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Outrageous Words, Outrageous Deeds
Now that the Don Imus flameout has once again demonstrated that vile words energize many activist groups and many media more than do devastating deeds, it is useful to revisit this strange dimension of public furor.
The latest three word outburst in Mr. Imus' practice of sexist and racist remarks may be compared with the continuing sexist and racist behaviors that civic opponents would argue should at the very least receive equal time from those who become indignant over cruel, bigoted language.
On March 18, the New York Times ran a lengthy cover story in its heralded Sunday Magazine about widespread sexual harassment and rape of female U.S. soldiers by their male colleagues in Iraq. Written by a reporter, Sarah Corbett, the article combined the available official studies, and statements of specialists, with poignant narratives by women soldiers whom she interviewed intensively.
The evidence she amassed included a report in 2003, funded by the Department of Defense (DOD), which declared that nearly one-third of a nationwide sample of female veterans seeking health care through the V.A. said they experienced rape or attempted rape during their service. Of that group, 37 percent said they were raped multiple times, and 14 percent reported they were gang-raped.
A change in DOD policy in 2005 allowing sexual assaults to be reported confidentially in "restricted reports" led to the number of reported assaults across the military rising 40 percent.
There are still many reasons why female soldiers are reluctant to report sexual violence, especially in combat zones. Solidarity is survival. Complaining about your superior or soldiers of comparable ranking ruptures the working hierarchy and its military mission. In addition, it is often the woman's word against the man's word. As one sailor told Ms. Corbett, "You just don't expect anything to be done about it anyway, so why even try?" She said she was raped at a naval base on Guam before being deployed to Iraq.
Female soldiers coming back from Iraq relate their fears of even going to the latrines in the middle of the night for the fear of being sexually assaulted.
Sexual violence is often dismissed as fabricated, exaggerated or consensual. It is important not to tarnish many upstanding and respectful male soldiers and sailors with sweeping generalizations.
Abbie Pickett, who is a 24 year old combat-support specialist with the Wisconsin Army Naitonal Guard, told Ms. Corbett: "You're one of three things in the military—a bitch, a whore or a dyke. As a female, you get classified pretty quickly."
Particularly since the Tailhook episode in 1991 which involved sexual violence against women at a naval party, the Pentagon has become more concerned about such assaults. There are far more women in areas of combat now as well. Over 160,000 women have seen active duty in Iraq and Afghanistan already.
Bottom line to all the reports—official and individual—was summarized by the New York Times this way: "Many have reported being sexually assaulted, harassed and raped by fellow soldiers and officers." (For more information see http://www.democracyrising.us)
Assault and rape are crimes, deeds of devastating impact on the lives of these young women. They are not just vile words. Yet in the month since the New York Times article was published, there has been almost no public outrage and no demands for more investigation, more corrective action, more law enforcement.
The members of Congress—women and men—have not mobilized for action. The press did not follow up on the article—"The Women's War" by Ms. Corbett. The National Organization of Women (NOW) condemned Don Imus in no uncertain terms. They have not yet demanded multiple actions to be taken on this continuing violence against women.
Aside from the indifference of the male legislators, Congress is now graced by the largest number of women lawmakers in its history. The Speaker of the House is a woman—Nancy Pelosi. Sure, she has her hands full with the Iraq war. But this is an internal war against many women who need her leadership and her status to spark remedial or preventative action.
Words inflaming more than deeds is also too often the case when racial epithets are uttered by public figures. All those groups and civil rights leaders who conquered and ended the Don Imus media empire should ask themselves what have they done in any sustained manner, given their power and media access, about the brutality of racism by commercial interests in the urban ghettos. Deaths, injuries, disease and loss of livelihood are a daily occurrence, apart from raw street crime and drugs. Little children seriously poisoned by lead, asbestos and other toxics. Whole neighborhoods redlined without adequate corporate police protection. Predatory lending, predatory interest rates, marketing shoddy products and contaminated food proliferate.
Where have been the cries of outrage, the demands for removal of these conditions and prosecution of these crooks and defrauders? The abysmal conditions are daily, weekly, monthly. They have been occasionally reported in gripping human interest terms and statistics and maps.
If only the offenders used words, instead of committing these awful deeds. Maybe there would have been action, front page headlines and prime time television and radio coverage. If only they used words!
43 Comments so far
Show AllExcellent article. It is obvious though why mainstream media won't cover the rape issue. If that story was widely known, it would be much harder for the government to recruit soldiers, both female and male, and that is already hard enough for them with the ongoing war. I am actually surprised that New York Times would print such a story.
Women just do not belong in a fighting military force...
they are the "givers of life" not the takers ( killers )
take them out of the military and you'll one problem less.
STOP THIS DUMB WAR!
Please copy a section of this article and e-mail your Congressional representatives.
We could have this article sent to all 535 members of Congress by the end of the week...maybe the end of the day!!!
Let's generate the interest in this story and get the major media talking!
As a woman veteran, who was gang raped in 1965 while serving in the Womens Army Corps (WACS), I am now the National Commander for Women Veterans of America (WVA). Our organization has consulted with hundreds of female soldiers and women veterans who were raped while serving in the military. Unfortunately, unless the Pentagon, congress, and senate can change their "good ol boys" attitudes, nothing will change in the way rapes are handled. Rape in the military is the way male soldiers denigrate female soldiers. They don't want women in the military period.
We (WVA) are working to push the Pentagon to change the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice)laws to give the raped soldier the same rights for justice as in the civilian sector. We are continuing our efforts to make these changes.
There are also many rape survivors coming forth to tell their stories to let the public know how they were kept from getting due justice. We (WVA) went public about rape in the military back in 1996 on 20/20. The military has consistantly shown they will do anything to keep the rape survivor quiet, even to giving death threats to those who report a rape. The majority of times the perpetrators are given a slap on the wrists, while the victim is chastized, subjected to extreme interrogations,and threatened by superiors if they report the incident. We women, who have gone through this, are angered at the widespread increase of incidents that have continued throughout the many years women have served in the military. Rape servivors are continously raped by the system even years after their initial incident. The Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Centers were given a mandate to have special programs for survivors of rape in the military. However, many medical centers refuse to give PTSD therapy, or tell the female veteran survivor she does not qualify for treatment and they are not put in an all female group therapy. Many survivors are put in co-ed therapy groups whereupon the women cannot participate because of male members in the group, thereby causing the rape survivor to have more anxiety and severe flashbacks. These women are again being raped over and over by the system. No one is more outraged than the rape survivor. We want the government to give us the justice we deserve. We want the government to prosecute the rapests to the full extent of the law (civilian law)since the UCMJ laws do nothing but give a slap on the wrist. We want our day in court.
It is important to note most women who enlist in the military do so because they WANT to serve our country. They come from many diverse backgrounds and are very patriotic. WE ARE SOLDIERS TOO.
RSJ: "I don't know if Marine Corps DIs still call raw recruits "girls" or "pussies" as they used to in the Vietnam era, but I'm sure they've thought of something just as derogatory these days to demean the young men in their training." "...something just as derogatory...", care to rephrase this?
No girls, no pussies - no life. Creation spiritualist Matthew Fox says one of humanities biggest challenges is bringing Eros back into the church. To me the only way Eros is being socially recognized and focused is with Ron's "RAPE! MURDER! PLUNDER! DEEEEEEE–CAPITATE!"
Maybe someone can help me with the correct people, titles, and quotes, but in 1948 didn't the US publicaly support a UN charter that called for Peace as an organizing principle, while in the shadows didn't Secretary of State George Keenen say the number one objective was to control the mid-east oil?
These are reasons why I agree with St. John that there could be a better life through a "spiritual solution" (for those uncomfortable with the word symbol spiritual please substitute mindfullness or another word symbol with the remembrance that the mind and body are not functionally separate, and that the cortex generates an electric magnetic field of only 1/60th the heart area).
Thus, some people are using the Department of Peace legislation as an organizing tool around peace. They are using HR 808 not to create legislation as an end, while that would not be objeted to, but as a means of creating and focusing "mindfulness" with peace as an organizing principle - a space where pussies are as recognized and honored as are pricks for their indiosyncratic contribution to life and the pursuit of happiness therein.
In discussing a Department of Peace with Sander Levin's office in the 12th district of Michigan one of the consistent replies was that peace activities are already being carried out by other agencies within the US government, and that all agencies within the US government had peace as an organizing principle. With the VA Tech massacre it is obvious that this view is similar to Richard B. Cheney's continued assertion that "progess" is being made in Iraq.
These are reasons and experiences way the DOP legislation is being used as a Citizens organizing tool to reconcile the overt statements of what America stands for with that of the US's rape infested and murderous shadow actions. For while war maybe more exciting than peace, peace is the more pleasurable.
Wishing All a pleasurable day!
Once again, Nader nails it. I'm sure all the loyal DLCers and other good Dems will jump on him for this some how as they cower per usual.
Mr Nader you are right. not entirely unexpected however -
people in the military are conditioned to kill - and rape has been a feature of the battlefield for a sickeningly long time.
if you get a whole bunch men and you pump them for war, which is killing, which is wrong; a significant number become rapists as well.
stay the hell out of the armed forces, sisters - they got nothing to offer but a bunch of dehumanizing degradation for everyone -
Amen brother Ralph. Your mind is as sharp as ever. I'm thankful neither of my daughters will ever serve in the military. My youngest daughter is black and my oldest is half chicana and half white. I am white and my wife is black. I love my melting pot family. We don't tolerate violence or racist comments or behaviour. So far we have not allowed ourselves to become victims of racism or violence. I'm thankful for that.
There have also been a number of deaths due to dehydration as a result of female soldiers failing to drink enough liquids. Many of them are afraid of having to go to the latrine during the night, where many of these rapes have occurred.
My guess as to why there is no perceptible outrage over this is due to the general climate of sexism which helps to create the attitudes of male soldiers: women are either bitches, dykes, or whores. This attitude is hardly limited to the military. I can see many people believing that these young women have no business being in combat and they deserve what they get. Also, my guess is that many of these women are from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, which leaves them even more vulnerable to these kinds of poisonous stereotyping.
There is also probably not a lot of publicity because the amount of male soldiers raped, beaten, and sexually assaulted by their colleagues has been a reality that no one has ever cared about; it is the same way with the constant sexism against males that exists in the military, but no one says anything about it until a woman is involved.
The causes of rape, though, are not unclear. Statistics show that 75% of rapists were verifiably sexually assaulted in their own youth; another reality that is brushed aside since, after all, it didn't happen to women, so who cares?
We impeach Clinton for his infidelity, but tolerate Bush/Cheney sending young American to their deaths to protect his private investments?
NOW jumps on the Imus bandwagon, but says next to nothing about the raping of female soliders?
Ralph Nader has been my hero for many years. He made a telling point that no one is addressing this issue. I find it interesting that about one third of female soldiers have been sexually assaulted in Iraq, because that is the number of females estimated to have been sexually abused as children. Researchers extrapolated from that number that about one sixth of males were also sexually agbused as children (without any other evidence!). I think they're nuts, and the number is higher.
I do wonder if there is an avoidance at work here, an unwillingness to look at what may be unresolved issues in many lives. Forinstance, people assume there is a taboo against incest, but it is almost epidemic according to experts. A taboo has the effect of extinguishing behavior. So the real taboo is TALKING about incest. More avoidance? I think we are a sick society that needs healing - and fresh air.
Given the ultra-macho and violent mentality driven into memebers of the military from their first day in training, what can one expect? The miltary madness is misogynist in the extreme and cheapens life. It is a disease that is perpetuated for the benefit of a ruling class which could not exist without it's goons.
If we need a military, it needs to be completely overhauled and rid of the cultural sickness it has become. Martin Luther King was right when he wrote of the inseperability of racism, militarism, economic injustice and imperialism.
I've admired Ralph Nader for a long time. I understand his point that there are many things more abhorrent than Imus's comments, and those things have not generated the same kind of—or any—outrage. But, I say the longest journey begins with a single step.
Imus crossed a line and I'm glad he was fired. I hope the Rush Limbaughs, the Glen Becks and the other boneheads are next.
When Imus mocked the Rutgers women as "hos" (whores) he did some things that rappers and comedians have not done. First, he identified specific individuals as hos, rather than using the word generically. Second, he targeted honorable, exemplary young women: outstanding student athletes at a prestigious, Ivy League college. And third, he demeaned these women at the very moment of their greatest achievement: their appearance in a championship game.
Imus was telling women and girls, in effect, no matter how hard you work, no matter how much you achieve, you'll never be anything but whores. His message was unacceptable, and thank goodness people came forward to say so.
As to the rape of female soldiers—not to mention Iraqi women and girls—and the deafening silence the revelations have generated, yes it's abhorrent. Our corporate media and sycophantic politicians probably fear that already-flagging enlistments will be further depressed if the truth comes out.
We can't say this often enough: Bush's occupation of Iraq is a war OF terror, not a war on terror. It's immoral, illegal and thoroughly perverse. The rape of our female soldiers by other U.S. soldiers is just one representation of that. Torture is another. Murder is another.
Perhaps, just perhaps, if we raise our children in a society where it is not OK to demean women as whores, they will one day grow up to have consciences that will not allow participation in such atrocities.
Nader is right - nothing has been done; nothing will be done, not now, not by this administration and not by this congress or by any congress no matter the party, about the cruel madness destroying this country. There is no such thing as a progressive in the United States.
BOB K - Right on! and vice versa too as regards your last paragraph.
"Stay the hell out of the armed forces sister"--good advice for brother as well. Nobody who trains killers seriously expects them to respect anybody as a human being.
that's the 100% grade a truth
As the events of 9/11 revealed, the largest military apparatus in known history was useless in protecting the US against the attack. And that remains so. Terrorism, whatever form it takes, holds no fear of military power.
So, at best the military is a holdover of bygone times, and, at worst, a breeding ground for developing the worst in humanity.
There are other ways to inculcate discipline and purpose in human existence, and there are other ways to see the world, develop skills, and launch a career.
Applying real creativity as well as new thinking in education will help wean the US from its infatuation with military might. But it will take some time.
The military can never create peace because it is not trained to create peace.
www.uspeacegovernment.org
The events of 9/11 showed that the enormous military might of the US neither protects the nation nor deters terror.
The military is obsolete, at best a holdover from past centuries and at worst a breeding ground for some of the more crude human behaviors. There are too many bad apples in the barrel, and they do spoil it for the many.
And the military cannot create peace because it is not trained to create peace.
New thinking and new ideas applied in education could wean the US from its infatuation with military might, but it will take some time. There are far superior ways to inculcate discipline, see the world, develop skills, purpose and meaning, and launch a career.
www.uspeacegovernment.org
Amazing essay by Mr. Nader. Surprisingly enough, I was just on his old campaign site this morning to see what he was up to - no updates for a while, but glad to have come across this here.
Nader has made yet another example of why the endless militarism i.n this country has gone completely out of control
It's absolutely necessary, to resolve these and many many more problems we face, to stop putting all our national energies and finances into funding this out-of-control military beast.
We absolutely must make an about-face, and focus on a national DE-fense, instead of this national OF-fense which is unparalleled in world history.
Building and maintaining a military machine with bases in 100+ countries around the world has inflamed people, engendered hatred, and may someday bring us to the point of economic ruin.
Chalmers Johnson covered this brilliantly in his book, The Sorrows of Empire.
For some additional commentary on the need to change the structure of "security" in this country, see "Leaders Don't Kill People..."
http://www.populistamerica.com/leaders_dont_kill_people
For those of you who never had the pleasure of Marine Corp training at Quantico, you may be interested to learn that our Sargeant Instructor taught us to stand at attention at the foot of our racks (beds) every morning at 4:30 A.M. and to scream at the top of our lungs: RAPE! MURDER! PLUNDER! DEEEEEEE--CAPITATE! I'm sure not every Instructor taught in the same way, but that's the way our guy was. So, you see, the Marines who rape are just doing what they've been told to do.
Of course the corporate media avoids making anything with the military into a scandal. They choose their scandals very carefully.
I think it's strange they chose to attack Imus after ignoring his previous hateful speech...
For example Imus has previously referred to African-American journalist Gwen Ifill as "a cleaning lady," to New York Times sports reporter Bill Rhoden as "quota hire" and to tennis player Amelie Mauresmo as "a big old lesbo." Imus called Washington Post reporter Howard Kurtz a "boner-nosed... beanie-wearing Jewboy," referred to a disabled colleague as "the cripple," and to an Indian men's tennis duo as "Gunga Din and Sambo." In Imus' words, the New York Knicks are "chest-thumping pimps." He said 'Besa mi culo ... Gordo" [to New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson] which loosely translates to "kiss my ass, fat one." - www.fair.org
There's tons of other hateful, racist speech on TV and radio, not even counting the real abuses in the military and elsewhere. Why is everyone mad at this asshole Imus (I'm not condoning his hate-speech, I'm just saying there has to be an ulterior motive because before this, the corporate media loved him)
After looking into it further I see that Imus consistently called Bush a "War Criminal" and threatened to expose the War Criminal's "secrets, starting with 9-11" in an interview with Tim Russert. I can only speculate, but that's why I think they turned on Imus. They keep dozens of other hate-TV/hate-Radio shows on the air while not reporting things like this story about rape in the military, so you really think the Imus "scandal" was started by Al Sharpton?
Whatever the case, everyone should be VERY SKEPTICAL of any "scandal" reported by the corporate media. There's almost always something more newsworthy elsewhere, and the corporate media is always playing some angle. Don't trust the corporate media.
As Mr. Nader points out, the problem isn't what the light is being shined on, it is what is being kept hidden. Our mainstream media do a horrible job of reporting news that is relevant for our well-being. Of course, why they really got rid of Imus wasn't because of his comments, it was because the financial impact as a result of loss of advertizers (I'm sure it would have been temporary).
The Attorney General Gonzales must be breathing a sigh of relief that the campus shooting occured since it will get a lot of attention turned away from him.
The other thing you have to ask yourself about those district attorneys that were fired, what are the ones who weren't fired doing? They must be following the Bush/Cheney/Rove plan down to the dot. That is scarier to me.
Vote for peace - www.NotOneMore.US
Well, I didn't know who Don Imus was until the media played this up, in fact I didn't know who O.J. was until the media made it quite clear. I don't follow sports or bs tv talk channels. Time is too short, it's enough just to cover the main issues in US government and the rest of the world. Amy Goodman did cover rape and sexual harrassment of US service women in Iraq and the US. DemocracyNow is one program I watch faithfully and I read CommonDreams daily.
Nader has made a valid point of word power over actual crime. There was that old saying as a child, sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me. While words may hurt a persons' feelings there is a difference in being physically violated, which is a crime. Looks like mass media hasn't done a good job in covering the issue of rape. Perhaps they think it would reflect poorly on the troops. However, they have a responsibility to the public to report all, the good, the bad, and the ugly.
I worry about what a lot of these troops will be like if and when they come back from Iraq. I'm sure the horrors they may have witnessed and may even have committed will scar them for the rest of their lives. And those people will become yet another burden on our society.
If Ralph brings it up as an issue, then it will definitely be avoided by the Democratic Party.
iwarrior, you have said what I have been thinking for many years. I am a VietVet from 1968. When I returned on Dec. 31, 1968, there was no counseling and no concern for my mental and emotional well being. I was separated from Active Duty and bussed to San Francisco after 3 in the morning. I was fortunate that I had no physical wounds and apparently no chemical side effects. The people returning from the Gulf wars are not so fortunate, and we will see the consequences of their damaged hearts and souls for years to come. When people are trained to kill and then practice what they have been trained to do, they cannot possibly return to "civil" society unaffected. What happened today at VA Tech will be repeated in a variety of ways, and people will act shocked that this could happen here. Well, what the Administration says: that we are fighting them over there so we won't have to fight them here, is blowing back. Only, we will be fighting "our own" over here. It does not look good. What is required is a Spiritual solution; the recognition that we are all One Family living on Spaceship Earth, interdependent and inseparable.
Peace,
St john
Both Ron and Jaded Prole made excellent points on this matter; the culture of the military and particularly basic training is to make murder acceptable and the sex lives of recruits controllable. It's been established that it's easier to control men and make them mean enough to kill by curtailing their sexual encounters. It's the same reason boxing managers want their fighters to abstain from sex before a bout; they want them angry, and they want them to take that anger out on another person.
Sexually satisfied men make terrible boxers --and horrible soldiers.
I also don't think it's an accident that the Islamic terrorist suicide bombers are promised sexual contentment after they die, but denied it in this life. (No wonder they are eager to kill themselves.)
I don't know if Marine Corps DIs still call raw recruits "girls" or "pussies" as they used to in the Vietnam era, but I'm sure they've thought of something just as derogatory these days to demean the young men in their training. The truth of the matter was once expressed by a NCO in a candid moment fueled by too much beer: "We don't build men; we break men down and build hired killers to serve the government."
Once young men accept themselves as hired killers, rape and other crimes pale in comparison and are easily rationalized as the cost of doing war.
Unfortunately, changing this culture will be harder than making Cheney tell the truth.
Albert Einstein said " the pioneers of a warless world are the youth that refuse to join the military".
That my friends of peace and sanity is the answer!
When they can get no one to fight their dirty little wars, then will finally have to abandon them.
The idea of patriotism and nationalism are tools of those that would send your sons and daughters into war to defend those empty ideologies.
I recommend "THE TRUE BELIEVER" by Eric Hoffer.
It's theme is political fanaticism, with which it deals with severely.
I survived an attack by a fellow service member overseas while I was on Active Duty. I was lucky to have a female commander who helped give me the confidence to press charges.
I think that the public is afraid to address the Military Justice System. They don't understand it past the reruns of JAG and so they feel like, if the military is full of the best and the brightest, surely they will handle these cases professionally and with the utmost concern for the victims safety and well being. Surely, like in the case of Suzanne Swift, they will not put the attacker and victims together on the same base so the victim can be abused again. Surely there is military oversight.
Sadly, in regards to these rape cases it has become an environment of protecting the perpetrator. Sadly, it has become an environment of questioning the woman's credibility and looking for ways that she encouraged the attack. Many of the attackers are merely transferred to another base and given a verbal or written reprimand. A few years pass, people forget, and that rapist reintegrates into the system. And usually they attack again. And now they've learned how to work the system. And now they know how to make the woman not speak up. Many are still serving, being promoted through the ranks, have never received counseling about their crime, and continue to be rewarded regardless of their criminal behaviour.
The military is a good place for rapists to hide. And the public and the administration condone this. We condone it by our complicit behaviour that Mr. Nader has so impressively highlighted. Our willingness to be distracted by what the media deems important.
We say we support the troops. But we don't. We support them as long as it is convenient. A flag, a bumper sticker, a banana nut loaf. The real work of supporting troops begins here and now. With this issue. With the Walter Reed issue. With the military suicide issue. This administration is too busy eating it's own tail to manage this. Sad but true, it is time for the American people to take care of it's citizens. The government is not reliable or accountable, but what I've learned about people, what I've learned about the friends, family and therapists who have helped me to heal, is that we people can do this. We people can take care of these women. We people are accountable. Pick up the phone. Find a vet to sponsor. Come up along side these men and women and listen to them. Give them jobs. Pay for quality therapy that they will never receive from this broken system. Please, I beg you, do something more than you are already doing.
You make a difference.
April Fitsimmons
USAF, Sgt. (1985-1989)
"Ulterior motive," indeed. (see below)
One other angle may be that Imus' wife Deirdre was about to release and heavily promote her book on "greening the cleaning" and I trust that some of the corporate sponsors did not look kindly upon the way in which the Imus cleaning products were beginning to cut into the profits. Imus had been heavily promoting these on his program for some time. Deirdre was beginning to get plenty of quality air time- finally-- recently, throughout the corporate media. I'll bet now her appearances are verboten. Have you noticed an uptick of advertisements about cleaning products, professing to be earth friendly, etc.? The Imuses have also teamed successfully to bring forth questions of the manner in which other toxic substances in our environment are contributing to autism, asthma, allergies, cancer, to name a few out of control problems. I would not be surprised if corporations (pharmaceutical, chemical companies, to name a few) had been lying in wait for some time, waiting for an oportune moment to be able to strike--using the ruse of riding in, high-minded, on their chargers to defend the honor of defenseless young women against bad language/sexist and racist behavior. No one is going to question the purity of their motives. How absolutely Machievellian. I'll believe the purity of their intention, just as soon as they go after such as Limbaugh, Coulter, O'Reilly, et.al., with similar zeal. -dfh
********************
quoting: Why is everyone mad at this asshole Imus (I'm not condoning his hate-speech, I'm just saying there has to be an ulterior motive because before this, the corporate media loved him)
After looking into it further I see that Imus consistently called Bush a "War Criminal" and threatened to expose the War Criminal's "secrets, starting with 9-11″ in an interview with Tim Russert. I can only speculate, but that's why I think they turned on Imus. They keep dozens of other hate-TV/hate-Radio shows on the air while not reporting things like this story about rape in the military, so you really think the Imus "scandal" was started by Al Sharpton?
Whatever the case, everyone should be VERY SKEPTICAL of any "scandal" reported by the corporate media. There's almost always something more newsworthy elsewhere, and the corporate media is always playing some angle. Don't trust the corporate media.
FOAMWEAPONS MAKES A CRUCIALLY IMPORTANT POINT!
I just finished an audio tape of Laura Flanders speaking of "The Bush Women". Something she highlighted in her speech was that any time the Bush Women were making national appearances you know the administration was swimming in the deep end of hot water.
Well, there was Laura Bush side by side with the Neocon spokesmodel at VA Tech. And there's the reactionary progressives using their mental energies to debate gun laws...
Hmm...why Imus, why now? Foamweapons asks. Because the Neocon administrations coup of the US government is showing signs of unraveling.
But, as shown here, the tactic of divide and conquer could get them a few more days, and a few 100's of millions of dollars and thousands of torturous deaths more, down the road.
We can have peace, prosperity and happiness if we can form the courage to culture it within and reach for it without. Part of that equation means being the rulers of our mental energies.
Progressives have the ability to focus a "Gandhian" mindfulness that will compel the representative government to come to it, in harmony and graciousness. Compare that last sentence to the energy of discussion in the commentary.
So, listen to Sargeant Fitsimmons: "PLEASE, I BEG YOU, DO SOMETHING MORE THAN YOU ARE ALREADY DOING. YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE." Then click onto the site RUSSWOLLMAN offers above, or use HR 808 as an focusing tool, or some other method to keep the progressive mind on topic.
IMPEACHMENT:JUSTICE:PEACE:HUMAN DIGNITY.
Is there any way to get Oprah involved in this discussion or am I nuts?
I have heard many commentators suggest along with Bob K. that one of the horrific aspects of the Imus comments was that they were directed at "honorable, exemplary" young women. Would the comments have been less offensive if directed at less-successful women, say service industry workers, or unemployed women who don't straighten their hair? I think not.
Minor quibble, Bob K: when did Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, join the Ivy League?
I love Ralph Nader. He is what I call "A man of honor." Not many left, where have they all gone? I like to call him "the last really honest man on earth." Although, I have to give a lot of respect to another man, Bill Cosby. I would like to hear his take on the "Imus Fiasco." I wonder why he has been silent -- so far?
I love to watch the Nader interviews. While the interviewer is always going to his notes, Ralph just spouts of data, facts, figures, dates, right off the top of his head. I've never seen him look at a note. He still has a mind like a steel trap.
I have my own take on the Imus fiasco. Although Limbaugh and the other right wing blowhards do pick on the political left, it is expected and they don't have the real abrasive personality of Imus. Imus has really said some real bad stuff about the Clinton's and the Bush's. He embarrassed Clinton at the Correspondents dinner years ago, calls Hillary all kinds of mean things on his show. Denigrated Bush, Cheney, et al pretty regular. And everyone knows how "Bar" like to protect her little shrub. Imus also had a feud going with the Wall Street Journal. I believe he was suing them for an article they wrote concerning his ranch for sick kids.
Bill Clinton sets up his new office digs down in the "hood" with the well known "racist" -- Sharpton. Put that all together with the old adage that "revenge is best served cold" and what do you have? We all know that crew doesn't forgive and forget. And when have you seen so many corporations fold under pressure like a bunch of dominoes? Give me a break. If that wasn't a set up, I'll vote republican come next election. And that ain't never gonna happen.
Racist: As i understand from those who teach anti-racism and hold seminars on this subject, black people (Al Sharpton) in the US cannot be 'racist'. They can be prejudiced or biased but not racist. To be a racist means that you are 'on top' of the those being victimizsed socially and limit their options to success in society. If anyone can clarify this, speak up.
And now our five conservative, Male, Catholic, Supreme Court justices just voted 5-4 to ban a certain type of abortion. To me, this is another form of man on woman violence. Men have no business deciding on this matter. And these dudes are going to be around for awhile.
Whoops, Rutgers is not in the Ivy League! Thanks cmanning.
To your other point, I'd use different words: the Imus comments were even more offensive because they were directed at honorable, exemplary young women.
Others in this thread believe the outrage over the Imus remarks can't be taken at face value, that there must be ulterior motives. But, as I pointed out in my previous post, Imus crossed a line and I think people were genuinely outraged. Rappers and comedians have used the derogatory term "ho" generically, but Imus directed it at specific individuals. That hadn't been done before. To make it worse, the individuals were exemplary student athletes at Rutgers University. And still worse, his timing: the women were participating in a championship game and deserved honor and praise, not humiliation.
People came forward and said, this is too much, this has to stop, and it has to stop here. I support those people. They were right, and they made a difference. A small step in the right direction should not be disparaged.
To move on, aprilfitzsimmons, your insights are appreciated. I am horrified by these rapes and the military's response.
As I said previously, "Bush's occupation of Iraq is a war OF terror, not a war on terror. It's immoral, illegal and thoroughly perverse. The rape of our female soldiers by other U.S. soldiers is just one representation of that. Torture is another. Murder is another."
As to "supporting our troops," I question whether support is warranted as it appears so many are rapists, torturers and murderers. And as Nader, April and others point out, the military turns a blind eye to it.
Here's yet another atrocity in Iraq, posted two days ago:
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/04/16/550/
Where does it stop?
Ralph Nader IS the ultimate pearl before swine, he is simply too good for this country. We don't deserve him. No country with people like Richard Perle, Douglas Feith, David Wormser, Daniel Pipes, Paul Wolfowitz, et al, in positions of power could possibly accomodate so elevated a human being as Ralph Nader. How many future Ralph Naders were murdered by the Israelis when they bombed Lebanon? Talk about the lion killed by the ass's kick.
Big Picture Thinking Vs. Small Picture Thinking: The New America
America succeeded because it understood the value of Big Picture thinking. Americans new how to prioritize, and where to put there energies as a nation. This was the Bill of Rights (First of all, you don't want to be looking over your shoulder and couvering your backside every minute of every day, while trying to make a living), The Constitution (If you're gonna work as a society, you need to know the rules, and they need to be the same for everybody), The Declaration of Independence (Why work when you're gonna be ripped off?)
In politics, in educating the masses, in Industry, in War, in Peace: America looked at the big picture first.
Today, the republican party, and the democratic party, and the corporate scam machine, have focused Americans on the little picture. For instance, you've got a government filled with people who have had plastic surgery to remove wrinkles, but haven't got an intelligent, nor an honest, nor a courageous thought between the folds of their non-functional grey matter.
You've got a country focused on individual stories of choices about abortion, but unconcerned about individual rights and freedom, nor about the inability of the law to rationally legislate what a woman does during nine months of pregnancy.
You've got a country focused on a Don Imus, but unconcerned about a useless bloodbath in Iraq, and the destruction of their national prestige, credibility and economy.
You've got a country who is more concerned about a President who lied about his sex life, then a President who lied to a nation about the reasons for a war that has cost hundreds of thousands of lives and trillions of dollars to taxpayers. You see, both scandals gave Americans cause for concern, but what is important to note is that Americans are now unable to tell the big picture from the little picture.
I would advise the next candidate for the Presidency: And I would vote for Nader, to use a large television screen and a small television screen to illustrate such points at upcoming debates.
Nader's thoughtful article notwithstanding, the "mainstream" (corporate) media seem to have finally replaced God and the Church as the amoral compass of our culture. They've become the universal filter of digestible sound and sight bytes through which "reality" is spoon-fed to the herd, in between the normal rushing waterfall of obnoxious, abrasive, sensually assaulting car, beer and cell phone commercials...thank "God" for the remote mute button.
Only hours after a tragedy of the stunning shock and magnitude that occurred at VT, hordes of network drones began showing up at Blacksburg, with their tons of equipment, trucks, lights, cables, and pushy young producers scrambling among each other like abandoned, starving dogs for the next hot interview or video clip or sensationalized(but usually pointless) tidbit of information. Motels and restaurants make out like bandits, but that doesn't alter this fundamentally predatory onslaught into a cauldron of unprovoked pain and human anguish.....aaaah, what a story!
Although some of the affected students have made their disdain for media intrusion public, many have jumped on the parade float of exhibitionism, in some cases making themselves available for multiple interviews on different networks during which they've recounted the same grisly details again and again, as if there's some citizen compact that compells them to tell their story ASAP to the likes of Paula Zahn or Katie Couric. In cases where they were only marginally involved, or not at all (i.e., an embarrassing interview on CNN with a born-again, tripped out shuttle bus driver on the campus who obviously craved her 15 minutes of fame), people engaged in dubious Q&A's with hyperventilating anchors back at network HQ, usually yielding some prurient drivel but not one iota of serious insight into what happened, let alone why this interviewee felt compelled to go on TV and discuss it in the first place. Often these exchanges were so poorly executed as to come off as just another sideshow in the media circus that grew like a fungus every hour at the site of the tragedy.
The self-styled role models of truth, justice and the American Way---the achors---often ask such patronizing, maudlin questions, dripping with scripted insincerity, that you want to grab them through the TV screen and wring their cynical necks (Paula Zahn reeks of stilted, droning delivery and mawkish outrage, Larry King of robotic, emotionally disconnected befuddlement, and Chris Matthews stays true to his usual messianic conclusions about human behavior and his certainty about why such things happen).
We appear to be in the vice grip of these and other charlatans, who've replaced our own inner moral compass and sense of proportion with their own scripted bullshit. If it had been left to the incendiary bottomfeeder Nancy Grace of Court TV, the guys indicted at Duke would have been sent to Angola for 30 years and the keys thrown away. At least in that case the fundamental depravity of the plaintiff's lies, coupled with the DA's cynical vote pandering, conspired to eventually exonerate these young men. But during the feeding frenzy, Grace and the rest of the media whores descended on Duke with every bit the predatory zealotry exhibited at VT this week, and in that case, the probative certainty of guilt was far from evident as it is in this tragedy (we know Cho did it, without a reasonable doubt).
Until the media is reined in by a combination of federal regulation, de-consolidation that will dilute the current ownership among only a few global mega-corporations, and a public reaction to the cheap, often tawdry sensationalization of almost every story, no matter how complex or multi-faceted, into a series of easily digestible sight and sound bytes, we're stuck with this new reality that makes Imus more culpable than a rapist inside the Army, or Al Sharpton more credible than Don Imus.