:: Da' Militant One's Lair ::

:: Friday, October 03, 2003 ::

Memo to Karen Hunter of The New York Daily News:

(Ms. Hunter wrote a column on the Rush Limbaugh/ESPN Controversy)

Basically, Ms. Hunter hits it on the head. Limbaugh should not have resigned and should have had a chance to follow up on his statements on ESPN. That, his fellow commentator on ESPN's Countdown, Tom Jackson allegedly threatened to quite if Limbaugh was not fired says much more. Usually when white conservatives or white folks in general speak about the black community, it' is in the negative (affirmative action, out of wedlock births, crime, education, etc.). Black sports fans look to sports as a release from the everyday madness. Tom Jackson is no different. That's why his show is a sports show. That doesn't mean that hard issues are not discussed (the hiring of black coaches, bad behavior by black athletes, etc.). However, it was probably not lost on Tom Jackson that Limbaugh is a radio talk show host that usually discusses black America in negative terms. If Jackson takes on Limbaugh, the confrontation could lead to a lot of racial animosity at ESPN and in the country at large. If Jackson doesn't take on Limbaugh, he's a "sell out" and an "Uncle Tom". In other words for Jackson, it's a no win situation. At some point, black folk just want some relief from the everyday reality of growing up black in America. Hence, sports and the shows that lead off the games on Sunday are used by many black sports fans as an oasis against the storm.

Also, following up on one of Ms. Hunter's other points, whatever happened to the millions of white folks who did everything they could to suppress the freedoms of blacks up through the passage of the Civil Rights Laws of the mid-1960's. Did they renounce their beliefs or did they choose other methods of maintaining and perpetuating their long held views? Maybe some of them chose to be talk show hosts.

:: DM1 10/03/2003 10:01:00 PM [+] ::
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