One thing not discussed at all in the current Imus flap is his legal liability. It seems to me that if you publicly SLANDER or DENIGRATE another person’s reputation (without proof), you should be liable for a civil suit for damages. In the Imus case, he slandered every African-American woman on the Rutgers Basketball team by calling them “Hos”. The accompanying descriptive “nappy headed” simply further defines who he is identifiying as a “Ho”. The accepted definition of a “Ho” is ghettoese for the word whore, or prostitute. It seems to me that Imus, MSNBC, General Electric. and any other business interests associated with his show have legal exposure to a strong and costly civil suit! In fact there should busloads of lawyers headed for Rutgers even as we speak to recruit possible clients from the African-American members of the women’s basketball team. I find it strange that with the possibility of a big time civil suit that this event offers that the public discussion is limited to the old time, oft used adage that this is an opportunity to discuss the racial problems in America. We have all heard this line before; in the aftermath of Rodney King, after the brutal dragging death by a pickup truck of a black man in Texas, after the incident where the New York police fired 51 shots fired into the body of an unarmed black, and so it goes on. I say to hell with the opportunity to start discussing racism in America. I say “see ya in court”!
IMUS Liable for suit?
