Over on Marxmail, Shane Mage suggested that a probably decisive aspect for CBS was that Don Imus's remarks exposed the network to possible litigation. You simply cannot call people whores on the public airwaves and not expect to be sued for libel. If litigation should occur, CBS and Imus can expect to be paying out millions of dollars in damages. That and the prospect of organized boycotts of network sponsors, I think, made this a rather easy business decision for the powers that be at CBS and MSNBC.
Jim F. -- Ralph Dumain <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: This story has been approached from a number of different angles. While Ehrenreich's approach is a legitimate one, there is a slightly different conclusion to be drawn from her argument. I don't buy the reappropriation of language line. It's probably true that a lot of stupid white people have borrowed a slang they don't really understand. (I see young white boys in the subway chanting "I'm a n***a" while listening to rappers on their ipods.) That was my initial impression of Imus' remarks. But if they were in fact back-handed compliments, they were still insulting, and would have been insulting no matter who uttered them. If Imus wanted to lust over black girls, which he certainly has the right to do, better he should have gotten himself in trouble by making a rather different set of remarks than picking up on a demeaning stereotype to do so. One can certainly lust over classy young ladies as I did at the Kennedy Center while all this was going on. There's an issue of respect. The problem, however, is not merely in the imitation, but in the original. This whole language, which nobody will ever convince me means anything but low self-esteem, needs to be proscribed. If this were a one-off, I'd say fugeddaboudit. But apparently this fellow has a track record, so good riddance. But the hypocrisy of the media and all of the players involved ought to be highlighted, including the monetary interdependency of all the politicians and media people mixed up in this. At 01:24 PM 4/16/2007 -0400, Charles Brown wrote: >This article can be found on the web at >http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070423/ehrenreich > >Nappy-headed Hos of the World Unite! >by BARBARA EHRENREICH >[posted online on April 13, 2007] _______________________________________________ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis _______________________________________________ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
