De-constructing Imus Nation

(warning to anonymous: I will be criticizing stupid white males again. If you find this painful, Im sorry.Repeat after me “Im a guy, but I can change.”)

First, I have never listened to a Don Imus show, so I’m basing this whole piece on hearsay, innuendo, personal speculation and what I hear on the news! In this sense, I have myself joined Imus Nation. How many listeners DID Mr. Imus have? 5 million ,30 million, whatever, it was enough to create a 150 million dollar revenue stream for giant media corporations.And what were these advertisers so sure Don would do to bring in listeners? That’s right, be “edgy”, maybe “shock” or titillate or be outrageous. We all remember that sense of weightlessness when the class clown would say something sure to get him sent to the principles office, that’s what Don did for big money every day. He certainly is not alone in this genre, America loves it’s class clowns, America is the little pack of wanna-be’s who follow the schoolyard bully around, who in fact give him their lunch money for the privilege of doing so.Whether it’s Howard Stern or Savage or Rush or O Reily, when they invite Jesse Jackson on their show, Imus Nation shows up to hear the Big Mouth say in public what they think in private.Or might dare to say amongst a closed circle of bigoted confederates. They listen in hopes the high paid clown will directly challenge the “politically correct” conventions which have restricted their GOD GIVEN RIGHT to express their homophobic, racist, and sexist views, and they will smirk and guffaw whenever the “nappy headed hoes” get a thumpin. Is this strictly a right-wing psycho-socio phenomenon? . Probably not, but can i have the illusion?Please? "When I am paricularly depressed," Arthur Schlesinger Jr. wrote in a NY Times op-ed ,"I ascribe our behavor to stupidity- the stupidity of our leadership, the stupidity of our culture.."

Columnist David Brooks was compelled to issue a flimsy mea culpa for being a guest on the Don Imus show so many times (probably knowing he would run into Gwen Ifil on the Newshour) by saying it was a kick for pundit intellectuals to go slumming every once in a while, buy a sixer of Budlight and head on down to the NASCAR track. Of course every nerd wants protection from the bully, but deep down he wants association, he wants the left-overs (did I mention the little flock of girls that are also in sexual awe of the “badboy”?).

So the shareholders got nervous,(maybe they’re invested in sub-prime lenders as well) and pulled the plug but Don has his defenders. Blogger sonia-belle points out Don’s free-speech rights are being infringed upon and that he is being subjected to a “McCarthy Trial” witch-hunt. I think those are terrible arguments and analogies (Don can go scream racist insults from any soapbox in the public sphere he wants) and I’m a little surprised to hear her defend commie bastard Arthur Miller. In terms of culture critique ,I don’t know if this is just more of “what’s wrong with Kansas” or in line with Hannah Arendt’s “banality of evil” thesis but something is obviously out of whack and perhaps all shock radio listeners should be picked up and taken to re-education camps. Just kidding, anonymous! I have compassion for the mentally oppressed as well as the physically, and will work to nurture their own compassion. "Not to know what happened before one was born is always to be a child." Cicero Shoot, we all have compassion for children! "Once the running of the state involves a permanent and massive shortage of historical knowledge, that state can no longer be run strategically." Guy Debord