Ok...Imus is fired...Does it mean anything?
No. Not really.
Imus said something stupid. He has said stupid things in the past. He didn't get fired then. The only reason he was fired now is because NBC and CBS were losing money on their advertising. That's the bottom line.
So where do we go from here? Is this going to make a difference in race relations in this country? No. This will be forgotten by next week. So lets have the discussion. Why is it ok for Chapelle to say the "N-word" over and over again? Why is it ok on South Park? What about these lyrics? Do we stop joking because we might offend someone? What happened to freedom of speech?
Because Kurt Vonnegut passed away today, I thought it would be appropriate to use one of his quotes on humor.
"Well, the telling of jokes is an art of its own, and it always rises from some emotional threat. The best jokes are dangerous, and dangerous because they are in some way truthful."
Kurt Vonnegut, Interview, Mcsweeneys.net
US novelist (1922 - )
Now Imus' joke wasn't good or funny. In fact, I didn't find Imus funny at all. But Vonnegut is right. The danger of good jokes now is that we're going to stifle ourselves out of political correctness. That is something that I do not want to see.
Imus said something stupid. He has said stupid things in the past. He didn't get fired then. The only reason he was fired now is because NBC and CBS were losing money on their advertising. That's the bottom line.
So where do we go from here? Is this going to make a difference in race relations in this country? No. This will be forgotten by next week. So lets have the discussion. Why is it ok for Chapelle to say the "N-word" over and over again? Why is it ok on South Park? What about these lyrics? Do we stop joking because we might offend someone? What happened to freedom of speech?
Because Kurt Vonnegut passed away today, I thought it would be appropriate to use one of his quotes on humor.
"Well, the telling of jokes is an art of its own, and it always rises from some emotional threat. The best jokes are dangerous, and dangerous because they are in some way truthful."
Kurt Vonnegut, Interview, Mcsweeneys.net
US novelist (1922 - )
Now Imus' joke wasn't good or funny. In fact, I didn't find Imus funny at all. But Vonnegut is right. The danger of good jokes now is that we're going to stifle ourselves out of political correctness. That is something that I do not want to see.
posted by Kevin | 4:21 PM
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