That's disgusting.

I guess some women might warm to it, in the same way that some women proudly call themselves "bitches" to strip the word of power, but I personally would NOT want the teddy bear near me.

ooh i hate it. and i find it intersante that the bear and its t-shirt are snow white.

yeah, like so many purported "reclaimings" of words, it's hard to tell whether this is a reclaiming or support of the original comment. Which is why I cringe when people around here call each other "bitch," (see Jen's video post of today) even though in this space it's usually pretty clear whether it's insult or endearment.

The t-shirts that say "nappy headed ho for Imus" are much less ambiguous.

sigh.

I have lost all hope for humanity.

This is amazing. Just think about long it took for words like "dyke" to be reclaimed!

Although in my opinion while dyke can go either way (and it has I think) the very words in this phrase make it inherently negative--and nasty.

well, now that sales of "The Juice Is Loose" t-shirts are petering out, SOMETHING has to fill the void.

but that phrase.. every time i hear it i just think: http://closethipster.livejournal.com/336972.html

so i'm ready for it to go away now.

Okay, not defending this or pretending to understand what they're trying to say with the bear, but...

The color of the bear and its t-shirt are set by CafePress, and the seller has no choice. I sell those same bears in several of my shops. So, that, at least, has no deeper meaning.

There is no way that this was intended as a "reclaiming" of the phrase. This particular teddy bear was created by some clever capitalist that boasts the shirt as a way to "support Imus and free speech."

Jesus fucking Christ. When will people learn that "free speech" does NOT mean that you don't have to face consequences if you say something totally demeaning to an entire community (or in this case, two entire communities) of people. Yeah, he had the right to say it, but we the public also have the right to express our outrage to his bosses, who then in turn had the right to fire him. Remember that whole "with great freedom comes great responsibility" thing?

Who is that even mocking? It's not funny if it has to be explained, people!

Since when did free speech mean a complete disregard for anything that is sensationalized.

I thought personal freedom ended where it encroached another's liberty or is that not it?

THIS IS THE MOST DISGUSTING THING I HAVE EVER SEEN.

there is a plethora of other producs there as well.... "book mark this time in history" I mean, a man abusing a group of people using language neither appropriate nor usable in decent society is "history"...

damn. I lose faith in the human race.

Very strange. Is this supposed to be supporting bigoted language? Do they really think this is the next brilliant strategy to save humans from the knee-jerk liberals?

Snark commercial:

"Those nasty liberals got you down? Taking away your 'freedom of speech at work?' Not allowed to share your racist and sexist comments aloud? Buy one of our anti-PC bears. Cuddly, cute, just $5.99. Perfect to enrage people walking by your desk at work or teaching for your daughter how much society values her appearance and lack of sexual experience."

"Yeah, he had the right to say it, but we the public also have the right to express our outrage to his bosses, who then in turn had the right to fire him. Remember that whole 'with great freedom comes great responsibility' thing?"

In this case it seems more like "freedom of the press belongs to he or she who owns it." Imus is free to say his views, other people are free to say their views about it, the owners of the forums Imus uses are free to pick and choose which views they want to broadcast, etc.

Very strange. Is this supposed to be supporting bigoted language? Do they really think this is the next brilliant strategy to save humans from the knee-jerk liberals?

Think? Uh ... even before Stephen Colbert, I was under the impression that the Amygdalan Wing (it sounds so much nicer than "lizard brain," doesn't it?) went with their gut.

Or, maybe it's some kind of half-repressed racial memory from when they had to watch their ancestors being fed to the lions. There's got to be some sort of reason why they feel so victimized when they're not allowed to victimize.

I'm personaly offended by the bear, not only because of the utter stupidity with the whole situation, but because the bear is my sorority's mascot. Though this is not directed at the sorority, its repulsive. I personaly would burn it if it was anywhere near me.

The worst part about the Imus controversy is how the right will use it to say that liberals are censoring them and that "political correctness" exists and is strong.

Democrats will be blamed.

Hmm. In that case, I think we should say "Yes, anti-racism does exist and is strong, and thank goodness for that! Are you in favor of racism?"

Let's call 'em like we see 'em, and not allow the term "politically correct" to slide by without challenge.

On second thought, I'm wondering if this shouldn't be put in the "useful products to society because if you notice that someone owns one you can immediately stay far away from them" category? That would be the same category that has all those "guy toys" that Jess finds for us, like the boob-shampoo-dispener and the boob-TV-remote and the boob-, well, I guess you get the picture. :D

Point is, whether it was bought by someone as a "reclaiming" or bought by someone as a "solidarity with Imus", the fact of the matter that it's there sitting on their couch would instantly help me to realize that the person I was visiting was maybe not the type of person who I want to be visiting.....

In that light alone, this might be a positive thing?

In totally unrelated news (sorry for the double post), I finally figured out how to change my typekey nickname. Now I don't have to keep getting confused when people address EG and I think they said EJ. Heh.

Honestly, this isn't at all about "political correctness" or censorship, it's about the fact that Imus's bosses found that he would become unprofitable if he continued to be employed. And that's what I would say to anyone who felt this was censorship. Imus is free to say whatever he likes, and I'm free not to listen to him, as is everyone else. And if no one's listening to him, why broadcast him? It's all very capitalist and free market driven, don't you know.

And I agree with the "warning sign" aspect of the bear. I can tell you that if I saw this in someone's house I would remember a pressing appointment elsewhere.

I completely agree, Genny, on the censorship. People crying "foul" need to remember that he wasn't summarily fired for what he said - he was suspended, the network crunched numbers, and they decided that he wasn't profitable anymore because of his remarks so they canned him. Capitalism at one of its finer moments.

And I'm glad you like the "warning sign" idea. :)

Meanwhile, here's another angle on the whole situation, which might explain the "slow response":

http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=518285

"...Imus’ comments didn’t raise much of an eyebrow the morning they happened. Either the people who were listening didn’t care much, or there just really weren’t that many people listening. The resulting backlash makes it clear that it’s not the former. No, people just didn’t know that anything had been said until liberal watchdog Media Matters for America broke the story (online, mind you) much later that evening..."