Tuesday, April 10, 2007

This Don Is Neither Dapper Nor Dandy

Don Imus put both feet into his mouth big time last week when he made a racially sexist slur against the Rutgers women's basketball team, which at the time was competing for the NCAA National Championship. I won't repeat what he said, because what he said was abominable. I will, comment on what he has said in his own defense in the wake of the ensuing firestorm.

Imus's defense consists of these elements: (1) my radio show is comedy; comedy is frequently cutting edge; sometimes we go over the edge; (2) I had no malice or anger in my heart; (3) I am not the first one who's ever said such things--the slurs actually came first from black males against the females of their own community; (4) nevertheless, I am sincerely sorry for what I said; and (5) now the media are picking on me unfairly.

However, these things all tend to confirm, not refute, the accusations against him.

Imus has a long, long history of saying patently offensive things and begging off on their consequences because he's just a "nice guy who said something stupid." Comedy is not always pretty, but even ugly comedy is not typically truly hateful and vile. Comedy can be found in making cruel fun of the powerful people who richly deserve it. It cannot be found in smearing a bunch of college girls who have done nothing more than work hard to achieve their dream.

This is the same reason that Mel Brooks's castigating the Nazis is funny and that Joan Rivers's castigating Holocaust victims is not, by the way.

Mr. Imus, I have news for you: no really "nice guy" would have let such vileness out of his mouth in the first place. That your brain did not stop you before you ate both your feet tells me that at the most basic level, you simply do not comprehend the crude filth of what you said. With your long experience in mass media, you should have known better. Maybe you did. But the fact that you did not stop yourself gives away your ingrained racism.

The last refuge of the true racist is that he "is no racist." And he truly believes this claim. His racism is so ingrained in him that he simply cannot see it until forced to by someone on the outside looking in. Imus, however, still doesn't see it. I guess the trees are blocking his view of the forest.

For his claim to lack malice or anger may well be true, but it's irrelevant--except in how it reinforces his preconceived notions. Being angry or full of malice is not a defining characteristic of a racist. Being totally insensitive (to the point of unconsciousness) to the nature of one's remarks, however, is. The very essence of prejudice is that one's beliefs override one's conscious, rational ability to consider the consequences of one's actions and to regulate one's behavior and words accordingly.

That the slurs Imus used came originally from black males speaking about black females is also irrelevant and does not deserve further attention. [With the exception of noting that it's equally inexcusable when said by them, too.--Ed.]

About Imus's fourth contention, the only thing I can say is: if you still think what you said is at all defensible, you cannot be sincerely sorry for having said it. You can be sorry only for being caught saying it and for being called on the carpet as a result.

Imus's final point, his plea for sympathy in the face of the media frenzy, is also irrelevant. He chose his profession. He knew the risks associated with opening his mouth in an exceedingly public forum. He seemed to feel that he had no chance to defend himself on the Today show this morning, as host Matt Lauer and fellow guest the Reverend Al Sharpton were "united against" him. That seemed to astonish him (when he commented on it during his own radio show later in the day). I was astonished that he was astonished. It's clear that Imus simply doesn't get it and that he is in fact a racist, sexist, poor excuse for a human being. [I was going to say "pig," but that would have insulted pigs everywhere, and I am loath to do that.--Ed.]

I am filled with joy that Staples has pulled its advertising account from Imus's show. Further, Bigelow Tea has decided not to renew its just-expired advertising contract with Imus's show. Other advertisers seem to be considering similar courses of action. I hope they carry them out. If Imus won't resign and his bosses won't fire him, the power of the advertising purse may be the only way to make him go away.

[For anyone wondering how this squares with my attitudes about freedom of speech, let me remind you: freedom of speech means no governmental repression of speech. In the commercial marketplace of ideas, however, the power of the purse is how we exercise our freedom not to hear the speech we hate. Even when the government has no power to censor speech, we as individual citizens have the power and the DUTY to do so when that speech is inimical to our social creed.--Ed.]

Monday, April 02, 2007

The Un-Natural

It's Major League Opening Day! "Let's play two!"

As part of its annual celebration of the return of baseball, ESPN last night ran a tribute by major league baseball players to the Robert Redford movie, "The Natural." It was very enjoyable to watch, but what it didn't say left me feeling sad.

Don't get me wrong. I love that movie. It has wonderful cinematography, a marvelous score (by Randy Newman), a great story, great acting, the mythology of baseball, and a happy ending. Everything that makes a film timeless, a classic.

And it's exceedingly understandable why so many major leaguers like it. Heck, why so many Americans of all stripes like it. Americans love movies with happy endings, movies where the hero triumphs.

But it's not true to the book by Bernard Malamud on which it was based. That makes me sad because in its original configuration, it tells a story with a message just as important for all of us to hear. In the book, you see, Roy Hobbs does not hit the game-winning home run. In the end, his old injury from having been shot reaches out and bites him, and he fails. His wound is a metaphor for his overwhelming pride in his abilities. Roy Hobbs never learned the folly of the sin of pride, and in the book he paid for it. In the movie, on the other hand, his pride was ultimately rewarded as he triumphed over physical adversity and hit the home run.

So viewers of the movie get the message that heroes triumph, and that pride is no great hindrance to success. And that's a dangerous message to send. If our present President had a little less pride (and stubbornness) and had more ability to reflect on things, we would not be in the mess we're in in Iraq. That "heroes succeed" message pervades almost all of American thinking, and it can make Americans behave recklessly when they are sure of their own righteousness.

Lest you think this changing of the ending from book to movie is an aberration, let me assure you: it is not. Consider "Pretty Woman" if you don't believe me. In the original story, the businessman does NOT come back to rescue the prostitute with the heart of gold, and she winds up killing herself. But Americans LOVE that happy ending, so the movie had to change the ending in order to succeed. I don't care who was in the cast--if the movie had had the same ending as the book did, it would not have made money.

The larger inference, which can be drawn from any number of examples beyond the two I've mentioned here, is that Americans not only do not like unhappy endings, Americans just plain dislike reality.

"Don't confuse me with the facts. I've made up my mind." That's the new American motto, and it does not speak well for us or for our collective survival in this dangerous world.