I heard the comment and it was clear that Imus asked the question because he wanted to know if he was "allowed" to make fun of Jones. Once he found out he wasn't white. He didn't make any jokes about him. Its clear he's still afraid to say anything about us.

That could be racist or not depending on who says it. From Imus, I'm guessing he means all black men do is commit crime. Although if someone else had said it, it could just as easily have meant that black men are always targets, so it's no surprise that one is being arrested for bullshit reasons.

Political correctness is the slow death of all society.

Its a shame that we are more offended by what Don Imus was or wasn't thinking instead of being outraged that Pacman has been arrested 6 times, left a guy handicapped and now two more players were arrested yesterday. Check out http://www.nflcrimes.com and thats sad.

Javon Williams is giving Pacman a run for the money.

Phish…
Also Pacman Jones has very little to do with me. He's a pampered petulant spoiled formerly wealthy athlete. Me? Not so much. He should be judged by the content of his character. I should not be judged by the content of his character.

Solitaire, I like political correctness. It's best if people keep most of their hateful thoughts to themselves.

wow. good comments. I was all ready to say something and I forget now. This story has so many interesting angles depending on who you make the protagonist… me, Imus or Pacman Jones.

I've listened to Don Imus and is new show is a lot different than his old show. He is one of the few people that will discuss race. He has no idea who pacman is and thought that pacman was arrested 6 times because he's a target. Before that comment, he was talking about how the clubs have drugs and guns, etc. If he's so racist then why has the graet Dick Gregory been on the show 3 times and was on for the whole 4 hours the last time? It also sickens me that a lot of people are somehow comparing Imus and pacman like they have committed the same crimes. Imus has said some dumb things, but he's not committing crimes.

Indeed, Chic Noir. When you call it "political correctness", everybody's up in arms, but when you call it "politeness/etiquette", heads start bobbing up and down. They're both arbitrary sets of unofficial rules about speech that society has set forth, but no one argues for the "right" to tell the cashier "f*** you" at the end of a business transaction and avoid social consequences for it.

@Solitaire, I like political correctness. It’s best if people keep most of their hateful thoughts to themselves.

That's a very ignorant and dangerous way of thinking, but you're entitlted to your opinion.

Political correctness has nothing to do with politeness, and everything to do with policing peoples thoughts. To not see that clearly is astonishing to me.

"If he’s so racist then why has the graet Dick Gregory been on the show 3 times and was on for the whole 4 hours the last time?"

It's "He has black friends" redux, ya'll! And be honest, Johnson, did you, as a self-professed viewer, really find extensive fault with the old show?

@Solitaire:

(shakes head in disbelief….)

Are u serious???

Personally, I'm glad the streets of our nation and the Youtube comments section generally seem like two different worlds. My middle finger deserves a rest after its tenure as my press secretary during high school. *lavishes it with another coat of sparkly purple lacquer* I can understand the folks who prefer their virulent hatred straight, no chaser, but to me it doesn't seem like the end of the world as we know it if people get socially pressured into tact. Solitaire, is there a society that socially-imposed political correctness (which differs in both degree and kind from government censorship, which I am fully against) has destroyed, and if there is, how so?

The society slowly being destroyed by political correctness, is this one. The thought police is always on patrol.

I find the people who are obsessed with what they think Imus was trying to say, are way more dangerous than him.

"The society slowly being destroyed by political correctness, is this one."

Do you have anything to substantiate this assertion? Surely, you're not suggesting that our society was better and stronger in the 50s/60s, right? *raises "The People's Brow"* And you still didn't explain how it's being destroyed.

You brought up the 50's/60's, not me, and in no way did I say it was a better time. As someone presumably wit a functioning brain, all you have to do is open your eyes and see the dangers inherent in political correctness.

Your posts in this very thread are a prime example of the evils of political correctness.

You gave the example of our present society as your sole example of a civilization crumbling under P.C's boot. I hearkened to a time in this society that was directly prior to the rise of political correctness. I'm totally willing to hear you out, but you don't seem to want to put forth an argument for your position that's not a circular reasoning fallacy. Natch, if I were to dare to ask you how "my posts in this very thread are a prime example of the evils of political correctness", you'd be bound to tell me and anyone else here that it's self-explanatory, and anyone who doesn't know already will never know unless they take their blinders off… hopefully, you'll prove me wrong. You want to talk about P.C., and you think its impact is devastating enough to rip the very fabric of our society, then why not expound upon your perspective?

I agree with DivergetDana. The point of politically correctness is not to censure. If you hate black people/gays/Muslims etc then you are permitted to express that belief. But dont say a comment that clearly reveals your underlying prejudice and then say "im not racist, you are just too pc!" I just say call a spade a spade. (No racial connotations intented :))

Since when is Dick Gregory the spokesman of Black folk? Did I miss the memo? Just curious.

solitare said:Political correctness has nothing to do with politeness, and everything to do with policing peoples thoughts. To not see that clearly is astonishing to me.

Solitare, it's not about policing peoples thoughts. Being PC means keeping hateful and hurtful remarks to yourself.

If you think PC is a bit much in this country, what must you think of Germany where it's against the law to say that the Holocaust never happened. Or try to buy a copy Mein Kampf in Germany, Austria or the Netherlands
.