Holding my breath and taking the plunge

I'll say it: I don't think Imus should have been fired.

This doesn't mean that I am defending what he said. Not at all. It was beyond offensive. Completely uncalled for and hurtful.

However. I think that it became something so much bigger than it needed to be. Anyone who has listened to Imus' show knows that he says horrible, offensive things on a regular basis. And he's an equal opportunity offender.

He's on the same station here in the morning that the Mets are broadcast on at night, so often I will have that station on in my car or in my kitchen. When I want background noise, I'll keep it on, and there have been many times when I've been absolutely shocked by what he says. This is who he is, what he does. He shocks.

Not that that excuses him. But it's not as if someone like Brian Williams or Paula Zahn made the statement. You have to consider the source.

Does he have a responsibility to take care what he says when he has a national radio show? Absolutely. Should he be punished for going too far? Absolutely. Should he lose his job? In my opinion, no.

I do think that he recognizes he made a huge mistake. Though I will admit I'm not sure he would have recognized that on his own; Al Sharpton made sure he recognized it. But now that he's crystal clear on it, I believe he's truly sorry for it. I think he's done what should be done: public apologies, meeting with Al Sharpton on his show, meeting with the Rutgers team to apologize to them.

Much of what I've heard discussed around here is how degrading to women many of the rap songs by African-American artists are. And I'm not so naive as to think that the rules are the same for what black people say about other black people vs. what white people say. I get that. But the degradation of women does exist and is quite prevalent in these rap songs. I know this because I'm very familiar with this music. I think it's more than a little hypocritical for Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson to turn a blind eye to what is happening right under their noses and focus their attention on Imus.

Part of my problem with the whole thing, as I was discussing with a friend last night, is that I wished that the team had not "given" Imus as much power as they did. Something along the lines of "sticks and stones...."

I started writing this last night, and then this morning I saw The Today Show and a short segment with Jason Whitlock, who writes for the Kansas City Star. He was able to articulate what it was I was trying to say so much better than I could, and he also wrote about it in his paper if you are interested.

Perhaps I'm not being politically correct in taking this stance. I can see how someone might think that. I also know that Imus and his wife have done a lot of good things with their ranch in New Mexico, helping children with cancer and their families. And they continue to raise money for children's charities.

He made a HUGE mistake. He said something really stupid. No doubt about it.

But he's not that powerful, and those young women should not have been made into victims the way they were.