I don't get it: Does that mean I'm a racist?

Hang Imus!

Really? Do we have to? I mean, Atrios in particular is on the warpath. He's been beating the anti-Imus drum for a couple days now. I don't get it. Does that mean I'm a racist?

DISCLAIMER: I certainly understand how what Imus said was incredibly offensive to those girls. I get that. I just don't understand why we're all obssessed with it.

My parents have listened to Imus since WFAN was WNBC and still listen to him. By osmosis, I've become somewhat of a reluctant Imus expert.

Imus' highly tedious radio/tv gig is based on him being incredibly surly his producer Bernard McGuirk being incredibly politically incorrect, Charles McCord being straight man to all this and a bunch of talking heads and politicos making each other laugh like the tiresome boys club that they are. What he said was completely in line with the rest of the show. They offend everyone.

I can see why the girls are offended. But, he's said as bad or worse about lots of folks. Now, we have to get rid of him? Now? Because he offended those athletes? He's offended lots of people. Why now, do we get rid of the guy? For the 25-30 years that I've overheard my folks listening to him, he's had a running joke where they'd have a Teddy Kennedy impersonator go off on a rant, only to cut him off with the sound of a car crash and the sound of a girl drowning. That's offensive too. He's made fun of many black icons before, too like Mike Tyson, Oprah and Jesse Jackson in lots of racially insensitive ways. But now it's gone too far? Why? What's especially offensive about this?

I don't know. Maybe I'm not offended because I see the guy as an antiquated relic. Maybe he's just not relevant to me and my world view. Just like I knew that people watched Hunter for the 7 years it was on, but I just didn't know any of them. He's a cranky old coot. He's the old dude shaking his fist and yelling, "Get off my lawn!" He's tedious and self-involved. Just listen to someone else.