The Fact That Don Imus Raised Nearly $1 For Charity In The First 5 Hours Of His Annual Telethon Lost In Smear Attacks On His Reputation
The important fact that embattled shock jock radio host Don Imus raised nearly $1 million for children's charity on this Thursday morning was ignored by nearly every critic out to destroy his reputation and career. Each year, Imus holds an annual telethon on this date, which is why CBS owned radio allowed his suspension to start next week. Interestingly, MSNBC allows Imus to do his show at their studios, but did not offer the broadcast on TV. So far MSNBC hasn't offered to replace any funds lost in this annual charity event.
But a major critic of Imus, Rev. Jesse Jackson is now put under a new spotlight since the Duke Lacrosse Team players had all charges dropped by the North Carolina Attorney General yesterday. When the claimed rape incident took place a little over a year ago, Jackson had pledged that, "I can't wait...to talk with her and have prayer with her, because our organization is committed, when she's physically and emotionally able...to provide her scholarship money to finish school so she will never... again have to stoop low to survive". Unlike Imus who actually delivers funds to children, Jackson never even met with the woman who claimed that she was raped, nor has he pledged her any funds to complete her education as promised, or refunded any funds made by donors to her education that were collected. Jackson wants to be taken seriously as a critic of Imus, out to destroy the reputation of the shock jock, yet it is Jackson who made a phony public show out of raising funds for the woman and not delivering.
In the Bible an important story of Jesus warns those who are not without fault, not to find fault in others. More and more, the serious shortcomings of both Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are coming up to the surface. Both are devoted to ruining the right of Don Imus to even earn a living, yet both Sharpton and Jackson seriously have failed their followers time after time and have a real long way to go to catch up with the character of Don Imus who actually helps children with his charity events unlike others who seem best at merely helping themselves first.
posted by Paul Hooson @ 11:20 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Paul I appreciate not being the only one that supports Imus in this matter. I see it as a double standard as to what's acceptable for some Americans to say and what isn't, for instance rap lyrics. I have never heard of Jackson or Sharpton denouncing the artists behind these lyrics by going after there jobs. I heard Steve Harvey say on his show, "If black people want to talk about each other a certain way, that's their option," he said. "Mr. Imus, you don't have that option. You can't say what I say." That is not only a double standard but also racial separatism. If this nation is going to move forward as far as race is concerned, blacks need to clean there own houses before trying to clean ours.
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment here, I deeply appreciate it.
There are so many problems with both Sharpton and Jackson making a political issue out of the small joke that failed on the Imus show that it is not funny. The hypocrisy on some music lyrics you cite are just one good example.
I actually voted for Jesse Jackson in the 1988 Democratic Primary here in Oregon, because I thought he was a far better man than he really seems to be the more you know about him. When Imus actually raises significant amounts of money for charity running into the millions, but Jackson simply held up his claim that he was going to give a full scholarship from his Rainbow Push Organization funds to the claimed Duke rape victim, but never did it after persons from all over American sent in contributions to Jackson's organization for this specific purpose, then his integrity is certainly under some question.
This also raises questions whether Jackson's organization solicits donations under false pretenses from good natured persons, and then fails to deliver these funds which could be anywhere from woefully inept to a criminal violation of law. By comparison, Imus broke no laws when he merely told an ill-cenceived joke about the Rutgers team that flopped. Jackson needs to come clean with what happened to all the donations towards the scholarship fund that were never delivered as promised. People at first felt sorry for what appeared to be a crime victim, and the amount of donations that Jackson's organization received may have been very significant, but by Jackson's own admission on CNN's Anderson Cooper were never delivered as promised.
The precedent that has been set now that Imus has been fired is terrible. In reality this may kill the radio has a means of political discourse and entertainment, because they are now aiming for anybody that says something "offensive." It sets a precedent for every group known to put their ears on the radio to complain to radio companies and remove the jocks that may utter something they don't like. This is a sad day for radio and America as a whole.
Post a Comment
<< Home