Oh loyal readers, how I thank thee for thine patience during my unfortunate hiatus.
Purplethink.com is back, and I hope to publish 1-2 times weekly as I did before.
Latest addition for your enjoyment is below:
http://www.PurpleThink.com_____________________________________
It's Not About Imus
April 10,2007
"Our moment was taken away."
- Heather Zurich, Rutgers Basketball Player
Sometimes I think we PurpleThinkers are on a permanent acid trip because things that appear so clearly to us are lost on the public at large.
Shock jock Don Imus took a joke "way too far" on April 4, 2007. He called the Rutgers basketball team a bunch of "nappy-headed hos." Wow! This is obviously in very bad taste and nobody in their right mind would condone this behavior.
NBC and CBS were right to suspend Imus and further action should at least be considered. Many in the African-American leadership, including Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are calling for Imus to be fired. Interesting.
Regardless of how this plays out for Don Imus, it's a very sad tale. However, most sad is how those self-appointed leaders of African-American community continue to reinforce a culture of dependence among the Black population.
There is no way that an idiot like Don Imus is capable of taking away the extraordinary accomplishments of the Rutgers Women's Basketball team this year. As an underdog, they took the Big East championship and shocked all the b-ball pundits by playing for the national championship. The only way that the 14th ranked radio personality in the country, with a limited audience and even more limited credibility could take anything away from these women is if they let it happen.
By holding a 45-minute teleconference and making statements like, "we'd just like to express our great hurt," and "we were stripped of this moment" the Rutgers basketball team grants Don Imus authority over their lives that he otherwise wouldn't have had.
Then came the big whammy. Junior Matee Ajavon said "I think this has scarred me for life." Amazing! That a relatively obscure radio host that had never met any of these women can scar them for life with an off-hand comment is absolutely astonishing to me.
Nevermind the Black comedians and rap stars that make a living using language far more demeaning and violent to Black women. Guess Matee never heard these recordings. Or perhaps Al and Jesse just have never drawn her attention to these "artists." That's a good thing given Matee's obviously fragile state of being.
Of course, I see this for what it is -- melodramatic nonsense spurred-on by those who would profit from further racial division. I'm sure Matee and her entire team are strong, self-reliant, intelligent women deserving of everyone's respect. Shame they do such damage to themselves and young African-American girls that look to them as role models.
This in no way excuses Don Imus, nor is to suggest that the comments should be ignored. Rather, it should be met with simple calls for accountability - the end. Imagine the power in a simple statement from the Rutgers team stating,
"Our accomplishments speak for themselves. We are above this irrelevant nonsense and decline to lend further credence to this story. It says nothing about us and plenty about Don Imus. We simply recommend NBC, CBS, and their sponsors seriously look at the character of those with whom they choose to do business."
Powerful indeed -- class befitting the true character of this team.
Marching on Chicago and holding tearful press conferences further embeds into the African-American consciousness that Blacks can never succeed and be accountable for their own future because there are idiots out there.
Guess what? There will always be idiots out there!
AmbergrisCaye.com 
