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Racism's well runs deep
Anonymity online reveals continuing viciousness
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Never one to miss the opportunity to jump on a bandwagon, let me say that Don Imus should've been fired. He should've been fired for making offensive, inappropriate and racist remarks on his radio show about the Rutgers women's basketball team. He also should've been fired on general principle for being arrogant and stupid.
Only somebody who is incredibly stupid or so incredibly full of himself to believe he is untouchable would dare to say what Imus did.
Imus has a history of making offensive remarks and getting away with it, but this time, by referring to the Rutgers team as "nappy-headed hos," he crossed a line that even someone with his fame and influence could not survive.
Imus is currently out of work, but nobody should shed tears for the newest member of the jobless ranks. I doubt he will be standing in the unemployment line any time soon. Imus is a rich man. Chances are he will be even richer after he completes the obligatory TV and radio talk-show circuit in which he will reveal he is a good man who made a bad mistake for which he is utterly and eternally sorry.
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In due time, people will forgive and forget, and the Imus fuss will fade until such time that he will reappear to claim he was the victim of overzealous political correctness. He will probably end up back on the radio as a wronged man with a cause. Forgive the cynicism, but we've seen this scenario before, and we all know how it plays out.
Imus claims he is not a racist. Whether he is or not, the furor caused by his remarks was about racism. Judgment and retribution were swift. And the final result was that we can comfort and congratulate ourselves that the racist has been exposed, the racism purged and the scourge eliminated.
We know better.
We know that racism exists in our society and in our county, and we assume we all agree it is bad because of the hatred, divisiveness and frequent violence it spawns.
But it is not the racism of the Don Imuses that concerns us. The obvious we can deal with. It can be exposed, stomped on, universally disavowed. It helps us teach our children the important lesson and allows us to reaffirm our values.
What concerns us is that we don't know how to deal with the ever-present, yet not so obvious racism. We are aware of the racism that is hidden behind veils of nuance, delusion, misdirection and anonymity, but we are at a loss as to how to attack it. There is a subtlety to it that makes it insidious and, at the same time, paralyzes us from acting.
The great civil rights legislation of the '60s was necessary and a bright moment in our nation's history. It was a national statement against racism and a firm pledge not to tolerate it. However, it did not end racism, but forced it to mutate like a bacteria that develops a resistance to antibiotics. The new strain, while far less obvious, is no less virulent.
As well hidden as this strain of racism has become, it still can be seen. One need look no further than the "Comments" that appear on our Web site, VenturaCountyStar.com, to see racism in its modern manifestation. The debate about illegal immigration provides ideal cover. Of course, there are legitimate and wholly appropriate concerns about illegal immigration. But there are those, and they aren't too difficult to spot, whose objections are more about race than immigration.
We have enabled these folks to spew their racism by allowing anonymity with minimal editing in the comments. Free from that accountability, they are emboldened to say what they would never have the courage to say publicly. We don't monitor the comments as much as we depend on the other commenters to alert us to the outrageous and inappropriate. And when alerted, we try to move promptly to remove the offensive material.
Some are quite clever. They go right to the line, even walk on it awhile, but never take the step over. They leave just enough doubt that one can't be absolutely sure of their intentions. Our intention was to encourage unrestricted interaction with readers; the unintended consequence was to create a forum for racism.
We are not alone. Every newspaper that has allowed anonymous comments has had the same complaint: It is quickly populated by racists and racist remarks. Like many others, we are looking for a more appropriate form for comments. We are not going to dump the comments, but we are going to be more vigilant. We also ask those who participate in the comments to assist us by not only alerting us, but to also publicly denounce this disease whenever it appears.
Regardless of what one thinks about Don Imus and his comments, the one thing that is clearly evident from this whole episode is that we still have a long and difficult road ahead in dealing with racism. Imus' firing won't change that, only our actions will.
Joe R. Howry is editor of The Star. He can be reached by phone at 437-0200 or by e-mail at jhowry@VenturaCountyStar.com.
Posted by tkuhlman1 on April 15, 2007 at 12:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Tread very carefully there Mr. Howry or you will be open to the same reverse racism that Mr. Imus in being accused of. It always amazes me how one person can be chastised and ridiculed for using a statement or term in the exact same manner as another. The only difference being the color of the skin of the person saying it. And since you bring it up, when one attempts to argue farm worker or illegal immigrant status in this county, one assumes its detrimental to Hispanics and then automatically racist. Takes about two minutes for the race card to be played even when the word Hispanic is not even mentioned in the originating piece and we don’t see those posts being eliminated now do we. Its reverse racism and its wrong. The terms Mr. Imus used are nothing compared to the “Rapper” language that is so prevalent in this day and age of wanna be gangsta’s. You fire a shot across the bow of the anonymous blogger and course it must be the racist leviathan in our midst. Be very careful Mr. Howry, let ye who has not sinned cast the first stone. Check your reverse racism at the journalistic door if you please. The line you say these folks are walking, but not crossing, is not that thin anymore, and in fact is growing larger every day. The way I see it, you’re standing on it right now. Careful not to step on any toes!
Posted by Equitable_Enforcer on April 15, 2007 at 1:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Mr. Howry: I have seen very little true racism when reading blogs or postings to articles on this site. I don't try to imagine what could be on the other side of some imaginary line ... I look at what is. What I have seen frequently are accusations of racism against individuals who propose workable solutions to the increasing gang problems in our county when said proposals are not in line with what is commonly referred to as political correctness.
It may surprise you to learn that some of the individuals I'm talking about are bi-lingual and are active as volunteers in their "spare time" with families in the Spanish speaking community to assist them in bridging the cultural gap so that they can achieve the American dream.
Just because somebody disagrees with your approach as espoused by the paper's editorial policy doesn't mean that they are racist. As a matter of fact, I have heard from Asians, Hispanics and Anglos who believe that you yourself are creating prejudice by your slant to the news.
Posted by tkuhlman1 on April 15, 2007 at 5:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)
So this is what its come to. Someone goes down a list of "suggest removal" listings on the forums, reads and determines whether they stay or go. So the next time someone disagrees with a particular point, alls they have to do is click away. Go figure. So who is the new "SR" Czar or is it still "moderator"? Further liberal bias pure and simple. Wouldn't want to hurt anyones feelings now would we. Sometimes the truth hurts Mr. Howry.
Posted by KC on April 15, 2007 at 6:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Hey Joe,
If Don Imus were black, would you still have posted this editorial describing him as "stupid and arrogant"? I don't think so. Besides, if he were black, I doubt we would have all of the hub-hub. One has to wonder: is freedom of speech no longer applicable to white people?
Posted by Ventura22 on April 15, 2007 at 10:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Well, here we see it again; negative publicity will make this individual a star and garner up more support for his so-called cause. He will no doubt find a way to thrive on all the bad press he is getting; free publicity! I didn't even know who this moron was until all the fuss started.
The best way to deal with these types of people is to ignore them and they will go away quietly. Without an audience, they have no source of income. We have too many loudmouths with no legitimate jobs out there (usually those who have a prefix of "reverend" or "doctor") that have no other purpose in life other than to bring attention to people who should be ignored. Great job Al...
Posted by ed.fitzhenry on April 19, 2007 at 12:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Imus is an idiot. I think he and Howard Stern should fight to the death...for both of them!
Posted by ebrockway on April 23, 2007 at 6:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)
You know Howry you're right, I have seen racism here, fairly blatant racism. As mentioned above, whenever controlling the flow of illegal immigration in and of the comments or forums, (especially the comments) there are the inevitable attacks calling the commenter “Trailer Trash”, “Racist”, “Xenophobe”, etc. This of course is perfectly fine with you I suppose?
Don’t know what “line” you refer to in your Opinion nearly being crossed, but I imagine it’s no doubt the one you’d say I’m walking on now, the one where I mention Illegal Immigration, but don’t actually mention a country of origin.
Sir, I don’t care what country one sneaks in from. I don’t want them sneaking in, using our resources, burning up our taxes.
Deal with it.
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