So what would you have Imus do?

[g_olaf]

G Olaf wrote:

OK, its been 23 years. Can we let it rest?

Nope. Never. Not as long as Jackson leads a crusade against all statements that are deemed offensive. He deserves to be called out for his hypocrisy and hatred. I will never forget or forgive Hymietown or his attempts to degrade the victims of the Holocaust. He is an ugly, loathsome man and he deserves more public condemnation, not less.

I am intrigued by the vociferious nature of your response. There are two seperate issues that should be discussed (albeit perhaps more appropriate on the public policy board). First and foremost, the origins of the rift between African-Americans and American Jews, which Jesse Jackson helped to foment in the 1970s and early 1980s. As far as I have seen, Jackson has worked over the last decades to mend that rift, but that may be debatable.

Secondly, shall we ban anyone who has ever made an offensive statement (and apologized for them) for being involved in this dialog? If Imus wants to lead a crusade against offensive remarks, I'm all for it. He has probably learned a lot from this experience. I would not consider that hypocracy.

Finally, I don't consider myself a Jackson "apologist". He has been publicly condemned for the statements he has made. His public career has been severely impacted as a result of those statements. However, as many on this topic would disambiguate Imus' personal character from his comments (and I am one of them, I do not see him as an ugly loathsome man because he made these ugly loathsome comments), I wonder if perhaps it is inappropriate to define Jackson based on his comments and beliefs made when he was half his age. There are some that would argue once a racist, always a racist. Or once an anti-Semite, always an anti-Semite, and perhaps they are correct, but I would like to believe that humans are capable of growth.

[johnb]

G Olaf wrote:

OK, its been 23 years. Can we let it rest?

Nope. Never. Not as long as Jackson leads a crusade against all statements that are deemed offensive. He deserves to be called out for his hypocrisy and hatred. I will never forget or forgive Hymietown or his attempts to degrade the victims of the Holocaust. He is an ugly, loathsome man and he deserves more public condemnation, not less.

When did he degrade the victims of the Holocaust?

[g_olaf]

When did he degrade the victims of the Holocaust?

According to a 1984 Time magazine article:

"in an interview with Ted Koppel on ABC's Nightline. 'I've listened to many Jews say, looking at the Holocaust, that they went to the gas chambers much too silently,' Jackson said. He was trying to draw a parallel with the persecution and deaths of blacks since slavery days; like Jews, he said, blacks were vowing 'never again.' His remarks were taken by some listeners, however, as criticism of supposed Jewish meekness in the face of Nazi terror."

Also, in the 70's or 80's he stated that he was "tired of hearing about the holocaust". He later complained that his comments were taken out of context.

I'm not aware of any other public statements of Jackson's that could be construed as degrading to holocaust victims.

[allenmurray]

The job of all comedians (and I put shock-jocks in that category, even if they do the occasional meaningful interview) is this: to go to the very edge of where we are comfortable, take one ginat step over that line, dance on that line, and dare us to join them. In that way Imus = Chris Rock = Lenny Bruce = Richard Pryor.

He made a big mistake - but he made it in the context doing his job - what his audience expected him to do and paid him to do. That is why it is diffrerent for Imus that it would have been if say Tom Brokaw had done the same thing. No one expects continuous serious even-handed commentary from Imus (or the other comedians named above).

Imus made his comment in the context of a comedy radio show - he didn't make it while talking with Doris Kearns Goodwin, or Harold Ford, or Joe Lieberman, or John Kerry, or David Gregory, or any of his other serious guests. He made it in the context of a comedy routine. If what he die is a fireable offense what would we do if a non-comedian made similar remarks - shoot them?