Reconciling the double standard, post-Imus

Two days after Don Imus was fired for calling the Rutgers women’s basketball team “nappy-headed hos,” I was attending Carter James Robinson’s first birthday party at his home in Inglewood, Calif. Carter, a black toddler who has just learned to walk, didn’t crack a smile all day, but a good time was had by all.

What was particularly amazing about that gathering was that Carter was surrounded by a slew of kids who didn’t look like him. His guests included Asian, Latino and biracial kids who were all playing together happily and dancing to old Jackson 5 records.

Things only got messy when the kids started eating cake.

The adults, who included a pair of delightful Caucasian senior citizens from next door, played nice, too. Some were quick to point out that they wished their lives could be so simple.

It was a beautiful thing.

That party also gave me an opportunity to step away from the Imus controversy and breathe again. I hadn’t realized how contentious that incident would get until I got some hate mail about 10 minutes after the column I wrote on Imus and freedom of speech had been posted on this site. In the ensuing days, hundreds of you would write expressing your perspectives on this situation. And although all of the letters were enlightening on some level, there were some folks who shattered my theory that life in America could ever be like a kid’s birthday party.

It’s not. We can’t seem to have our cake and enjoy it, too.

Some of you called me the N-word or worse. Some of you said that you use the N-word frequently and would use it more often now that Imus had been axed.

I feel for you.

Some of you compared me to Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. One of you said the three of us should burn in hell for what we had done to Imus.

I pray for you.

And even though that column really wasn’t about race, some of you said things that forced me to check myself.

You, I thank.

Looking at the double standard
The majority of you, however, were very kind and supportive and brought up very valid points about the double-standard issue in this country as it relates to race relations. Why can’t white people like Imus use the word “ho” without fear of reprimand when some rappers use it in every rhyme they drop?

Video: Don Imus fired Anything to learn from Imus? April 13: Keith Olbermann and satirist Harry Shearer discuss what lessons — if any — to take away from the Don Imus case. The power of words and race CBS fires Don Imus Maya Angelou reacts to Imus' firing Implications of the Imus controversy BET's co-founder reacts to Imus' firing Analyzing the Imus fallout Digital brush fire helped doom Imus? Inside Imus' meeting with Rutgers Original shock jock fires back The Imus story Can Imus come back? 'The second shoe of justice dropped' NBC News chief discusses Imus firing Innis blames 'hip hop music' for Imus' remark

How can black comedians like Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle trash white people in their stand-up routines and it’s OK? But if a white person utters the words “ho” even in jest, officers Jackson and Sharpton descend upon them like a flock of locusts. Dems fightin’ words.

This issue has been debated back-and-forth during the past few days in just about every newspaper in America, and on about every chat show from “Dateline” to “Oprah.” Kansas City Star sports columnist Jason Whitlock has called for Jackson and Sharpton to stop their showboating and step down as America’s unelected black leaders.

He ain’t the only one.

Oprah, who admitted that this issue frightened her, hosted a two-day town hall summit to discuss what we could do about the double standards that exist in this country. I don’t blame her for being scared. I am, too. This issue is far too complex, complicated and contentious to try and solve in two 60-minute broadcasts or in one online commentary.

We can’t just deal with the here and now because it takes you back to the Middle Passage and beyond. The Imus debacle has subsequently led to discussions about slavery, the Civil War, the Great Depression, Hitler, Brown vs. the Board of Education, Emmett Till, the Little Rock Nine, the March on Selma, Martin Luther King Jr., the Klan, the ’60s, the ’70s, Jimmy the Greek, Rodney King, O.J., Jesse “Hymie Town” Jackson, Al “Tawana Brawley” Sharpton, rappers, Mel Gibson, Michael Richards, Rosie O’Donnell, Isaiah Washington and countless others who have made public snafus when it comes to race.

So many players, so much debate, so few answers.

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