What Did You Say?

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I was channel surfing last night and I see that "Dog, The Bounty Hunter" is back on the air. Didn't he use the "N" word in a tape recorded conversation in which he was chiding his son for dating an African-American woman? He sure did and can't deny it. And, he didn't say it once... he said it several times in the conversation. He said "I'm not going to let you and these ___________ destroy everything I've worked for", among other things.

America was "shocked and appalled. In fact, America leads the world in being "shocked and appalled when it comes to racism. A&E TV immediately pulled the show off of its schedule. I couldn't even find it on ON DEMAND. They expressed their "outrage" at this language and said that what he said was not the position of the station. That was last year. Now that things have quieted down and several other people (Don Imus comes to mind) have put their foot in their mouths, the network has quietly put Dog back on the air.

I didn't want to bring Don Imus back up because I have already done a post on him and given him more publicity than he deserves... but, wasn't it also last year when he made his "nappy headed hos" statement, which also shocked and appalled America and got him tossed off the air too. Now a year later, he quietly got a new contract and is also back on the air. He's even been involved in yet another controversy and is STILL on the air! Now, it's my turn to be shocked and appalled.

I truly do believe in freedom of speech and I'll even defend these idiots' right to say things that are considered to be a defamation of my race under the guise of freedom of speech. I will go as far as to say that I wouldn't have fired either one of them for what they said. It's protected by their right to free speech. I just wouldn't patronize them or their sponsors... that's my right
too.

I never watched "Dog, The Bounty Hunter" before he said the "N" word and I doubt that I will watch him now that he's back on the air. I do, however, have a few buddies who watched him and then, stopped watching him once he said the "N" word. Now that he's back on the air, I'm sure that enough time has gone by and they will resume watching him.

Here is the rub... Dog and Imus were not tossed off the air because their networks or radio stations were outraged at their perceived racism and small mindedness. They were tossed off the air because to continue to keep them on the air would be a loss of revenue (i.e. sponsors).

The networks and the radio stations don't really care about black people. They care enough not to want to piss us off in the short run but, they know about our limited attention spans. They know that we watch a lot of television... probably more than the average white consumer and that, while we may be mad at Dog or Imus for a minute, we are still going to buy that product... and, if they placate us for a year or however they can slap those guys on the wrists and say, "Watch your mouth next time", they can put them right back on the air and all is forgiven and forgotten.

For all the cry and hue about Don Imus and his "nappy headed hos" comment, nobody said a word when he quietly came back on the air in April. Nobody said a word when comedian D.L. Hughley agreed with what he said and even called the girls "ugly" on Jay Leno (The Tonight Show) and on conservative talk show host, Glenn Beck's TV show. See, they know all about us. They know we don't really have each other's back and, if we don't care, they damn sure don't care.

Actually, they really just wanted to placate Al Sharpton... keep him from making too much of a fuss. So, let me pose a question to all of my black brothers and sisters out there who might think I'm making too much out of nothing. If you think I'm full of it, ask yourself this... When do you think America will "forgive" O.J. Simpson? Do you think he'll ever do another Avis commercial? When will America ever forgive Michael Vick? When he gets out of jail, do you think he'll get another starting quarterback job? Do you think he'll do commercials for anything? (And hell, all he offended was dogs). Now, let's go beyond black people... Mel Gibson made slanderous remarks about Jews two years ago. Tell me, how many movies have you seen him in since? I'm just asking... really I am. Yet these two men, Dog and Imus can slander our sisters, call us NIGGER (let's stop with this "N" word crap), and still have a second chance. I just want you to think about that...

I'm not watching Dog and I'm not listening to Imus. I never did but, if I had watched them and they said that crap, I wouldn't watch or listen, just out of solidarity. How many of you out there feel the same?