A Disciples Response to Don Imus


Printed below is a statement from the Disciples Justice Action Network, a voice for justice within the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). My own article on hate speech had been written before I had really gotten a sense of what was happening with Don Imus and Rutgers. So, I offer this response from within my church:




The Leadership Team of the Disciples Justice Action Network (DJAN) today welcomed the news that CBS has joined MSNBC in cancelling the 'Imus in the Morning' show.

"It's about time," said DJAN Director Ken Brooker Langston. "There should be no space provided on our airwaves for these kinds of hateful and hurtful remarks."

On his show last week, Don Imus referred to the members of the Rutgers Women's Basketball Team, which finished second in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament, as "nappy-headed hos." On Wednesday, a week after the remark, and after advertisers began pulling their support, MSNBC said it would no longer televise the show. On Thursday, CBS reached the decision to fire Imus.

"We're outraged that such offensive remarks would be made about any women anywhere," said DJAN President Nancy Hunt Wirth. "We're even more shocked that these remarks were maliciously targeted at the incredibly talented and successful student-athletes of the Rutgers women's basketball team."

Imus has apologized for his "offensive remarks" and met last night with the members of the Rutgers basketball team to talk about the situation. After the meeting, the coach of the Rutgers team said that she and her team had "a very productive meeting," are "in the process of forgiving him," and hope that this incident will "serve as a catalyst for change" in the broader culture.

"The Rutgers coach is right that this is about more than Imus," said DJAN Leader Jack Sullivan. "This is about the commercialization of racism and other forms of hate, the complicity of American opinion-leaders in this socially destructive process, and the general complacency of the American public about the harmful results of this process. No doubt about it: Imus needs conversion and redemption. But so does our entire society."

According to DJAN Leader Noemi Mena (Pastor of Hispanic Ministries at National City Christian Church), "Within our own churches, this could be a teachable moment about an uncomfortable subject: our participation in the structures of white privilege and male privilege that create, nurture, promote and defend the mindset and behavior of people like Imus."

Rev. Mena continued, "Even as we earnestly pray for the conversion of Imus and the comforting of all who have been injured by his words, we must also look more deeply at our own lives. In prayer and with the help of our sisters and brothers in Christ, we must honestly confront the ways in which we are part of those structures of power and networks of communication that actually encourage people to find value, entertainment, and even self-affirmation in the denigration and destruction of other people."

"'I want to know the pain I caused, and I want to know how to fix this and change this.' According to his wife, that's what Imus told the Rutgers women," said DJAN Leader Brenda Cardwell (Senior Pastor of Pilgrimage Christian Church in Suitland, MD). "If he's sincere about this, we would encourage Mr. Imus to participate in anti-racism trainings as a first step in his journey towards the kind of awareness and transformation that is so necessary for a truly reconciled community. And since we are called to practice what we preach, I'm sure all Disciples would want to provide a good example for him by doing it, too."

Disciples Justice Action Network (DJAN) is a multi-racial, multi-ethnic grassroots network of individuals, congregations, and organizations within the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), all working together to promote greater justice, peace, inclusion and celebration of diversity in our churches, our nations (Canada and the United States), and our world.Visit our web site at www.djan.net or email us at disciplesjustice@comcast.net.

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Psalm 140:12: "I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the oppressed."

Prov. 31:8-9: "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all the unfortunate. Speak up with fairness and justice, and defend the rights of the poor and oppressed."Psalm 82:3-4: "Defend the lowly and the fatherless, render justice to the afflicted and needy. Rescue the lowly and poor, deliver them from the hand of the wicked."

Posted by Disciples Justice Advocacy at 9:24 AM

Comments

Anonymous said…
HI,

I just came to this post doing a search on Kathleen Kennedy Townsend. Two questions:

1. How is your use of the text from Psalm 140 different than another person using a text regarding judgment for Hurricane Katrina, in that, you presume that the Lord intevenes in a fashion which suits your views of the world?

2. Would or will you post something with a similar sentiment when Nifong is punished for his behavior in NC?

Now, having said that, I am happy that Imus is off the air. I found nothing redeeming about his program or his point of view. The problem for me is not that he was fired, it is the circumstance. He has happily, and with great accolades from numberless social and political liberals, behaved in this same way for years, but now, somehow, it's bad. It is part of the duplicitousness of the hate crime paradigm, in that, different people inevitably are considered to have more value than others. It wasn't that he was offensive, he has been that forever, it was who was offended. Some are more valuable under hate speech/crime legistlation. This may not be the intent but legally speaking, it is always the result. This will marginalize anyone who says things that other people don't like. Someday that person may be you or me. If an offended party can ruin somebody's life just becuase their feelings are hurt then, eventually, no one is safe to talk.

I know conservatives are the ones who are usually painted as the facists, but it is deeply ironic how much Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson followed the lead of Joe McCarthy the last few days.

Jason

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