New York
The nappy headed host-- geriatric and syndicated, cynical and simulcast-- wielded a weapon of words with no idea how pointed it was. He punctured the veneer of acceptability that coats professional media hatemongers and slipped in the putrid mess that was revealed.
That wound needs to be cleansed.
The bigoted phrase has slipped into the national lingo and is thrown around casually, carelessly, stupidly, repetitively. While the nation wiped the gore off video screens and water coolers, fingers were pointed, apologies were made and the tragic normalization of broadcast bigotry was recognized.
Yet it is not an individual syndicated slimeball or particular bigoted phrase that is at fault; it is not a single form of music or art that is the cause of a pervasive problem.
The pervasiveness is the problem.
The all powerful, hypersynergized, Uberconsolidated, 24/7 corporate media feeds on the personas, the clichés, the music, the creativity and chatter that is thrown around and thrown away, carelessly, stupidly, repetitively. The individual, the original, the genuine is embraced just long enough to be consumed, cloned, packaged, branded, marketed and demographicked to corporate consumer culture.
If you can call it culture. What we are left with is clichés and constant chuckleheaded controversies, distractions du jour and a zombified public; adults who don’t remember it wasn’t always like this and youth who don’t know anything different ever existed.
Convince people that all they want is crap-- Give the people what they want. Will the people realize that they and their culture are what is being cannibalized and sold back to them-- greenbacks traded for Soylent Green?
Accepting bigotry and mindless cliched attitudes and repeating them as if it’s “no big deal” is a mistake. It’s a very big deal. The consolidated corporate crapola delivery system depends on it.
In reference to your position about tolerance in the workplace, I am willing to stipulate that perhaps your policy is an acceptable one. However, in the case of Mr. Imus, he is:
a) Being publicly broadcast on public airwaves (pardon the redundancy).
b) In a field in which he knows the power of his words.
c) Most likely familiar with the repurcussions of his actions, as others have paid the price before (e.g. Jimmy the Greek immediately comes to mind).
d) being funded by advertising dollars that come from the public.
Thus, I believe that public figures that have millions of listeners SHOULD be held to a higher standard. He is not being deprived of a career or the ability to feed his family. A suspension for someone like that is really a slap on the wrist and allows him to go to Bermuda for a while. A stronger message needed to be sent in this case. I think it was.
As to your offer, Moment: If the situation ever arises (and I doubt that it will) I will gladly take you up on it (although I do believe that I should get independent verification from a reputable provider that you really are great at eating pussy!) 
