Imus and musn't

Radio and TV talk-show host Don Imus has a chance to lessen the crassness in America's public discourse.

from the April 12, 2007 edition

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Millions of listeners and viewers follow Imus for his popular mix of crudeness, rudeness, and intelligent talk with the political and media elite. But the host's partial explanations that his show is a comedy (that's the context) and that blacks routinely use the slang that he used (more context) certainly haven't convinced the Rutgers players so far. As excuses, they don't qualify.

The content itself was too severe for that, and the players completely undeserving – as Imus, in one of his apologies, admitted.

That the public, too, is outraged is a sign that it hasn't gone completely numb to this issue of coars­ening. In fact, people are pushing back on several fronts, showing there's a market for decency.

Internet sites, books, and other media that celebrate kindness and goodness are catching on. Sales of rap music are declining rapidly. Could that be because so much of it is trash talk? Some Internet movers and shakers are now working to bring a code of civility to blogging. Four former leaders of the US Senate are intent on restoring respectful discourse to politics and recently set up a Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington.

In the case of Imus, who will be suspended Monday for two weeks, major advertisers have decided to pull out of the show. Baseball star Cal Ripken canceled an appearance – a sign that individuals can make a difference.

Imus himself has a chance to do that. He meets with the Rutgers women Tuesday. Depending on his sincerity and reform (he promises to change his show's "discourse"), he can move back the line he has advanced. He can show that equating black women with prostitutes is neither funny, nor acceptable. •

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