Letters | OPINIONS OF ALL STRIPES ON L'AFFAIRE IMUS

Last week, we asked for your reaction to the Imus controversy. The response was huge - and here it is.

PLEASE folks, face it - broadcast demagogues like Imus, Stern, Limbaugh and O'Reilly are employed to cater to the segment of the populace who need to believe their hangups are warranted.

Troy M. Lindsay, Philadelphia

I agree that Imus went over the line. But how can he be fired for making stupid racial remarks?

After all, we still have a pro football team called the Redskins. Redskin is the immoral equivalent to the "n-word" for Native Americans. Will NBC and CBS now refuse to air Washington Redskins games?

And I've heard a lot of hot air on WIP about how wrong Imus was. Then I've heard ads for Chink's Steaks on the same station. I guess Asian-Americans are in the same boat as Native Americans.

Don Gallagher, Philadelphia

Re "Famous Imus":

Nowadays, many broadcast stations operate under no guidelines or regulations at all. Don Imus exercised unsportsmanlike conduct himself for what he said. It's still not clear to me if his "deplorable, despicable, abominable and conscionable" remarks were just simply him rooting for the Tennessee women's basketball team.

But, for goodness sake, through rap music, comedy and poetry, I've heard worse.

Nonetheless, Al Sharpton was correct in demanding that Imus resign.

Wayne E. Williams, Camden

What is more cowardly than the captured British sailors? The sight of Don Imus begging Al "Tawana Brawley" Sharpton for forgiveness. This incident was not about anything that Imus said. That is what Imus did for a living - insulting others and making fun of himself. This is about another liberal celebrity allowing himself to be mau-maued by Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and the other racial racketeers.

Daniel Saras, Philadelphia

While Don Imus apologized for his comments, why don't we have Crystal Mangum - along with Al Sharpton - publicly apologize to the Duke players she falsely accused of rape!

Stacey Grugan, Ridley Park

In Fatimah Ali's op-ed ("How to hit Imus where it hurts") and Stu Bykovsky's April 12 column on the Imus situation, nowhere can I find any mention of the vulgar language that rages against women, especially black women, and others, including police officers, in many rap songs.

The reactions of Rev. Sharpton, Rev. Jackson, Sen. Obama and others are plain hypocritical. They certainly know of the violence and racism in rap lyrics, yet they are quieter than Marcel Marceau when it comes to rap. They can take down Imus, and he's quite a target - an old white man making racist remarks. But why no outrage on rap?

Joe Miegoc, Carbondale, Pa.

How come Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, who do nothing but hop around the country looking for attention, aren't offering an apology to the Duke students they so unfairly accused? They rushed right to the defense of the so-called victim because of her color not because of the facts.

That's racism, if you ask me.

Jim Samuel, Philadelphia

I agree that every day you turn on your local hip-hop radio or your cable music station and can hear any black rapper degrading black women by calling them "ho's," "sluts" and so forth. They even call one another the n-word.

I don't agree with that language being used by any race toward any person. We blacks have to understand that we show contradiction when a race other than African-American uses racist language, but we use the same language every day toward one another.

Linda Lemon, Philadelphia

As serious as the whole situation is, it made me chuckle a bit. We black folks own the right to have "nappy hair." Our hair is a billion-dollar entity into itself. It is a genetic disposition and most other cultures are "jealous" of the things that we can do with our hair.

That said, I do have a problem with Mr. Imus calling the young ladies who worked so hard to take Rutgers as far as they could "ho's." While being as racist as racist can be, he also tired to sound hip. And to me that is where he "fell off the couch." For that reason alone, I feel that he deserved to lose his job.

Ajay Jones, Philadelphia

OK, Imus screwed up - and screwed up BAD! But where do the 2 hypocritical revs get off asking him to resign?

Of course Rev Big Mouth Sharpton doesn't accept his apology, he doesn't even know how to give one! (Did you forget the Tawana Brawley fiasco?)

Nick Cataldi, Trenton, N.J.

This whole controversy is pretty ridiculous. This is a man who has made a career of making controversial comments and who pokes fun at people of all races. Why is it acceptable to have Howard Stern repeating the n-word over and over again every day? Is this humor and if so, why can't Imus do the same?

Michael Brindley, Havertown

I'm not African-American, so I can't say people don't have the right to be offended.

But I do hope everyone realizes that they are above moronic comments made by people with microphones. Just because someone is famous does not make them an expert on anything.

So here's hoping people see this is an idiotic remark that really doesn't deserve any attention.

Mark Paul, Philadelphia

I never listened to so much as one minute of Imus' radio show.

But after hearing his vile rant against the Rutgers women's basketball team, I was convinced of this much: Imus is a stone-cold, knuckle-dragging troglodyte who had no business being on the air if he was spewing venom like that.

While I was genuinely surprised that Imus' bosses at CBS/MSNBC actually grew a pair and suspended that caveman for two weeks, I agreed with the Greek chorus that it wasn't enough, that he should be fired - as he was - for what he said which was horribly denigrating to the Rutgers women.

Elmer Smith hit the nail on the head: Imus is a racist, and the sooner this neanderthal was put out to pasture, the better.

Jeffrey C. Branch, Philadelphia

How unfair was is to gang up on Don Imus for his comment that they thought was racist?

Look what happened to other well-known people for their comments and how their careers went downhill. Jimmy the Greek, John Rocker from the Atlanta Braves, Michael Richards at the comedy club, to name a few.

The critics were so quick to jump on them, but how come they didn't protest Wanda Sykes, Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, rappers and Howard Stern with their racist and sexist comment? And how about the Jerry Springer show with its ridiculing of whores, gays, lesbians and sluts?

How come black people didn't protest then? And Elmer Smith has no right to call him a cold-hearted bigot with all the charity work he had done for colleges. Elmer is just like the rest to jump on the bandwagon to gang up on him.

Robert F. Schaffer

Philadelphia

It's amazing to me how folks attempted to defend the vile racist remarks of Don Imus when he himself confessed to no defense.

There is no comparison to the ignorant garbage that rappers spew or what a comedian mumbles and slurs to exploit people.

This is not about Democrats or Republicans. This is about a group of beautiful, bright female college student-athletes who excel academically and excelled beyond expectations athletically who were personally attacked verbally for no reason whatsoever.

If he stepped outside his studio, from behind his microphone, from behind the First Amendment and said that to the first three black females he encountered - he'd have a black eye.

I say to the defenders, how would you feel if he (or anyone) said that about your daughter to a national audience (or even privately for you to hear)?

There is no excuse for this kind of dialogue - and it's well past the time to take a stand against it.

Kevin A. Henryhand

Philadelphia

Speaking of severe climate change resulting from human activity . . .

The character wearing the gas mask must be Imus because Alberto Gonzales is probably the only attorney that would listen to him - since they both stink!

Imus will be in the record books for being the only on-air radio personality being slam-dunked by the Rutgers women's college basketball team - since he fouled out blatantly on-air!

Thomas G. Lutek

Philadelphia

Imus said what!

What's an Imus?

"Civil-rights leaders" go on a crusade to play hero for their own gain. TV news, networks with 24 hours to kill playing judge, jury and executioner again - yet another national mass media-generated witchhunt. Maybe when the Rutgers girls met up with their critic, they should have given him one of those Vince McMahon haircuts.

John Steacker, Clifton Heights

What is the world coming to when radio talk-show host Don Imus is accused of being racially insensitive? Who would've thought that an individual who seldom smiles, comes across as indifferent could make racially intolerant statements regarding a women's basketball team?

Next thing they'll tell us that ultra-conservative radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh really did not have a "slip of the tongue" when he "accidently" used the n-word as the last name of New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin during the racially charged Hurricane Katrina catastrophe.

Stuart Burgh Jr., Philadelphia

The whole Imus controversary certainly has gotten a lot of press. You couldn't open a newspaper or watch a newscast for over a week without multiple stories from all angles being hashed over again and again. I would like to know where was all the coverage and bellyaching when Ann Coulter called John Edwards a "faggot"?

Randolph Husava

Philadelphia