Imus: Forgive and Forget?

Imus: Forgive and Forget?
Min. Paul Scott


Alexander Pope once said," to err is human but to forgive is devine..."

Whatever, homie.

I bet Alex was the kid that got jacked for his lunch money everyday at school.

There is a buzz going around that Don Imus is about to make his triumphant entry back into the households of America by September and guess what?
Word is that Rev. Al Sharpton is cool with this...

Say what, now?

Wasn't this the same guy who was on all 120 channels on my TV not even four months ago, calling for Don Imus's head on a platter?

But I forgot. It wasn't poor Imus's fault. He was a victim of subliminal seduction courtesy of some evil gangsta rappers.

Now, according to news reports, Rev. Al is giving Imus his blessing to once again become the champion of the airwaves and show all the haters once and for all that you can't keep a good racist down.

That's the problem when Black folks flock behind one leader. After some bad guy does some despicable act, the great and powerful Black leader rises from his Cadillac, raises his arms and rains down thunder and lighting on the evil doer. And just like that, he snaps his fingers and the sun starts shining, the birds start singing and all is well with the world.

The late educator, Dr. John Henrik Clark in one of his lectures, points out that Booker T. Washington was the first "official" Black leader chosen by while America. Seems like it was better to deal with one man than a few million angry Black folks.

This same strategy was used during the Civil Rights Era as Malcolm X said in his "Message to the Grassroots:"

"The same strategy that was used in those days is used today, by the same white man. He takes a Negro, a so-called Negro, and makes him prominent, builds him up, publicizes him, makes him a celebrity. And then he becomes a spokesman for Negroes -- and a Negro leader."

Even in 2007, the game remains the same. White America props up one Black person and makes him the mouthpiece for every black man, woman and child in America from the Hamptons to tha hood. Someone who can spark the revolution with one hand and call it off with the other.

So, now according to news reports, Rev. Sharpton isn't going to oppose Imus's return because " he has the right to make a living."

Suggestion...

Let him get a few cows and a couple of pigs and try his hand at farming at that big ol ranch he has in New Mexico.

Also, according to reports, Rev. Al says that "we had never asked him to never work again."

Sooooo, all that protesting and air time was just to get Imus transfered from MSNBC to Fox News ?

I guess history will record that the outcome of some old bigot calling a group of beautiful, mostly Black women "nappy headed ho's" was that he got an extended summer vacation and we now have an "undisputed" Black leader.

In fairness to Rev. Al, I guess that there are more important battles to fight. Hey, doesn't 50 Cent have a new CD coming out in a few months?

I guess sometimes you have to put the past behind you and forgive and forget.

Then again, I ain't the one that Imus called a nappy headed ho....

Min. Paul Scott is a writer and activist based in Durham NC. His blog is http://www.nowarningshotsfired.com
He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 email: info@nowarningshotsfired.com