Imus Aftermath: Let's Neuter Snoop Dogg!

C Goodman

Now that Don Imus has been canned twice this week and the critics have gotten their way, hopefully we can all move on with our lives -- eventually. But really, where is all of this phoney outrage going to take us? Many predict the Imus affair will have a chilling effect on broadcasters, forcing them to stay squeaky clean. Others think that the hip-hop community should be the next target of the thought police. They say rappers should remove every offensive term from their lyrics. "Send Snoop Dogg to the dog house -- make him clean up his act!" they shout. Wow, wouldn't that be a boring world? Snoop Dogg neutered -- not being able to say "pimp," "ho," or the b-word?

I have to wonder though, if we confiscated the iPods of each of the "offended" girls on the Rutgers basketball team, just how many would have 50 Cent or Ludacris or Akon on their "Most Played" list? I really can't see them listening to Barry Manilow during their morning workouts. "Copacabana" might be good if you're really drunk, but not if you're doing leg presses.

So much has been made in the past week about the Rutgers players and how "they didn't ask for this." They "aren't in the public eye. They're not public figures. They should be off limits to scrutiny and ridicule." Give me a break! These ladies played for the national championship in women's college basketball -- a game that just so happened to be broadcast across the country live on ESPN.That is the definition of a public figure. If we can single the top two scoring players out and talk about their "stats" in sports columns and during the TV highlight reel, they can certainly be made fun of because of their appearance. Did Imus go too far? Of course he did. But to say these women are off-limits, that they're not public figures, is the bogus argument of the decade.

If you're in the news, chances are someone somewhere might make fun of you. What, did these girls not know the cameras were there that night? Shouldn't the post-game press conferences and the questions from reporters have been a hint that people were watching? That the outside world might be interested in their little game?

It's time we stop taking ourselves so seriously in this country. We really have become a nation of victims and whiners. Due to pressure from black community leaders such as Rev. Sharpton and Rev. Jackson, the Rutgers girls went before the nation in their press conference and portrayed themselves as victims. One girl even said that she had "been scarred for life" or something. What? How can a cranky old white man wearing a cowboy hat and playing country tunes scar you for life? Don't tell me that Don Imus has that much power over you. These girls didn't even know Imus existed until they were told about him and forced by black leaders to be "outraged."

But I digress. Again I ask, where will it all end? Should Rosie O'Donnell lose her seat on "The View?" Why is Howard Stern allowed to degrade women every day on the air? Why can't Rush Limbaugh choke on one of his cigars? Wouldn't the world be a better place if Snoop Dogg could just sing "Like a Virgin?"

And then there's this. I believe the thought police might target Ryan Seacrest after seeing this clip.

I rest my case.