On a widely-watched morning news show, the sidekick of the popular morning host called for the murder of all Israelis.
A couple of rights groups issued press releases, but other than that, there were no outcries of outrage in the media, on the internet, on the street. The press releases were resoundingly ignored.
The view expressed was so compliant with mainstream opinion that it made not a ripple?
How is such a thing possible? That in the United States, on a major cable network, an open call to genocide is issued, and left to stand, go unnoticed save for a couple of minor non-profits whose mission is essentially limited to sending out press releases when something is offensive to Israelis?
Unbelievable, huh?
And now that you know about it, I bet you are going to write, fax, and call MSNBC and every one of their sponsors, and demand that all in any way complicit or responsible apologize and never work in television again, aren't you?
Maybe you can organize your office, your church, or book club, to send a letter of apology to Israel. Maybe it should be a bigger project than that. Your whole town. Your state.
At the very least, a citizen boycott of MSNBC sponsors until every single commentator on there apologizes. And offers free advertising to Israeli companies.
How is it possible that there is so reaction to this?
Well, it's unbelievable because it didn't happen.
Nobody on MSNBC called for killing all Israelis.
Maybe it was Mexicans.
No, Vicente Fox would have the Ambassador on the carpet and there would be massive demonstrations in several major cities.
African-Americans. There was a call to kill all African-Americans on MSNBC.
Hm, hard to think that would go unnoticed and unremarked.
Oh, yeah, I remember now.
The call was to kill all Palestinians. Here's the transcript:
DON IMUS: They're (the Palestinians) eating dirt and that fat pig wife
of
his is living in Paris.
COLLEAGUE: They’re all brainwashed, though.
That’s what it is. And they're
stupid, to begin with, but they’re brainwashed
now. Stinking animals. They
ought to drop the bomb right there, kill ‘em all
right now…
IMUS: Well, the problem is we have (reporter) Andrea (Mitchell)
there; we
don't want anything to happen to her.
COLLEAGUE: Oh, she's got
to get out. Andrea, get out and then drop the bomb
and kill
everybody…
COLLEAGUE: Look at this. Animals. Animals!
Article comments
1 - dave
That article is talking about Palestinians, not Israelis.
It is still extremely disturbing thought.
2 - Eric Olsen
you are right both about double standards and about the unacceptability of these statements.
3 - Harry Forbes
I agree completely with Ductape (wow!). Given the source of this broadcast, I am not surprised to find a hateful and ignorant rant. Hate and potty-mouthing are the stock-in-trade of much of morning talk radio. Politicians would do well to avoid a venue like Imus, rather than validate such trash programming by appearing with him.
4 - RJ
Imus is classless scum. He shouldn't have a TV show.
5 - CommonSense
While Imus' statement may not have been the most PC of statements, the Imus show is NOT an unbiased show. Neither is the news, but they generally tend to be nonpartisan. So, hypothetically if you worship Satan and HATE Jesus, and you happen to flip onto one of the Jesus channels and take offense to what you hear, you would have a very similar arguement.
What separates us from Lebanon, is that we can opine about whatever we want, however radical it is, without worry of bodily harm, death or banishment, so long as we do it in a peaceful matter. Anyone who feels it should not be so, I urge you: Look for the nearest oppressed country.