You Can Call Me "Ho". Just Call Me.

Be prepared to be shocked:

I couldn't figure out why I had Baby's Got Back planted firmly in my brain. I was stuck on this line (and then the sound of a cracking whip like you hear in the song):

Knock-kneed bimbos walkin' like hos.

Then I associated that it must be because of the controversy surrounding radio host Don Imus.

I'm sure you've heard that Mr. Imus referred to the women's basketball team of Rutgers as "nappy headed hos". Not a very nice thing to say. But now I have learned that as a woman, I am supposed to be offended by this. And if I were a black woman, I am supposed to be outraged. I'm really glad that blogs, news sites, and television have told me how to feel because had they not instructed me, I might not have realized how pissed off I am.

Don Imus's show DOES go too far. I hate when one of his sidekicks does a very derogatory impression of Maya Angelou. I detest how he stereotypes Southerners as idiots. I loathe how he and his wife talk to each other. But... I like the show. I like how there is a man on TV who doesn't have every word he says scripted, who brings intelligent guests on his show and discusses relevant issues and who does say things that others won't. Some times they are not the things I would say, but I still find it interesting and entertaining. I find Larry the Cable Guy offensive, but strangely, I don't really feel offended by Don Imus, or Howard Stern, who makes a killing off of degrading women.

Much like Bill Maher, who once hosted Politically Incorrect on a network station, Imus has killed himself with his own poison tongue. I have really mixed emotions about this. No one should have the nerve to insult a group of college basketball players who did nothing, but should the public have the right to demand that the show be taken off the air? He said it. He has apologized numerous times. He deserves some sort of punishment. But these 3 words have outraged a nation. I've called people much worse and the difference between what Imus did and what I have done is that I said it to their faces and I meant it.

I wonder if the nation has a right to get mad or if this issues is between Imus and those ball players. I've listened to Imus for several years and although I sometimes find his comments tasteless, I honestly don't think that he's racists or a member of the He Male Women Haters Club. He was trying to be funny but was instead insulting. I do this quite a bit myself and am just glad no one has yet caught it on tape.

Wondering. I don't know the right answer.

I have a couple of gay guy friends. One of these guys is especially quirky and I love spending time with him. He gets my humor and I get his. We like a lot of the same things. He's thoughtful but tough, sensible but free spirited. His being gay is just part of his world and, thus, part of mine. Sometimes I'll say something like, "That messenger bag you're carrying is gay." Would someone overhearing that assume that I'm homophobic because I used the word in a "derogatory" way? His boyfriend finds those kinds of remarks offensive, but I will sometimes say them anyway. Get over it. I don't have a problem with you being gay but I do have a problem with you being hyper sensitive.

As a nation, are we acting like the boyfriend over this Imus issue? Again, I'm wondering because I'm conflicted. That's an unusual feeling for me. I usually have a stance but this time, I'm not so sure how to react or if reacting is even my responsibility.

Women are referred to as bitches and hos all the time. These words are insults in certain contexts and terms of endearment or simply terms at other times. I just don't know what to think.

I guess I'll watch HardBall with Chris Matthews tonight to find out exactly how I should feel. In the meantime, I have some planning to do. I'm long overdue for a "Bitches Night Out" and need to make some phone calls.