Playing the race card, turning a profit

The actions that have resulted from Don Imus's derogatory comments about the Rutgers women's basketball team offer an interesting glimpse into the interworkings of our society, especially in the realms of capitalization and personal gain. Kia Vaughn, a star player for Rutgers, has filed a lawsuit seeking monetary damages against Imus, C Vivian Stringer, the head coach of Rutgers, has received a book contract out of the deal, and the media has profited directing this soap opera. Yet I am left wondering at the end of the day what real harm, if any, was caused by Imus's comments? There is no doubt that Imus's words were insensitive, derogatory and told with the wit of a fifth grader, but they were nothing more than offensive. What has resulted through the continued attempt to capitalize off of the incident is offensive.

Don Imus is a foolish bigot, a fairly worthless member of society, and ignorant to boot, but that doesn't make him any lesser of a member of society, one founded on the belief of freedom of speech. Our society attacks many of it's problems backwards, being reactive in punishing wrongdoers rather than proactive in reforming the cause. You cannot simply eliminate a voice like Imus and expect bigotry and racism to cease to exist. Only through education and a more equally structured society will that come about, yet the energies of the media and civil rights groups have been expended villanizing Don Imus. The fact is regardless of how offensive his words were, Don Imus had an American right to say them. In keeping with the status quo, the media ignored the constitution. Imus was wrong, but the national reaction was worse. Since when did offending someone become a criminal act?

I am troubled more by the actions of Kia Vaughn and the opportunistic firestorm created by C. Vivian Stringer at the press conference she called, escalating this into a media frenzy, in light of her upcoming 2008 autobiography "Stepping Up and Standing Tall". Again, Imus was wrong with what he said, but he did nothing more than offend. Calling a press conference over such an act is unprecedented, and it clearly built up the national interest, as it was no doubt intended to. Did you here the dramatic wavering in coach Stringer's voice? Did you hear the drama in her words? She used that stage, a nationally televised press conference, to make this event up to be much more than it ever was. C. Vivian Stringer recognized this occasion as an opportunity to push herself and her team into the spotlight, and they've played it for all that they could. This was opportunism defined, as our nation's been played by the race card. Below is a link to the transcript from the Rutgers press conference.

https://lists.riseup.net/www/arc/ezilidanto/2007-04/msg00004.html

Vaughn has now filed a lawsuit against Don Imus, CBS radio, MSNBC, Westwood One, Viacom and surely anyone else who she can induce a settlement from. It seems money will help mend the wounds she has incurred from being labeled as a 'nappy headed ho', as if anyone took the claim literally. All of this comes after Vaughn accepted Imus's apology, as did the rest of her team, though clearly money is what matters to Vaughn. Playing the race card in such incidents where opportunism is apparent further divides the racial lines. There is one quote from C. Vivian Stringer's speech though I felt rang true, perhaps the most telling point she made: "And as much as I speak about that, it's not even black and white: the color is green." We all would have been better to realize that.

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