reward those comments with coverage and attention. If only people would just turn their radios/TVs off when they see or hear their fellow human beings being degraded and disrespected. Sadly, however, human nature dictates often against good moral. Because of this, people do need to be taken off the air and reprimanded, and--in some cases--not let back on to malign others.
...huh.... Well, so I'm saying that everyone who says or does anything bad should simply be removed? Not exactly: this is, after all, the United States, where we (most of us) pledge liberty and justice for all. Looking at that phrase a little more critically & curiously, I begin to think perhaps that liberty requires justice to guide it--to control it. Without justice, liberty--like the liberty taken by Don Imus & others to say what they say, as well as other little liberties we all take that maybe we shouldn't--would not even be understood; the idea itself would be senseless. In the same way, how much would justice have to justify if no liberty was ever taken?
I agree with Laureen Stiller Rikleen in the belief that it's good that Don Imus is being let back on the air, but for different reasons. I believe he should be let back on ONLY because of the collective principles of Americans, the principle of the liberty to say what one wants to say.
Nevertheless, quite frankly, it is my hope that he returns and that very few people tune in to him because they take the liberty to listen to something better.
But will that happened? Probably not.
So... How do we spell relief? Good question.
Rikleen effectively uses comparisons when she discusses other Don Imus-y examples like Bill O'Reilly, Ann Coulter, Isaiah Thomas, or Rush Limbaugh. This is the best example she uses. She says that Imus alone faced as much persecution as he did... fair persecution , yes, but still--no one else got in trouble like he did. By drawing on this comparison that these other people weren't as punished, Rikleen makes a good point and gets the readers to think a little harder about what she's talking about.
For article, click here.
4 comments:
You would think that the First Amendment would allow Americans to say whatever they want, whenever they want. However, few people acknowledge the fact that their own liberties are restricted by the freedom of others. In my opinion, "the pursuit of happiness" involves not being called a "(censored due to personal values.)" Thus the right of one to pursue happiness regulates the right of another to spew word vomit.
Eric,
you stated that Imus should be forgiven and returned to his position. You also supported your idea by using Constitution. Well, I do not agree with your opinion. It is true that everyone makes mistake and does something stupid sometimes. And some realize that they did wrong and some do not. Fortunately, he realized that he did wrong and he begged for pardon. However, I think it is too late. America is based on liberty and freedom. However, responsibility has to come along with them. Especially, those who are known in the public has to take their responsibilities more seriously and cautiously. Because their words can affect numerous number of people. If the President of US makes a promise with his people or speaks of what he is not supposed to, he has to be responsible for what he said, espcially more because he is the President.
I am not saying that those who are not famous or known in public can speak out of anything they want. I am claiming that Imus should have be more cautious, and because he did not take his responsibility seriously enough, he does not deserve his position back. I hope people will be more responsible for what they do, including myself.
Thanks for reading.
-Jun Kim
Eric,
I just wanted to say that i took pleasure in reading your artical and you made alot of interesting points. At first I had trouble seeing where you were coming from, but you did a nice job at the end of reassuring me where you stood. Good job my friend, well played.
You argue that people like Imus need to be taken off the air. One one hand, that makes sense, as saying something negative about another person is morally considered, by many, comparable to physical harm. I do not disagree with that part of the issue, so I have little more to say about it.
There is another hand. On that hand, people take things way too seriously. Imus made a stupid comment. So do hundreds of other people, every day. So, all of a sudden, he's a horrible, prejudiced person? For what was probably a slip of the tongue (the fact that he apologized later tells me that he didn't intend the comment to be malicious), he's suddenly forced out of his job. In the 1950s, there was the Red Scare, people suddenly being accused of being communists simply for associating with someone who was only though to be a communist, which was as much as accident as making a mistaken comment. People today condemn the Red Scare for destroying the careers and futures of many people for what was (in the eyes of that day) a mistake, and yet, that is where this is going. One small, accidental comment could destroy someone's career as easily as being associated with a suspected communist in the 1950s, and yet we don't see the mistake in today's actions.
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