Letters to the Editor

Readers call for positive steps after the firing of talk radio host Don Imus.

US must address Imus issue broadly

In response to the April 16 article, "With Imus ousted, will other shows clean up their acts?": This article places the emphasis on language far too narrowly, as do most of the reactions to Don Imus's words: Will we all monitor our language more carefully?

Mr. Imus's image was directed at a very specific group. But it is the effect and intent of people's language that is the issue. If we may not employ language that derogates "these young women," are we actually stating that there are people whom we

may

In recent months, several celebrities have entered the news with derogatory statements for which they were sorry: Mel Gibson, Michael Richards, Isaiah Washington, and now Imus. Negative response to their specific utterances addresses only them and their specific verbal gaffes, and it is insufficient.

Until the topic is examined far more broadly, we have not reached a turning point.

Harold A. Maio
Advisory board member, American Journal of Psychiatric Rehabilitation
Fort Myers, Fla.

In response to the April 16 article on Don Imus: I don't agree with Mr. Imus's comments, but I think that if we really want to make a difference, we should attack the hatred that is wrapped up in some of the songs that many people consider to be "entertainment."

Why spend so much time attacking talk radio, which I am sure most young adults do not listen to?

Focus on the real problem – bleep out all the hatred and violence in the songs that our kids are listening to.

Ken Wagner
Cedarville, Ohio

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