I’ve been listening to Don Imus‘s radio show for years, mostly while driving into work or school. He’s said far worse than what he said about the Rutgers women’s hoops team – “nappy-headed ho’s”. Imus, like many comedians, makes his living walking a razor-sharp line between outrageous commentary and offensive remarks. This time, he misspoke himself.
He has misspoken himself far worse in his subsequent apologies than in the “ho’s” remark. What Imus is doing right now is simpering, cowering, and retreating. Nature abhors a vacuum. As he retreats, his critics are moving in for the kill. Howard Stern suggests Imus should have immediately said “F–k you, it’s a joke.” I agree. Maybe it’s age, maybe it’s the wife and kid, but Imus has gone soft. His fans don’t want the current “please forgive me” act. What his fans want is for him to come out swinging, accuse his critics of being PC race-baiters, political opportunists, or morons. In 2000, when Joe Lieberman changed his views to conform with his running mate Al Gore’s, Imus attacked him. Imus called him a “pigeon gut-sucking weasel” amongst other things.
Imus’s show is about insults. Imus himself is the target of the most insults on the show. Last week, I was listening during a segment where he fought with his wife Deidre. She ended the segment by saying “I don’t know why I’m married to this man at this point”. Such segments are common on the show. That’s why we listen. I don’t want to see interviews with John McCain and Joe Lieberman, or any other political talking head. I want to see my intense dislike for those cretins verbalized.
What Imus can do to survive is one of two things. Either he can disappear for two weeks and then come back quietly, or he can launch an attack on his accusers. By continuing to apologize, he’s only keeping the story alive and moving closer to being fired.
