Question:
I enjoy your column very much, but your answer was really off on this one.

The reason white people under 40 are accustomed to speaking to black people in slang is because GenXers and MillGens live a highly INTEGRATED life. The fact is, because of athletic scholarships and affirmative-action programs, there are a lot of uninformed, inarticulate black people on college campuses, and white people have a lot of exposure to the “Ebonic” dialect during the years at school and thereafter.

Black people say the things that Don Imus was fired for all the time and yet the black leadership refuses to call them out on it. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton serve as enablers.

The reason your reader is confused is because she doesn’t comprehend that white people will not stand for a double standard, even if black people think they are entitled to one.

Answer:
I’ve met plenty of “uninformed and inarticulate” people; most of them were white. This is a function of proportion: Most people in this country are white, and I find that ignorance is a fairly equal problem across all groups.

Although I hear language from comedians and music talent that is simply disgraceful and could not be used in a professional environment by anyone, none of the black people I know condone a double standard (quite the opposite). If you follow the money on who is profiting from the garbage-language hip hop and comedy, it is white people that consume most of the product and white people who own and control most of the production and distribution channels. This too is a function of proportion–and of exploitation and privilege.

You’re right, younger generations are more diverse; however, our public-school system has never been more segregated. Your opinions indicate a sheltered and closed life, which is a symptom of living in those conditions. People who limit themselves like you apparently tend to rely on stereotypes to help frame their world in terms that their small minds can comprehend.

I suggest you focus less on pundits and more on people actually in the situation–in the case of Imus, you can review comments from people like Coach C. Vivian Stringer, Bruce Gordon (CBS board member) and Gwen Ifill (PBS commentator who was called a “cleaning woman” by Imus). I think you’ll find their comments to be much more relevant and informative. I also think the waffling exhibited by NBC and CBS executives speaks very eloquently for itself. They didn’t make a choice until sponsors made their next step obvious: A show without sponsors would be described by the IRS as a “hobby.”

In my opinion, the major “mainstream” networks and publications demonstrate a very unsophisticated and limited worldview when they turn to the same people in every case involving African Americans. It serves their audience and advertisers as well as having Ralph Reed be the sole spokesperson for white men in every case that involves them.

In closing, I appreciate your e-mail. It would be very boring to receive nothing but e-mail that agrees with me. Here is some unsolicited advice: Please consider broadening your reality. A closed mind is the greatest limitation to fulfilling potential.

The post ‘Uninformed and Inarticulate’ appeared first on DiversityInc.

The news about MSNBC dropping Don Imus’ simulcast is not surprising. From a purely business standpoint, Imus is no longer worth retaining. Regardless of what audience he may command in the future, sponsors have backed off and a radio/television program without advertising is an expense, not a business proposition.

What is astonishing to me is that it took this long for MSNBC to make a decision. I have to believe that this is a “Joe Biden” moment—I can imagine the conference rooms stuffed with white guys who imagine they’re “hip” and “colorblind” scratching their heads in confounded amazement over the furor and taking the half measures that seal their fate to having this incident cause more damage than a quick and righteous decision would have made.

Imus clearly hit a nerve. In almost 10 years of publishing DiversityInc.com, we’ve never received more e-mails on any other subject—thousands of e-mails, most of them demanding Imus be fired. I think he hit the perfect storm of sensitivity:

·         The final game of women’s college basketball, which overall has enjoyed a sharp upswing in popularity

·         The scholar/athlete Rutgers players embodied what most parents hope for in a daughter

·         The Rutgers coach is an especially charismatic woman leader who demands high academic and athletic standards from her team members

·         Rutgers itself has become newsworthy, having its first good college football season since I was an undergraduate (more than 25 years ago)

·         Imus looks bizarre and the Rutgers women look wholesome, making this good fodder for web and television video

·         A slow news week

There are several general lessons our corporate readers can take away from this:

·         Racial incidents will always transcend the race of the victim(s). Why? Twenty-two percent of U.S. families have a biracial component, more than 28 percent of our population is people of color, and almost half of the children in our country under 10 are children of color. “Mainstream” is dead—it’s not 1965 anymore. 

·         Your sponsors will leave. The more progressive the company, the quicker they’ll drop you, and the more time you take to make a decision, the wider the impact will be out of concern about further incidents due to retro-minded management (note that the DiversityInc Top 50 list contains many of our nation’s largest advertisers)

·         What you say is relevant; what other people have said (i.e. rap artists) is not relevant

·         Michael Richards and Imus have comprehensively proved that you do yourself no favors by going to a pundit’s show to “apologize”

·         Quick and forthright action can be positive

·         Delayed response and half-measures only serve to infuriate people

It is worthwhile to note the reasoning behind the e-mails we received from people who support Imus.

Rap artists came up often. A double standard (where some people can use certain lingo, but others cannot) is not sustainable. Words like “ho,” the N-word and other hate speech should be reprehensible to everyone. People who feel the same way should focus on music companies who profit from the sale of music with garbage lyrics and make efforts to not support any of their products. We’ll be producing some articles about this in the future. It is my impression that there is a growing consensus over this subject—across racial communities.

Another common theme was “get over it” and that churlish phrase’s cohorts “freedom of speech” and “politically correct.” If you have these sentiments, you may want to take a more pragmatic approach because they are not going to lead to understanding the market/community/world you’re in and will lead to bad decisions. Even if you can’t wrap your arms around the ethical argument, consider it from a purely business standpoint. In this case, sponsors “got over it” by going away. Yes, you have “freedom of speech,” but the first amendment provides no protection against repercussions. “Politically correct” is the last gasp of people who don’t understand that our society has moved past the time when the majority could trample on the rights and feelings of other people without substantial backlash.

One more thing about sponsors leaving: The progressive companies in the DiversityInc Top 50 average 45 percent people of color (POC) in their new hires compared with 28 percent POC in the work force. Twenty-four percent of their management is POC versus 12 percent nationwide. Racial incidents are no longer a side issue for companies like this. What these companies do and how they’re perceived affect everything, including employee morale and retention. It’s really hard to be proud of a company that exhibits no moral fiber, and in our “YouTube” society, you have a “New York minute” to make the right choice.

The post All About Don Imus appeared first on DiversityInc.