You are on the money, but it's worse (and better).

In the old days of broadcasting, one had to have cross-demographic appeal. Someone who offended a component of an audience was a liabilty. One did not need government imposed censorship because the tyranny of the marketplace policed itself. Allowable opinion ran the full gamut from A to B.

In these days of targetted demographics, almost every outlet for communication still carries an opinion range of two letters of the alphabet, but almost every letter gets covered somewhere. Thus, there is almost no consequence for a radio station offending people who are not part of their demographic target. Every black person in America could boycott Imus, and it would probably not have one iota of impact to those stations which are targetted to the white male boobacracy (which, to be fair, is only a portion of the white male demographic).

I listen almost exclusively to WFMU, WFUV, WBGO and WKCR, although I will occassionaly hit WBAI, or the local AOR station to catch Little Steven Van Zandt). I might boycott a station that afforded Imus a home, but why should they care?

And, it almost begs the question of whether I should care. My Jiminy Cricket says I should, but I'll be damned if I can explain why.

I read in The Daily News today, people blaming Don Imus' comments on hip hop and rap music. While some rappers express there ideas through their music, their lyrics hardly scratch the ever living surfice of his horrific words. To blame Imus' comments on rappers and entertainers is weak and its not a real defense. It still doesn't explain why he would use such language on a group of individuals who did absolutely nothing to deserve it. We so quickly forget the past. Not the so recent past...go alittle further back 200 years..or i'll even make it easier..go back just 50 years. If we want to be technical or be "real" about the whole thing...these words resignate with my people and we know it very well, but not coming from our own mouths, but coming from mouths of oppressors. So since we're playing the blame game, lets put it where it rightfully should be. Lets put it where it originated. Don Imus is older than Hip Hop. He's older than rap music and so are his awful comments.

What Imus said was disgusting and he is and will pay for it dearly. MSNBC has announced that it's canceling the simocasting of his show and I expect CBS will be canceling his program also.

What I do have problems with is why does the black community allow this kind of language from Rap Stars? The so called Black Leaders (Jackson, Sharpton and others) don't do anything about stopping them from calling black women names. I guess it's okay because it's a black on black situation.

Why is Rush allowed to make fun of Michael J Fox for his illness and not be thrown off the airwaves? Why is Bill O'Rielly allowed to degrade a family that was devestaged in that fire in Manhattan because they may or may not be here illegally or when he tells Jews to go to Israel if they don't like "Christian America"? Why is Ann Coulter allowed to call for the murder of a Supreme Court Judge and get away with it?

Enough from everyone and if Sharpton, Jackson and others want to end this kind of talk they should start with their buddies in the Rap industry and work their way down from there.

Did I really say that? Obviously, given Imus's roosts at NBC and CBS, the old rules still apply to him, but the Limbaughs, O'Rellys, etc., operating at Fox and other sinkholes of syndication, are free from such pressure. And, we've seen the results.

No doubt Imus will find a somewhat less lucrative (but still munificent) home for his racisr rants; probably not at Fox though, as while his racial language might not bother them, he's too much of a political loose cannon.