Sick to my stomach and he calls himself a "good person". Don Imus you should be ashamed of yourself and out of a job!!!!

Again out of the loop thanks to being out of the country which with stories like these sounds better and better each day. Why do these idiots have jobs let alone the kind that let them influence hundreds of thousands if not millions of people. It is too bad that sex, inuendo, discrimination and just plane bad taste sell because if people didn't tune in and turn on these jerks then they wouldn't make money and would be out of a job and doing some real work for a living. And then those of us with a conscious, sense of decency, interest in colors beyond the green of dollars and concern for our fellow humans and the planet could have the helm of these instruments that disseminate information to the masses and influence opinion and action.

Wouldn't it be great for the leader of an organization in Washington D.C, Johannesburg, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Hong Kong or Kiev doing work to help people get skilled up to get better jobs, volunteer to help others, clean up dirty river beds, fight forest fires, etc. had the mic instead of Howard, Don, Rush and the rest of these people who use phobias, mis/lack of education, isolationism and more to create legions of mindless viewers, readers, listeners who in an attempt to mimic their "role models" wreak havoc in the life's of others and the one and only planet we can and most likely will be able to inhabit. Isn't it funny how people hide behind "our" free speech protections when it is convenient for them. Enough of my diatribe now on to the reason I began writing this in the first place which were the recent racist, sexist, completely inappropriate and stupid comments that Don Imus, his executive producer Bernard McGuirk and sports announcer Sid Rosenberg, made on Imus' show. For more I suggest you read these three articles from ESPN.com which will surely make you want to find more at Salon, BBC and where ever you get your news from.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=hill/070410

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncw/news/story?id=2831636

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=keown/070410

ESPN for social change?

I came across three articles written recently by LZ Granderson a columnist who writes for ESPN.com’s “Page 2” and wanted to share some insights from them and recommend that you read them. Although ESPN basically reports the news in the sports world it does from time to time tell of NBA poets fighting racism, Olympic athletes promoting sports in underdeveloped countries and in these articles racism, stereotypes and the “n-word”.

The original article “A word with consequences” is well written and insightful and from the follow up written by Granderson sparked interest, controversy and responses from around the world. In it Granderson talks about the “n-word” and uses snippets from interviews with white athletes and musicians about this controversial word. He makes a plea to the likes of LeBron James, Donovan McNabb and Carmelo Anthony to be role models and come out publicly against the use of the “n-word”. He says that athletes have more power than musicians which I am not totally sure about but any start to end the use of this word which has such a terrible history attached to it is a good one.

The second article (found with either the link to the first article or the final one) is a brief follow up to “A word with consequences” and University of South Florida football team which apparently due to the first article decided after debates amongst the athletes to stop using the word in their vocabularies as players and pedestrians.

The final article, “Blake ... or fake?” is about Granderson’s brief stay in Stockholm to cover a small tennis tournament and how he was a star in the eyes of the fans outside his hotel for a few days as he was believed to be either a tennis star such as James Blake or one of the Brazilian soccer (football) players staying at the same hotel. In this city which he said has very few people of color it is interesting to hear how he felt and was treated.

I don’t believe I have read any of Granderson’s columns before but if they are as thought provoking, honest, insightful and socially conscious as these few then I will be reading his work more often. I too have found that social change must often come from the groups being exploited, abused and repressed as they often have the strongest voice and most reason to change the ills being inflicted on them by individuals or society. I for one have always known that the “n-word” is not something to say or enjoy hearing and cringe each time I encounter it in text, music, TV, etc. I find lots of music to have great intoxicating beats but when I encounter this word I often choose to not listen to certain songs or artists again.

I would like to leave you with this quote from “A word with consequences” which sums up the recent use and abuse of the “n-word” and the disconnect amongst many that are using it with the history and baggage attached to this word.

"It's always n-this and n-that," he says. "On one hand it's just a word, but being raised in an environment where you're taught to never, ever use it because it's so painful, and then see the people who are supposed to be hurt by it use it with each other all of the time, I think sends a mixed message. I'm not using it, but nowadays you hear Latinos use it, young white kids use it. … It's ironic that as the world gets more and more politically correct, you hear that word more often, not less."