Laura Erickson's For the Birds

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

The only thing I'm going to say about the Don Imus flap

I've never listened to Don Imus, and don't know if he's used his power and influence to promote a healthy environment or to make his audience more informed about the natural world and the birds that enrich our lives. And I'm not very informed about the current college basketball scene. But as a mother of a young woman, I am angry as all get-out when any mindless blowhard demeans powerless women young enough to be his granddaughters. Those students were playing their hearts out, and he was supposed to be commenting about the team's chances at winning. If one of them made a stupid play in a game, she'd expect (but be devastated by) public comment and ridicule. But for the whole team to be publicly disparaged with such an ugly comment that manages to ridicule both the women's appearance and their fundamental selves--well, I'd just like to ram his microphone where the sun don't shine.