(no subject)

[aether8m]

I've always disliked Don Imus, and could never stand to hear his show even as a coworker's background noise.
...but the idea of someone getting canned under such circumstances runs counter to my idea of civil society on so many levels.

• Truth: Coarseness is a form of honesty, or at very least honesty about one's own views. It should be punishable by disagreement, not vindictive outrage. This is the essence of a communication-based society: bad ideas are eventually die out by being surpassed rather than crushed: one has to have faith that good ideas will eventually rise above the vile ones, and that they can do so without the risk of harming individuals solely becuase their ideas don't fit.
• Substance: The implicit bargain of being "offended" is that one is genuinely offended and not just running through the motions. Imus almost certainly did not mean to say "those are kinky-haired women of dubious sexual virtue" and if the offended party on some level knows that this is the case, then it is dishonest to play at being hurt. (Also: This sort of angry-but-fragile crap got us liberals in trouble back in our heydays....its a way of overreaching the moral imperitive behind society's goodwill toward your situation, and nobody takes it kindly. There's plenty of genuine racism in the world that demands genuine attention, K?)
• Words: A turn of phrase is a turn of phrase, and its in poor taste to disect a turn of phrase into it's component words and hold the speaker accountable. Sometimes phrases contain words that are substantially more problematic than the phrase itself, especially when plucked from their context, and no speaker can be reasonably expected to examine the contextual implications of every word in ever catchy phrase they repeat. It is kind and respectful to maintain an awareness of these things, but it should never be an expectation.
• Atonement: People should be allowed to apologize, and they deserve forgiveness if these apologies are sincere. This is especially so in cases where cultural concerns (in this case, the division between interpretations of the terms in question) obscure boundries of acceptability. "I had no idea this would get under your skin so badly" is just cause for forgiveness, since the offense was from ignorance rather than malice.