Defending Imus Is Lame And A Shame
There is a fundamental difference between priviladge and right.
"Economic McCartyism" Ted Rall says of the deposition of the dreadful Don Imus. Well, I never liked Rall's cartoons anyway so it doesn't surprise me he is taking up a losing argument.
Just listen to these crybabies whine about how Don Imus should be allowed to broadcast bigotry that, well, most people just don't want to hear.
So if a rock radio station chooses to quit broadcasting a certain rocker because the listeners find it lame or offensive, is that "economic McCathyism" or is it a rejection of the product?
For one, there is no such thing as "economic McCathyism", it's a made up term for Americans who don't like boycotts on their products. They carry some kind of logic that suggests "Well, I don't care if you don't like my product, I'm going to shove it down your throat anyway."
Imus had the privilege, not the right to be on television and radio.
PRIVILIDGE, NOT RIGHT.
In America, privileges can be taken away, rights cannot be.
Imus may have been exercising his right to free speech by making such inflammatory remarks, but those who condemned his remarks and demanded his ouster were also exercising their right to free speech.
Just because speech is free in this country doesn't mean it is without it's consequences.
Just because you have the right to say something doesn't mean you have the privilege of being on the television or radio when you say it.
Let's not forget that Proctor & Gamble and Staples pulled advertising from the Imus show before Imus was fired. Once the advertisers start leaving the networks start losing, so let's not beat around the bush here, at the point Imus was more offensive than profitable he was out of a job.
That my friend, is not "economic McCarthyism". Companies have the right to not want their product associated with perceived bigotry and citizens have the right to voice complaints against open bigotry.
Only Don Imus is to blame in the firing of Don Imus. Imus' freedom of speech has not been infringed upon because Congress never made a law against Don Imus or what he said, READ THE CONSTITUTION PEOPLE!!
Imus' privilege of being broadcast by MSNBC and CBS may have been revoked, but his right to freedom of speech has not been revoked.
If Imus can find any advertisers willing to take him on (besides the KKK or Aryan Nation) then I am sure he will again have the privilege of using the airwaves to exercise his right to freedom of speech.
Otherwise Imus needs to get a blog where he can say any old thing he wants or fade into the background for a while and give everyone else some time to cool off.
With that said, people have the right to boycott anything they like, whether it is a product or a person. Products and people can be rejected for any number of reasons, and you can't force people to consume a product or person they don't like.
Don Imus was wrong to say what he said and he paid for his comments with his job. Imus has a long history of making inflammatory remarks about African Americans, Jews, and woman so let's cut it with the rhetoric and freedom of speech conspiracy theories.
Showing posts with label Civil Rights. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Civil Rights. Show all posts
Monday, March 12, 2007
"Let Them Wait"
Over three million Palestinians live in the occupied territories.
Palestinians have lived under Israeli military occupation for forty years.
Twenty years after the occupation began the intifada began. The uprising brought more excessive force from Israel, leading to a second Palestinian uprising in 2000 following the collapse of the Oslo Accords.
Checkpoints are a part of daily life for many Palestinians. Gaza Strip and the West Bank are separated by miles.
In Palestine people often have to travel to work, many times walking long distances to visit family, go to school or visit hospitals.
Palestinians are routinely harassed at such checkpoints for hours before they are many times denied permission to pass.
Herded like cattle and treated no different, the conditions Israeli's impose on Palestinians only fuel greater hostility and animosity among the Palestinian people.
Many of the Palestinian people are not just angered with their treatment, they are hurt, and their pain is etched into many of their faces, young and old.
Another obvious symptom of oppression is the fear many Palestinians feel towards Israeli soldiers because of their routine and systematic harassment, and being constantly treated like a criminal.
Few people really know what it is like for the Palestinians, why they are frustrated while they world ignores them, and in many cases demonizes them.
Israeli Filmmaker Yoav Shamir takes a deeper look into the lives of Palestinians, and how their lives are dictated by various checkpoints where harassment is routine.
At the checkpoints, all Palestinians are treated equally, equally as criminals.
The film is an Israeli film, made with Israeli money, shot by an Israeli. What's more interesting is that the Israeli forces are now using the documentary as training material for their guards.
This film provides an eye witnesses perspective to a situation many Americans do not even realize exists. The film is at the end of this post, but I want to highlight what I view as some of the most important scenes from the documentary.
Tensions can run high when human beings are corralled like animals and treated without the slightest amount of dignity or respect. Frustration is common, but only because of the systematic abuses of power Israeli soldiers display.
In a crowded checkpoint Israeli soldiers command the Palestinians to get on the pavilion - no one gets threw the checkpoint until everyone is on the pavilion. The problem, there is not enough room on the pavilion for all waiting Palestinians to gather on.
One man frustrated, carrying his young child complains that "We have been here since 6 AM."
A sick family is prevented from crossing a checkpoint to see a doctor. An Israeli guard harasses the family with taunts and repeatedly tries to get a four year old boy to answer his questions, when the child is clearly frightened by the guard and does not understand Hebrew.
Dissatisfied with the child's lack of response the guard turns the family away from the checkpoint, saying "maybe" they could come back tomorrow. There appears to be no legitimate reason for turning the family away.
A school bus full of elementary age children rumbles on the scene of a checkpoint and is stopped by the Israeli's. The children are pulled out of the bus, but it is not the Palestinian children the Israeli guards are interested in, it is the Israeli man traveling with them, who is a pastor and has a large cross on the back of his vest.
The pastor was prevented from crossing the checkpoint without just reason after the Pastor told the guards he was crossing with the children to see how they were being treated at the checkpoints, the pastor was obviously concerned about the well being of the children.
Inexplicably, after the children have left one of the Israeli guard insists that the pastor get his picture taken with him. The pastor agrees, only if the guard removes his gun and helmet. The guard complies, perhaps conveying the importance he is placing on the photo of the man. But why is it so important to have a picture of this peaceful Israeli pastor? Perhaps to identify him later, or make him identifiable to other Israeli guards as a "trouble maker".
At another checkpoint an Israeli guard says "Jews are the best." At the same checkpoint male soldiers can be found sexually harassing young Palestinian girls, one even after she has informed the guard she is a minor.
Another checkpoint finds Palestinians who are made to wait in the freezing rain for an extended period of time. Not because Israeli guards are busy, but because Israeli guards are trying to prove some kind of point to them.
A guard checks a mans ID by phone. After he has verified the man is who he indeed says he is, the soldier decides to "make him wait" in the freezing rain for no other apparent reason to other than to prove a point to a nonviolent and productive Palestinian man.
At a Ramallah checkpoint it is snowing and again the Palestinians are forced to stand out in the elements for an unreasonably long amount of time.
A young guard notices the camera and places himself in front of it. "What do you want to film here? Animals, Animals. Like the Discovery Channel" the guard laughs, clearly implying his belief that the Palestinians are animals.
"All of Ramallah is a jungle, there are monkeys, dogs, gorillas (laughing) The problem is that the animals are locked, they can't come out. We're humans. They're animals. They aren't human, we are." He continues, "that's the difference between..." (one can assume "us and them" were the words poised to follow) but the guard is interrupted by another, perhaps sensing the peril of his comrades words.
"What?" The young guard asks his comrade who has interrupted him "Let him film, what do I care? I don't care what people think." Exactly.
Palestinians are routinely turned back from checkpoints not allowed to return home without any justified reason other than the fact they are Palestinian.
At one such checkpoint an old man hobbles with a cane, sits on a gathering of rocks, and almost whispers "Film this. See what they do to us." to the cameraman.
"I'll break her bones." One guard menacingly threatens an older man and his wife as they try to cross the checkpoint. "We are going home" The man replies defiantly.
"Why are you doing this to us?" Rings out an anguished voice. "Shoot me, I don't care." Indeed, in a life like this death may seem a release. "Why are you doing this to us?" and "Why do you treat us this way?" are questions often raised by the Palestinians.
"Is this freedom? Is this the peace they've promised us?"
The closing scenes of the documentary brings us to a scene of darkness, Palestinians lined up against a concrete barrier. A cell phone rings, "We have been waiting for more than five hours." the man tells the person on the other end.
"We're tired of waiting in the cold." Another says.
Another voice in the darkness pleads "I've been here for ten hours."
An Israeli soldier "Let them wait. Let them wait."
The excerpts above were taken from the documentary below.
Update : The embeded video does not seem to be working correctly, the video can be found at Google Video.
Over three million Palestinians live in the occupied territories.
Palestinians have lived under Israeli military occupation for forty years.
Twenty years after the occupation began the intifada began. The uprising brought more excessive force from Israel, leading to a second Palestinian uprising in 2000 following the collapse of the Oslo Accords.
Checkpoints are a part of daily life for many Palestinians. Gaza Strip and the West Bank are separated by miles.
In Palestine people often have to travel to work, many times walking long distances to visit family, go to school or visit hospitals.
Palestinians are routinely harassed at such checkpoints for hours before they are many times denied permission to pass.
Herded like cattle and treated no different, the conditions Israeli's impose on Palestinians only fuel greater hostility and animosity among the Palestinian people.
Many of the Palestinian people are not just angered with their treatment, they are hurt, and their pain is etched into many of their faces, young and old.
Another obvious symptom of oppression is the fear many Palestinians feel towards Israeli soldiers because of their routine and systematic harassment, and being constantly treated like a criminal.
Few people really know what it is like for the Palestinians, why they are frustrated while they world ignores them, and in many cases demonizes them.
Israeli Filmmaker Yoav Shamir takes a deeper look into the lives of Palestinians, and how their lives are dictated by various checkpoints where harassment is routine.
At the checkpoints, all Palestinians are treated equally, equally as criminals.
The film is an Israeli film, made with Israeli money, shot by an Israeli. What's more interesting is that the Israeli forces are now using the documentary as training material for their guards.
This film provides an eye witnesses perspective to a situation many Americans do not even realize exists. The film is at the end of this post, but I want to highlight what I view as some of the most important scenes from the documentary.
Tensions can run high when human beings are corralled like animals and treated without the slightest amount of dignity or respect. Frustration is common, but only because of the systematic abuses of power Israeli soldiers display.
In a crowded checkpoint Israeli soldiers command the Palestinians to get on the pavilion - no one gets threw the checkpoint until everyone is on the pavilion. The problem, there is not enough room on the pavilion for all waiting Palestinians to gather on.
One man frustrated, carrying his young child complains that "We have been here since 6 AM."
A sick family is prevented from crossing a checkpoint to see a doctor. An Israeli guard harasses the family with taunts and repeatedly tries to get a four year old boy to answer his questions, when the child is clearly frightened by the guard and does not understand Hebrew.
Dissatisfied with the child's lack of response the guard turns the family away from the checkpoint, saying "maybe" they could come back tomorrow. There appears to be no legitimate reason for turning the family away.
A school bus full of elementary age children rumbles on the scene of a checkpoint and is stopped by the Israeli's. The children are pulled out of the bus, but it is not the Palestinian children the Israeli guards are interested in, it is the Israeli man traveling with them, who is a pastor and has a large cross on the back of his vest.
The pastor was prevented from crossing the checkpoint without just reason after the Pastor told the guards he was crossing with the children to see how they were being treated at the checkpoints, the pastor was obviously concerned about the well being of the children.
Inexplicably, after the children have left one of the Israeli guard insists that the pastor get his picture taken with him. The pastor agrees, only if the guard removes his gun and helmet. The guard complies, perhaps conveying the importance he is placing on the photo of the man. But why is it so important to have a picture of this peaceful Israeli pastor? Perhaps to identify him later, or make him identifiable to other Israeli guards as a "trouble maker".
At another checkpoint an Israeli guard says "Jews are the best." At the same checkpoint male soldiers can be found sexually harassing young Palestinian girls, one even after she has informed the guard she is a minor.
Another checkpoint finds Palestinians who are made to wait in the freezing rain for an extended period of time. Not because Israeli guards are busy, but because Israeli guards are trying to prove some kind of point to them.
A guard checks a mans ID by phone. After he has verified the man is who he indeed says he is, the soldier decides to "make him wait" in the freezing rain for no other apparent reason to other than to prove a point to a nonviolent and productive Palestinian man.
At a Ramallah checkpoint it is snowing and again the Palestinians are forced to stand out in the elements for an unreasonably long amount of time.
A young guard notices the camera and places himself in front of it. "What do you want to film here? Animals, Animals. Like the Discovery Channel" the guard laughs, clearly implying his belief that the Palestinians are animals.
"All of Ramallah is a jungle, there are monkeys, dogs, gorillas (laughing) The problem is that the animals are locked, they can't come out. We're humans. They're animals. They aren't human, we are." He continues, "that's the difference between..." (one can assume "us and them" were the words poised to follow) but the guard is interrupted by another, perhaps sensing the peril of his comrades words.
"What?" The young guard asks his comrade who has interrupted him "Let him film, what do I care? I don't care what people think." Exactly.
Palestinians are routinely turned back from checkpoints not allowed to return home without any justified reason other than the fact they are Palestinian.
At one such checkpoint an old man hobbles with a cane, sits on a gathering of rocks, and almost whispers "Film this. See what they do to us." to the cameraman.
"I'll break her bones." One guard menacingly threatens an older man and his wife as they try to cross the checkpoint. "We are going home" The man replies defiantly.
"Why are you doing this to us?" Rings out an anguished voice. "Shoot me, I don't care." Indeed, in a life like this death may seem a release. "Why are you doing this to us?" and "Why do you treat us this way?" are questions often raised by the Palestinians.
"Is this freedom? Is this the peace they've promised us?"
The closing scenes of the documentary brings us to a scene of darkness, Palestinians lined up against a concrete barrier. A cell phone rings, "We have been waiting for more than five hours." the man tells the person on the other end.
"We're tired of waiting in the cold." Another says.
Another voice in the darkness pleads "I've been here for ten hours."
An Israeli soldier "Let them wait. Let them wait."
The excerpts above were taken from the documentary below.
Update : The embeded video does not seem to be working correctly, the video can be found at Google Video.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Remember Martin Luther King Jr And His Opposition To Oppression
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a man with a dream, a dream most Americans know well. A dream of equality and tolerance and integration that he tried to pass on to the rest of America and the world.
Martin Luther King Jr. was a man of great courage and conviction with an extraordinary vision of peace and equality for all man, and even those of caucasian ancestry should honor his memory and his principals, he was and is an American hero, very much responsible for shaping our country.
Martin Luther King Jr. was not only a hero, but he is also one of the few true martyr's borne of this nation of great men and cowards alike. Dr. King was the former of the aforementioned, and his opponents were the latter.
As with all activist, King had enemies, enemies who were eventually successful in quelling his voice but not his vision nor his movement.
What we recall the most about this great American hero was his role in the Civil Rights Movement, his intolerance of injustice and opposition to oppression, his inspiring speeches and the strength of his character.
What we have forgotten about Martin Luther King Jr. was his stance against the Vietnam War, which could be meaningful to remember in the time in which we are living in. A time that is already drawing up comparisons to Vietnam.
One can read the text of King's speech "Beyond Vietnam" to understand the specific reasons he was opposed to the war, or on can read the several quotes of Dr. King on the war in Vietnam below.
"We all have to be concerned about terrorism, but you will never end terrorism by terrorizing others."
"Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation."
"The chain reaction of evil--wars producing more wars -- must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation."
"War is the greatest plague that can affect humanity; it destroys religion, it destroys states, it destroys families. Any scourge is preferable to it."
"Wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows."
"The bombs in Vietnam explode at home; they destroy the hopes and possibilities for a decent America."
"We have guided missiles and misguided men."
"We must concentrate not merely on the negative expulsion of war but the positive affirmation of peace."
"The greatest purveyor of violence in the world today is my own government."
It is eerie how one can look at King's observations of the Vietnam War and easily apply the same expressions to the Iraq War.
Martin Luther King Jr. had a very strong stance against not only the Vietnam War, but against all war and all aggression in the world, he made that very clear with the statement "I have condemned any organizer of war, regardless of his rank or nationality."
So on this Martin Luther King Jr. Day of 2007 let us consider his words on war and aggression as we prepare to escalate the war in Iraq, a war that has become like Vietnam in more ways than one.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a man with a dream, a dream most Americans know well. A dream of equality and tolerance and integration that he tried to pass on to the rest of America and the world.
Martin Luther King Jr. was a man of great courage and conviction with an extraordinary vision of peace and equality for all man, and even those of caucasian ancestry should honor his memory and his principals, he was and is an American hero, very much responsible for shaping our country.
Martin Luther King Jr. was not only a hero, but he is also one of the few true martyr's borne of this nation of great men and cowards alike. Dr. King was the former of the aforementioned, and his opponents were the latter.
As with all activist, King had enemies, enemies who were eventually successful in quelling his voice but not his vision nor his movement.
What we recall the most about this great American hero was his role in the Civil Rights Movement, his intolerance of injustice and opposition to oppression, his inspiring speeches and the strength of his character.
What we have forgotten about Martin Luther King Jr. was his stance against the Vietnam War, which could be meaningful to remember in the time in which we are living in. A time that is already drawing up comparisons to Vietnam.
One can read the text of King's speech "Beyond Vietnam" to understand the specific reasons he was opposed to the war, or on can read the several quotes of Dr. King on the war in Vietnam below.
"We all have to be concerned about terrorism, but you will never end terrorism by terrorizing others."
"Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation."
"The chain reaction of evil--wars producing more wars -- must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation."
"War is the greatest plague that can affect humanity; it destroys religion, it destroys states, it destroys families. Any scourge is preferable to it."
"Wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows."
"The bombs in Vietnam explode at home; they destroy the hopes and possibilities for a decent America."
"We have guided missiles and misguided men."
"We must concentrate not merely on the negative expulsion of war but the positive affirmation of peace."
"The greatest purveyor of violence in the world today is my own government."
It is eerie how one can look at King's observations of the Vietnam War and easily apply the same expressions to the Iraq War.
Martin Luther King Jr. had a very strong stance against not only the Vietnam War, but against all war and all aggression in the world, he made that very clear with the statement "I have condemned any organizer of war, regardless of his rank or nationality."
So on this Martin Luther King Jr. Day of 2007 let us consider his words on war and aggression as we prepare to escalate the war in Iraq, a war that has become like Vietnam in more ways than one.
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