Mmm Hmm. And This Is My Opinion

So I took my car into Monro Muffler & Brake Service this morning for my yearly State Inspection. My approximate wait time was anticipated at around three hours. Since my inspection was overdue, I had no other recourse but to sit and cool my heels until it was finished.

It's been bitterly cold and I much rather have been at home in bed. Weather forecasters are calling for a Nor'easter storm for Monday. Ugh! Just when I thought Ol' Man Winter went to pester someone else! That bastard won't ease up.

My mood has been indifferent lately and I moving on plain "existence mode." My thoughts have been swirling around several particular topics, but none has been more concentrated than the Don Imus scandal and the current political standing for next year.

To be honest, I haven't been caught up in the whole Imus ruckus. I was loosely aware he called the Rutger's Women's Basketball team "a bunch of nappy-headed hos," catching snippets from Yahoo News and from listening to the Tom Joyner Morning Show during my morning commute. I chalked it up to another stupid bigot expounding on his dumb viewpoints. This morning I caught the tail end of an interview with Sheila Johnson, former co-owner of BET, and current owner of the WNBA team Seattle Mystics on the TJMS. She was giving commentary on the controversy and the call for his resignation, citing what CBS should and needs to do about the situation. I've heard others talking about steeper punishments to the shock-jock Imus. I read online tonight MSNBC will be dropping his simucast morning broadcast from their morning line up. Other radio stations will also remove his morning show from their regular air time as well.

My concern with this latest racial debacle is no matter what his consequence, will it really make a difference? Will it change his opinion and attitudes towards Blacks? Towards women? Towards the disenfranchised Americans who struggle for the American dream? People seldom change their view point. Even if Don Imus is fired by CBS, which would affect him in his wallet, he'll no doubt recover from the dismissal. He'll eventually find new employment, move on, and in a few months from now, the incident will be erased the American consciousness.

What will Don Imus ultimately learn from this experience? Will he reevaluate his belief system of minority women and men? Will he continue to embrace his current misogynistic prejudiced stance? Imus is described as a shock jock and it is his job in media to stir the thoughts of listeners to contemplate outside the norm. However there are certain lines that should never be crossed, at least from one outside of a specific group or class of people. No matter what happens to Imus, he's a card carrying member of a select group, the Good Ol' Boy Network. At best, I believe he'll serve his suspension and return to broadcasting with a simple slap on the wrist. C'mon. Let's face facts, being a Caucasian male in the United States often means Carte Blanche to almost anything. Vice President Dick Cheney is a firm example of "Good Ole Boy" freedom and mentality.

Cheney, the least visible Vice President during my lifetime, had his involvement with Halliburton controversy. During his term as Veep, he incredulously shoots a friend during a hunting trip and receives no moral repercussions or censure from the Politicos in Washington. Oh He shot a man, oh well. He's the Vice President? Am I the only person to think something is wrong with the second most powerful person in our nation's government shooting someone and no one cares?!? The attitude was completely laisez-faire! It's just one example of white male power. I should clarify too, white male power extends to those in the media, political arena, or big business. Translation: White men with money, political involvement, and social status!

Recently I had a conversation at work about the next Presidential election in 2008. I firmly believe our next president will end up being some lame ass MAN, out of touch with the American populace. Forget Obama, Hillary, Edwards, Romney, or even McCain. No, I believe the next man in office is someone we all know has been closely associated with one of the greatest tragedies to befall this nation. Currently his president aspirations appear way under the radar from what I know, but he has his agenda to get in the White House. I personally can't stand him, dare I even mention his name, less his presidency becomes a reality. This man too, has had his share of controversy and scandal, albeit nothing to do with race relations.

America embraced the reindeer-man and he was a huge comfort during the healing process in the aftermath of 9-11. Yeah, I suppose I could see him as the Commander and Chief taking this country in better direction. He did, after all, clean up New York City. Perhaps I'm off the mark with what he could accomplish. Needless to say, whoever wins in 2008 will have a monumental task to undo eight years of the fuck-ups from the Bush-Cheney Administration; the continual rising price oil, the surge in poverty, the on-going plight of the homeless, race relations, gay rights & equality, the health insurance issue, the list goes on and on. I fear our next leader of the Free World may suffer the same scrutiny as Jimmy Carter did during his tenure in office.

Carter is often viewed as the worst President the US ever had. I view him less tersely and see the effort he attempted to do to repair America after the Nixon and Ford Administrations (mostly Nixon's). Carter faced adversity from day one until his last day in office. Our next President, unless s/he is able to tap into resources, connect with American plight, and unify the divide between Democrats and Republican to bring REAL change and growth, will face the same daunting task as President Carter. The situation will not bode well especially if a Democrat is elected and fails to deliver. The next President will need the "balls" to bring our troops home and find some resolution to the Iraqi War without sacrificing the lives of our service-persons. S/he will need to push for legislature that will heal the country and start to break down the barriers between class and race.

So see, Don Imus, there are bigger matters out there to worry about than your foolish words. True you're an idiot and opened a can of worms, but you are not alone. Perhaps you could in throw your hat into the arena for the presidential race??? God forbid, let's hope not!