Why I'll Miss Don Imus

It was mostly morbid curiosity which made me rest on MSNBC while I was working late at night. I had heard some truly idiotic things from Don Imus over the years, but there he was, on in the middle of the night here in California, a convenient backdrop to whatever task was at hand.

Honestly, I don't know how it happened, because I am an overweight, liberal female and he is a basically conservative asshole whose favorite epithets are fat, fat-assed, and various other rude and unkind cracks against people of size.

Over time, geez, I'm more than a little embarrassed to admit it, he started to grow on me. His surliness I could deal with, and his generally dark view of the world. Mine's pretty dark too, most of the time. I listened to him struggling to breath some mornings, and found myself rooting for the old goofball.

I was impressed despite myself at his charitable work even while I winced at some of the things he said. Do I think he's racist? Yeah, absolutely. He's the epitome of the type person who looks down on Jews with the exception of his best friend, Ed Weinstein who isn't like any of those other Jews. He generally pooh-poohed the idea that any special consideration was needed for the civil rights or feelings of blacks, but he was the staunchest supporter of Harold Ford Jr. for Senate, and repeatedly decried the racism he felt was the only reason that Ford lost the election.

So he was a walking contradiction. Mixed points of view in the same person. Welcome to the human race.

I admired the way he supported McCain for President, for the same reasons that I admire McCain. Yet he took shots at him too, when he disagreed with his views or felt he was pandering to the religious right. I found myself agreeing with him so many times that it surprised and alarmed me.

I was riveted by the guests Imus had on and the lively debates. It was wonderful to listen to those normally acting as questioners be grilled by Don and the gang. Sometimes I actually taped the show when I was about to be overcome with sleep so that I wouldn't miss the upcoming guests and conversations.

I remember when Gerald Ford died and I felt very sad and terrible, watching the nonstop coverage of the speeches and the funerals. Imus started out in the same vein, but then he commented on the Ford quotes that Bob Woodward released after his death: "He didn't
even wait until they got him out of his jammies!" I laughed until I cried. It wasn't the only time I laughed while watching that stupid show. Yes, there were hundreds of dumb, flat bits and I got very bored and tired of listening to the Clinton slams. But God, were they funny sometimes. A running joke on the show was how much they were all looking forward to Don's death. I'm sure the humor is lost on anyone who didn't hear it directly, but it truly was very funny - only because he laughed harder than anybody.

I loved it that his wife came on the show and gave him hell. I still smile when I remember the morning when she revealed the source of his bad mood was that he had trouble blow-drying his hair. I loved it that I was exposed to music that I wouldn't normally have been listening to. I loved it when he would let some political pundit go on and on about something, and then flatten him instantly by saying "that's got to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard." More often than not I agreed with him.

Even before all this nappy-headed ho stuff hit the fan, I often wondered what it was about that idiotic show that I found so compelling. And I finally figured it out - beyond all the rudeness and cynicism and crankiness and wrong-headed conservatism, the man has a good heart. It allows me to look past his irritating slander against my (fat) people and others, and focus on his real and true humbleness, the millions he raises for important causes, and his talent, humor and wit.

Yes, I agree, he should never have said such a terribly mean thing about the Rutger's women's basketball team. He was a moron, but it was very early in the morning and he's an old man with breathing problems - plus he understands and recognizes that he was a moron.

I think the outcome of this whole debacle is that racism and hate and intolerance will still flourish in this country. The unfortunate thing is that this will probably hinder his ability to raise millions - MILLIONS! - of dollars for children and soldiers, of all races. I can't help but wonder if any of those demanding he be fired will be raising any money for the causes he regularly - and generously - funded. Research for autism, Sudden-Infant-Death Syndrome, the Imus Ranch for kids with cancer and other diseases, and the rehab facility for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes. Believe me, I'm no flak for Don Imus. I only know about his support of these causes because he constantly yammered on and on about them. They were obviously on his mind, and clearly in his heart.

Personally, and this is just me, I'd let anyone in the world call me any damn thing they wanted, if they were doing that much good in the world. But I'm a deeds-not-words kinda gal. I'm far more impressed with what people do than what they say. If you weight the results of his show's obnoxious behavior against the results that the money has done in the world, I think the good would win out.

And this is not a shot at those beautiful, strong, incredible women at Rutger's. They're hurt and they're pissed, and boy, do they have a right to be. I cannot believe that they will allow the ignorant slurs of one man to destroy their lives. So what happens now? They roll on to be the shining beacons of womankind that they were already on their way to being, but what about everyone else? As for me, I'm going to miss the cranky old bastard and his outrageous, colorful show in the mornings. And I'm REALLY going to miss seeing his on-going version of making racial amends. That promised to be highly entertaining on a variety of levels.