I’m sure most of us agree that Don Imus’ recent comments about the Rutgers Womens
Basketball Team were racist and way out of line.

I’m also sure that most of us will agree that Al Sharpton, a champion against racism,
was absolutely right to ask Imus to come on his radio program. Imus agreed.

Now, if all of this was Divine Intervention, it’s wonderful. If all this has been
thought up by one or more individuals, it’s a case of sheer genius.

Don Imus was not an easy target for being called out for his racist hatred speech, he was a better target.

I mention this because the right wing hatred machine of Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh,
John Gibson, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage and many, many others too numerous to
mention, have been getting away with this kind of hate spewing on the radio and
television airwaves for years.

So has Imus. But Don is trying to be funny. The rest aren’t.

They make their hatred known on a daily basis by saying things such as “Whites need to breed more babies”, “if more black babies were aborted, the crime rate would go
down” and after Katrina with thousands of black New Orleans residents holed up in the
Super Dome after being flooded out from their homes, “this is working out for these
people” (and that’s from the President’s mother).

Don Imus’ being called out by Al Sharpton and the nation-wide flack that has
followed, hopefully has given pause to the radio and television networks that employ
the hosts of hatred spewing daily and relentlessly, whether it’s degrading to women,
blacks, Hispanics, welfare recipients, etc. The light is now turned on not just Imus,
but all the others as well.

What these corporate heads now need to decide is if the hatred spewing is where they
want their 21st Century Business Model to be based. Can they afford it? Will the
advertisers realize that they are contributing to hate? Do they care?

Only time will tell. But before you shake your head in agreement while watching Fox
News’ John Gibson or anyone else calling for Imus to be permanently removed, you should take a longer look at the bigger picture.

Fear breeds hatred. Fear is lack of knowledge. Educate yourselves…daily.

Be well.

Jim Swanson