Ok, so everyone’s been up in arms about Don Imus this past week. In case you live in a cave and didn’t hear, early in the morning several days ago, while talking about the women’s NCAA championship game between Rutgers and Tennessee, he made a remark about the lady Knights. Specifically, referring to them as “nappy-headed ho’s”. Eh? Yeah, he said it.

First things first, Don Imus is a jerk, always has been. I remember my mom listening to Imus in the Morning 30 years ago, and Imus always played this song making fun of Christians. Something about driving at insane speeds because of the almighty power of the plastic Jesus on the dashboard. Was Imus dragged from the mic, fired, drawn, quartered, or whatever? Nope.

So back to the main point. Why was Don Imus fired? Did CBS check the moral barometer and fire the guy because of ill-conceived commentary? Nope. They fired him because several huge sponsors pulled their ad dollars out from under the show. The reason he was fired was financial, not moral. Of course, a connection exists between the events, but let’s face it, this isn’t the first time Imus has ran off at the mouth like this. Further, recognize that CBS is a company, and they are in fact, out to make money. Their moral compass isn’t their guide — it’s their balance sheet.

Two of the loudest voices in the lynch mob were Rev. Al Sharpton and Rev. Jesse Jackson. They’re entitled to be upset, complain as much as they like, no quibble there. Here are my points that I’ll quibble about:

1. Why isn’t Al Sharpton storming the offices of record labels demanding they fire hip-hop artists who refer to women as “bitches” and “ho’s”? Sure, he’s gone on the record as being against that kind of speech. But, why is it that say, Snoop Dogg can walk around day in and day out with women on leashes, calling them “his ho’s”, rapping about them in such degrading ways, but he just gets a stern stare and a finger wave? Imus did it once, and it’s the biggest offense in recent history. How about a little parity? I think Imus was clearly wrong and deserves some sort of consequences, which may even yes, justify firing the man. But, let’s make the playing field level here. If it’s not ok for Imus to talk like that to the public, it’s not ok for anyone.

2. (My friend John reminded me of this one) Anyone else remember back in the mid-80s when Jesse Jackson referred to Jews as “Hymies” and referred to New York as “Hymietown”? Milton Coleman does, and once reminded by my friend, I remembered the incident as well. After much denial, posturing and threats from Louie Farrakhan, Jackson apologized for his remarks, and was even forgiven. I don’t bring it up to sling mud at Rev. Jackson, all of us have committed errors in judgement from time to time. I bring it up as an example of someone publicly making overtly racist remarks, who was forgiven, despite having denied the remark initially. Imus never denied the remark, though it wasn’t really possible for him to deny it, since it was broadcast over the air.