Two Lynchings

The media in recent days has been going bananas in its coverage of two lynchings: the Duke University "rape that was no rape" case, and the hypocritical pile-on of Don Imus for using the same "racial terms" that are common in rap lyrics.

The New York Times, as usual, stood out like a sore thumb.

While reporting the withdrawal of charges on the front page, the Times did not report its own tawdry record in hyping that story. Fox News observed that "nowhere did it mention a Times exclusive from last August in which the paper said: 'While there are big weaknesses in (prosecutor) Nifong's case, there is also a body of evidence to support his decision to take the matter to a jury. In several important areas, the full files, reviewed by The New York Times, contain evidence stronger than that highlighted by the defense.'"

The shameful hypocrisy of the Imus crucifixion was a kind of team sport enjoyed by the entire media. Rush Limbaugh, a target of Imus, said:

"To me, this really isn't so much about Imus," Rush said. "Imus is who he is, and everybody has always known who he is. It's more about the people that have propped Imus up and have looked the other way over all these years over all these things, and it's about a lot of hypocrisy in the 'drive-by' media.”

No such furor followed Imus' anti-Semitic remarks just five months ago. As The Forward noted at the time,

“I remember when I first had ’em on a few years ago,” Imus said. “The Jewish management at, whoever we work for, CBS, were bitchin’ at me about it.” WFAN is a subsidiary of WCBS radio.

“We had a meeting in my office,” Imus continued. “They were furious, but of course I don’t care what they say and never have.”

At this point, the show’s executive producer, Bernard McGuirk, a regular on-air presence, said of the Blind Boys, “Even if you wear a beanie, how can you not love these guys?”

“I tried to put it in terms that these money-grubbing bastards could understand,” Imus replied. “I said: ‘They’re handicapped, they’re black and they’re blind. How do we lose here?’ And then a light bulb went off over their scummy little heads.”

Imus co-host Larry Kenney, an impressionist who appeared earlier in the program as the Rev. Jerry Falwell, then said: “They probably were trying to push a more Semitic group on you. I don’t know, maybe the Paralyzed Putzes of Poland, or something like that.”

“You can’t believe what goes on behind the scenes, at least with me with these people,” Imus said. “And fortunately, I don’t care.”

The reaction? There wasn't any. Yet four words got his career tossed in the can.

It's hard to find a better example of political correctness, double standards and hypocrisy run wild.