I miss Imus already

I usually catch part of Don Imus' radio show in the morning, at least the portion that's also broadcast on MSNBC. I don't always agree with the guy, but I like that he's willing to be politically incorrect in a politically correct society and that he doesn't pander to politicians, stars or the public.

But now Mr. Imus has incurred the wrath of THE OFFENDED. THE OFFENDED is a group constantly on alert for things that might hurt their feelings. In this case, Don Imus used the term "nappy-headed hos" to describe the look of the Rutgers University women's basketball team. Of course, I and a lot of other folks didn't hear this racially insensitive remark until THE OFFENDED rose up and brought it to the forefront, the same way they did when Michael Richards went looney and used the n-word while being heckled during a stand-up routine. Now it's all over TV, radio and in the papers. By golly, everybody's heard it now.

Imus has been suspended for a couple of weeks, but THE OFFENDED want him fired, burned at the stake and fed to alligators. I guess that one remark negates every positive thing the guy's done, including supporting our troops, holding politicians' feet to the fire and running a ranch in New Mexico for kids with cancer to have the times of their lives. (By the way, Imus says 10 percent of the kids who come to the ranch are black.)

I agree that what Imus said is insensitive, and the guy has apologized profusely. But where do you think Imus got the term "hos" from? Think he heard it from his rich white friends in the Northeast or some white ranch hands in New Mexico? No, this term came from the hip-hop culture. Hip-hop artists who've used the term and popularized it and put it into the mainstream so that folks like Imus now know it are honored for their work, lauded, awarded, praised and have become role models for a generation.

I will give the Rev. Al Sharpton props for having decried the term's use and the other negative effects of the hip-hop culture long before this incident, although not as vehemently as he will attack any offense committed by a white person. But if he and THE OFFENDED find this so offensive, they're focusing their battle in the wrong area. They need to demand that Ice-T, 50 Cent, Jay-Z and their ilk be fired. That those who produced their records be fired. That those who sell their records be fired. They need to focus on the origin of the problem, not the result of it. It's simple cause and effect. Attack the cause, not the effect.

Criticizing Imus for picking up on this word so popularized by hip-hop is like blaming your next-door-neighbor's Suburban for global warming.

And I seriously doubt this much of a stink would have been raised had this phrase been uttered on "The Tom Joyner Morning Show." Someone would have complained, but you probably wouldn't have had to hear this phrase over and over. Drop the double standard. It's either wrong or it's not. And in the meantime, if you're determined to be offended by something, find something a bit more relevant to society than a shock jock's morning show.