Dirty Dishes	Dirty Dishes Archive

What does Dawn have to say about the Don Imus imbroglio, readers have no doubt been clamoring to know. The decidedly un-PC radio shock jock called the Rutgers women's basketball squad-- runners up in the national championship-- a bunch of "nappy-headed hos," abruptly terminating his career and spawning a national debate about offensive speech.

Imus undoubtedly made a cheap and tasteless remark, but that's hardly news. He's used racial and sexually offensive remarks before without dissuading a stream of celebrity and political guests, including a bevy of liberals, from appearing on his show. Why all the fuss over his latest (and last?) offensive on-air remark?

D

View our poll archive

awn sees paternalistic sexism at the root of the anti-Imus animus. Had he called a largely African-American men's basketball team a group of "nappy headed gangstas," Dawn suspects he would not have generated a brouhaha. But because his jejune put-down targeted girls (okay, "young women"), Imus triggered a protection impulse amongst offended listeners. Ironic.

While Dawn is not going to defend Imus's language, nor object to sponsors not wanting their products associated with his show, the reaction of many Imus detractors also seems odd; why would any of the Lady Scarlet Knights give a rat's ass what Don Imus calls them? Maybe they'd like to suggest he rethink his choice of words. Maybe they'd like to suggest to Procter & Gamble that they're less likely to buy soap peddled on Imus's show. But why weep that one's own self-image has been damaged? (Dawn certainly loses no sleep over what Ann Coulter thinks of fags....) And does anyone believe that Imus is really a racist of the bigoted ilk?

The affair reminds Dawn of an incident that occurred some years ago at a Boston-area AIDS fund-raiser. On-stage was "Big Ed," a local celebrity whose shtick included piano ditties and patter performed while wearing a 50-gallon fluorescent yellow cowboy hat. Spotting a black event-goer in one of the front rows, Big Ed expressed concern that he'd left his watch and other valuables backstage unattended. The fellow targeted laughed, as did most of the crowd. But, used to tinkling and talking in homo clubs where vulgar and tasteless banter is commonplace, Big Ed had not counted on the preponderance of very PC lesbians (the tough crowd in from Cambridge...) amongst the audience that evening. One hefty gal arose during the performance to round up a half-a-dozen other (all white) similar-minded ladies; the big-boned leader clambered on stage after Ed's number and took it upon herself to apologize to all who were hurt by the "hateful" remarks. As she was helped back off the stage by her high-minded sisters, Dawn heard her remark that the world was in need of more "lesbian ernst." (Though not exactly sure what "ernst" is, Dawn is pretty certain she is wrong....)

Could anyone honestly have thought Big Ed was fearful because of the proximity of a black person? Did none of the well-fed Sapphic posse consider that perhaps what was being made fun of was precisely the sort of knee-jerk racism they were so eager to be seen publicly deploring?