Don Imus and Free Speech

The whole world has been watching, it seems, as one of New York's most iconic broadcasters ended his career in the space of two seconds with the words "nappy headed ho." None have watched the events unfold with a more keen eye than those of us who are broadcasters ourselves, for these happenings hold more import to us than just a fleeting moment or a hurt feeling. No, for those of us in the communication industry, these proceedings not only impact the news, they also impact how much we might be able to communicate in the future.

Now, let me be perfectly clear here. What Imus said was uncalled for, boneheaded, and indicative of his usual blowhardedness. I don't agree with what he said. I don't agree with what a lot of people say.

On the other hand, consider this: Don Imus says three words about African-American women and loses his job. D.L. Hughley and Dave Chappelle go on hour-long racist rants about white people and they... get sitcom deals. Am I the only one that sees an inequity there? My wife and I watched The Original Kings of Comedy last night, which is over an hour and a half of racial humor, particularly against white people. The result: we laughed our heads off. Had we been in the Sharpton camp, I suppose our reactions would have been different.

However, racial issues aren't really the point of concern for me here. I've never had a racist bone in my body, and I think assigning value to one person over another based on something as idiotic as the amount of melanin in one's skin is beyond retarded. The point of concern here is this: what does Freedom of Speech cover?

I won't go into Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson any more than I already have. I think people of all races know that Martin Luther King Jr. would've been ashamed at the way that these men constantly seek out ways to jump in front of the camera and create racial tension where there was none for their own profit and power. I doubt that he would've marched with them. They're just sideshows on the bigger midway in this circus.

Unfortunately, I think we're setting a dangerous precedent here. And while I agree that what Imus said was messed up, I don't believe it's a good idea to jump up and censor someone who says something that makes us uncomfortable. We can't preach tolerance for others when we are intolerant of the views of others. Whether it's Don Imus calling people nappy-headed, Howard Stern talking about rimjobs, Rush Limbaugh downing pills and Democrats, Chris Rock talking about "niggas versus black people," a gay pride speech, a religious discussion, or whatever the case may be, we have to realize that no one is going to agree on everything and that every opinion, however valid, must be allowed to be expressed. The problem with creating rules about what can and cannot be uttered in public is that there is no way of controlling who the author of this rule-book will be from generation to generation. While the author of such a Speech Code may be benevolent in the present time, it takes but one change of government before political speech becomes sedition, religious speech becomes hate talk, hoses get turned on Black Panther gatherings, being a homophobe can get you jailed or any number of possibilities.

We all stand to lose here. Black, white, gay, straight, conservative, liberal... We've now set the precedent for people who consider our ideas offensive to take away our ability to say them. We've established that there are thoughts that are verboten, and we've given those who govern us the keys to add to that list. In the name of harmony, we've silently agreed that the days of a free and uninhibited press are numbered.

Folks, the ugly part of free speech is that we're not the only ones who are entitled to it. In order for us to continue to speak our good thoughts freely, those whose ideas we consider to be evil must also be allowed the same. The fortunate part is that we, with our good thoughts, are also perfectly free to flip the switch on our TV or radios if we don't wish to hear it.

Yet we consistently allow the freedoms to slip. We don't lose our freedoms all at once. Like the frog that is slowly boiled to death, we lose our freedom one right at a time, often without noticing it. There's the Janet Jackson Nipplegate that causes the FCC to "tighten up." There's the 9/11 tragedy that gives our government the chance to enact laws to spy on us. The new restrictions all seem perfectly reasonable at the time. But as has been the case with the 9/11 spying, we often find that what sounded good at first turned out to be a really really horribly bad idea. The same will happen as our inability to speak freely erodes.

So yes, I hate what Imus said. Imus, you're an idiot. Thanks a pantload for screwing your fellow broadcasters.

There. I just did what everyone who disagrees with anyone should do. Not eliminate another's free speech... Just speak up yourself, use your freedom, and tell them they're a jerk and move on with it. If you don't like it...don't read it.