What ever happened to free speech?

April 15, 2007 12:10 am

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I do not like Don Imus, however I feel his termination is unjust. His words, though hurtful, are HIS words and do not reflect on anyone else. Everyone knows you cannot control what each person on live airwaves has to say. He said it. He owned it. The networks over-reacted.
What ever happened to FREE SPEECH? When did corporations and other journalists start refusing to stand behind their/other artists’ freedom of speech? They should be defending Mr. Imus rather than persecuting him.
Why is he the fall guy? Why didn’t anyone demand the termination of Ann Coulter when she referred to John Edwards as a “fag?” Why didn’t Al Sharpton get run out of town each of the times he’s talked about Jews? And let’s not forget Jesse Jackson’s “Hymie-town” comment.
The Ku Klux Klan can assemble and shout the “N” word repeatedly and every network will cover it. Rappers, almost to a man, refer continuously to women as “bitches ... ho’s ...” and even worse. They use the “N” word every other breath. I bet Mr. Sharpton, Mr. Jackson, Mr. Sharpton’s daughter and most of the Rutgers Basketball team spend money on CD’s to hear the promulgation of racism, albeit their own.
Imus was wrong. But he was within his Constitutional rights to say what he did. If it bothers anyone, quit listening to him.

Dennis A. Snider
Meridian