At Least He's Not In Rehab...

I wasn't going to bring it up, because there are already enough people talking about it, but now that Imus has been fired, I may as well put in my two cents worth, so here goes. Look, I never even listened to the guy, but I know what shock jocks are and what they do, so I'm sure this wasn't his first brush with controversy. That's why people listen to them. The name says it all, they shock people by saying things you can't say in the locker room, let alone on radio. Plenty of people are arguing on the AM call-in shows as to whether or not what he said was racist, so I'll not tackle the issue. Personally, I can understand, even if it isn't racist, how being called a "nappy headed ho" would ruffle some one's feathers, but here's why I'm even bothering to address the issue; this is proof that if you don't like what people are saying, you can shut them up by getting them fired. Under the same line of thinking, maybe Rosie O'Donnell should be fired, too. If Imus likes, he can always take the issue to the ACLU and debate "freedom of speech" in a court of law, but, frankly, I think they'd tell him to go fly a kite. You see, to some people, freedom of speech only goes as far as political correctness, i.e. whether people can sue you over it or not, which is why everyone who gets caught by the pc watchdog press must quickly apologise and go into rehab. "I didn't mean it! That wasn't me! I'm a drunk!" Sure. It would be more honest if these people apologised by saying, "sorry I'm a bigot," not "sorry I said it." Having said that, I still believe that, as Americans, everyone has the right to be a hateful moron and say so. I, as an American, have the right to think they are human garbage and say so by turning off the radio, but I won't boycott or call on anyone to be fired just because I disagree with them. Let the ratings speak for themselves, that's what I say. If I'm aloud to say it, I mean. The bottom line, people, is that our Bill of Rights guarantees you the right to be a moron and say stupid things other people may be offended by, even Rosie, even Imus. Yes, the right to have opinions, especially unpopular ones, the right to speak freely, even speech you hate, should be respected, because you never know when the times will change and the things you say become unpopular or illegal. Frankly, I've worked in places over the years where every person there could have been fired for being offensive, but then I guess it just depends on how thick your skin is as to whether or not you take it up with the HR department. Imus is a big mouth and a jackass, and I can't say i feel too sorry for him, but I have to give him this...at least he didn't check into rehab like the other celebrity freak shows.