Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Random Things...

-- I've learned something new today and I'd like to spread the information along to my fellow bloggers who want people to read their pages. There is one simple thing you can do to exponentially raise the amount of traffic your site receives from one day to the next and it is this: Mention Mark Driscoll somewhere in your post. Trust me on this.

-- While I'm quite upset with MSNBC for cancelling the Imus in the Morning simulcast, I also understand their reasoning. I know he has a history of making disparaging remarks, but the furor over his degrading innocent young people was raised to such high decibels that his handling of the situation could have been an important high-profile way to bring the issue of race to the forefront of our national discourse. Instead, the folks at my cable news network of choice chose to pander to the African American bigots, the "Reverends" Sharpton and Jackson. Seriously, why do these people still have a voice? Put people like Vivian Stringer or Essence Carson of Rutgers as the voices of the African American community and we might finally be able to make progress in removing our national stain of racial inequality, without the vitriol spewed by supposed civil rights leaders whose hypocrisy continually deems them irrelevant.

-- Read THIS ARTICLE. It is absolutely amazing. As I used to say in my younger years, this will preach.

-- I'm about halfway through the new Khaled Hosseini book. The story isn't quite as gripping as the Kite Runner (yet), but I believe it's much more well written.

6 comments:

greenISgood said...

While gratuitous racial epithets spewed over public air waves may not seem that big of a deal, many other voices besides the "bigots" you mention here have weighed in on this flashpoint subject over the past week with obvious balance and delicacy, Black and White.

Imus' remarks DID bring "the issue of race to the forefront", just perhaps not in the way you might have preferred. As to "vitriol", does "African American bigots" qualify? Please.

Unknown said...

You could also mention the atheist group the "Rational Response Squad." Because holy hell I got plenty of comments when I made mention of it.

Craig said...

Robert,
Point taken on the "African American Bigot" comment.

But as to your first paragraph-- Who, of any racial group, is out there saying that Imus' comments weren't a big deal?

Craig said...

... And while I used a poor choice of words in describing Sharpton and Jackson, my point still stands. Both of these men have a long history of making anti-semitic remarks without apologizing, and refusing to be held accountable for them. Sharpton, though, has brilliantly framed this whole Imus situation to include only responsibility over the airwaves, which has given him the impression that he can be shielded from any light being shined on his past indiscretions.

My point isn't that no one has a right to be offended or to speak out, but that there are worlds of people out there whose public and private lives have earned them the right to be heard, understood, and taken more seriously than Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. (And from the news coverage I've been watching today, there are plenty people in the black community that agree with this.)

greenISgood said...

My point was (it seems to me)that the wider issue wasn't the "Al and Jesse" show, or the cable news network that disappointed you, but the racism and misogyny endemic to these types of shows that sparked the outcry, reflected in but not limited to, Imus's remarks.

Imus isn't your typical run-of-the-mill shock jock but a real fixture in the establishment, earning them and himself kaboodles of money every day via a large audience. Obviously, a number of wealthy sponsors, including MSNBC, who withdrew their financial support didn't miss the significance or implications of his insidious comments. Neither should we. Further, you have no argument from me that destructive racist behavior or language from especially any public spokesperson or public forum is even close to acceptable.

Craig said...

Robert, as the days have worn on and I think about it more objectively, and not as someone who just had their morning routine altered by circumstances out of my control, I've slowly come to understand more and agree that MSNBC, (and now-- Breaking News-- CBS radio) were justified in cancelling the show.