Pribek

The Imus situation is all over the place now, maximum coverage. It appears that, as a society, we are attaching a lot of importance to words.

rac-ism
n.

1. The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.
2. Discrimination or prejudice based on race.

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition.

By this definition, is Don Imus a racist? Do the few words he said last week speak to his beliefs or make the case that he practices discrimination?

One thing I am hearing over and over is the phrase, “We shouldn’t tolerate racism”. How is it possible to not allow a person’s belief? What if someone comes right out and says, “I’m a racist”. Sorry, that’s not allowed. It’s a ridiculous notion. If you were able to disallow one belief, why not others and who decides which ones.

Another phrase that is new is, “apology tour”. This is another ridiculous idea. If you say something that is hurtful to someone, you apologize to that person. If your comment is directed to a group, you apologize to that group.

So, the apology tour is not the natural progression. It is markret driven; it is hype. Al Sharpton, Matt Lauer, Imus apologizing repeatedly on his own show, all of it is damage control. What bothers me, and creates mistrust, is the fact that Imus chose to do all of the hype before meeting with the Rutgers team.

How Imus will be punished is also market driven. If the public percieves that he has paid his debt, the show will go on. Hence the hype takes precedence over moral responsibility.

Also, listen closely to Al Sharpton. At the core of his argument is the premise that racism should not be tolerated on F.C.C. controlled, public owned airwaves. In other words, he wants the government to control people, that he percieves, have a certain set of beliefs. Once again, if a person were to publicly state they are a racist, does that mean that they should not be allowed on the radio? After all, said person would be a member of the public and part owner of the airwaves. As radio is a commercial enterprise it wouldn’t fly. People would be offended and not tune in. Sharpton seems to want to change the system and have radio governed based on people’s beliefs and ideas.

On to something else. When I was a kid, I vividly remember watching Hank Aaron surpass Babe Ruth’s home run record. It was exciting. It was part of what has made me a life-long fan of the game. Aaron was the model of consistency. The lesson was a good one, be consistent and you can accomplish great things. On the other hand, Aaron was shy by nature and not a media hound. He went through some deplorable things, death threats and hate mail, during his chase. The media was different back then also and they allowed Aaron to have glory in the moment.

Barry Bonds will likely break Aaron’s record this year and Aaron says he wants no part of it. The perception, of course, is that Aaron disapproves of Bonds because of his alleged steroid use. Whether or not Aaron sees it that way, I don’t know, but that is the perception. There is no way to prove retroactively whether Bonds doped on his way to the record. So, his record will stand. It makes me sad that a new generation of fans will not experience the same excitement that I did as a boy watching Aaron.

Plugs:
If you are an indie artist/band check out my friend Dave at AirplayPro.com. He has started a new company that is doing radio promotion. This is an area where it definately helps to have someone representing you. Dave is a rare type in the music biz. He is willing to do the actual work involved in promotiom, he will hype for you but not hype you.

Also, if you are in the area come see us Saturday night at the Bearded Clam in Kimberling City, MO. If you would like to come to the show and stay the night, the Clam has rooms available for a discounted rate of $40.00. Contact me by e-mail or call the club manager, Tony, at 417-739-4440 to get a room.