One Liners

• Imus Apologizes For Controversial Comments About Rutgers Players
  
  The only thing more pathetic than a Howard Stern is somebody trying to imitate a Howard Stern.
  
  
• Bleakest climate report approved
  
  It's so important to make global a political issue with both sides, it's going to slip up and turn into a disaster.
  
  

UPDATE (04/09/07): I wanted to pull this out of comments and put it out here to explain a little more what I meant...

Buck said:

I love Don Imus. I have listened to him for years and years.

I figure he did not call the team anything that their coach has not already called them at times when they were behind at the half or what they called each other when their play was not up to standards.

Don has apologized. His apology this morning was difficult to watch for those of us who know what he is and what he does.

All that is left now is to write a check to Rutgers. I think that is what is called "reaching out". He should go ahead and do that and put this all behind him.

I replied:

There are comments that come out of people's mouths that demonstrate the kind of people they are, inside.

When you say something like Imus said, it freezes your persona for that moment in time. We get a glimpse of a person's soul. No amount of contrition, apologies, personal appearances, offers to meet with players/families/etc in the days following the event can remove the fact that the opinion exists and will continue to exist. We may forgive, and Rutgers may forgive but it does not expunge his permanent record, unless some clear pattern of behavioral change becomes apparent.

We all have terrible thoughts in our head. I daresay anyone reading this has a very good chance of having denigrating thoughts about blacks, whites, women, men, gays, Arabs, Jews, Yankees, southerners, Florida fans, Trekkies, NASCAR fans, fantasy league players, whatever. In our private, most secret thoughts we may get a flashing impulse across our brain: "That (person) is a real ****". But just as quickly, that thought passes by and reason, good taste and morality prevails. Sometimes we might even feel guilty for having such a judgmental thought.

But others allow those thoughts to find residence, and worse to come out their mouths and become public. When you make that step, the thought has already become a belief and you can't just apologize it away. You have to be willing to understand what was wrong about it, and take steps to correct it.

Rush Limbaugh has made similar comments about Michael J Fox. Comedian Michael Richards got in trouble for letting his latent bigotry come out when he was angered. Some of us remember Jimmy the Greek's comments many years ago.

We are commanded to forgive. Most of us do so freely, not because of the command but because we know it's the right thing to do. But we cannot simply shrug and say, "Yeah, we know you didn't mean it." because they did, and that fact will be around for a long, long time.