Quoth TulipGirl on my Double Standard for Free Speech post:
And then there is another double standardâ????that in which other entertainers (comedians and rappers come to mind readily) say racist and degrading things regularly, and are rewarded with record contracts and adoring fans and not held accountable. As they should be, and as Imus was.
I agree most heartily.
While lying awake last night listening to CNN Headline News, I heard about some in the music industry defending the use of racial and gender-based slurs toward women in music, saying that they should be standing with Imus instead of going against him. According to Russell Simmons, “hiphop is a phenomena that transcends race…” Ummm… no.
What makes it right for rappers and hiphop stars to use the N-word, call women “ho’s”, and have scantily clad women making suggestive movements in their videos, yet at the same time call for Imus to be fired for the comments he made about the Rutgers women’s basketball team? Either words are simply words or we have a serious double standard here that needs to be rectified.