The punishment for Don Imus has been handed down, but he’s not the only one who should bear the brunt of the responsibility. He’s like that guy at the cocktail party who tells an inappropriate joke but everyone laughs because they’re either uncomfortable or worse yet, they think it’s funny. Who’s to blame? Imus is a public figure with a huge forum, so he should continue to be held accountable for his actions, but so should all of his listeners. He never would have said what he did if he thought it wouldn’t get a laugh.
I’m not defending Imus and I’m not vilifying his listeners, but we’re all guilty of believing stereotypes, harboring misconceptions, and chuckling at the expense of various groups, so there’s plenty of fault to go around.
It’s unfortunate that all of this has to come in the wake of a stellar season in which a group of talented, inspiring, young women achieved extraordinary feats of athleticism, but maybe all of this ugliness will make people see that we haven’t come as far as we would like to believe.
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