Letter: Money should not determine Imus’ fate

Sunday, April 15, 2007 | 7:25 a.m.

I was shocked to hear that Don Imus was fired for his racial slur about the Rutgers women's basketball team.

I gather that the networks' justification is that he lost most of his radio advertisers.

I hope that the advertisers adequately determined that Imus was without a doubt a mean-spirited bigot, not a man who made a human error and who was sincerely regretful. I hope it wasn't a case of "the squeaky wheel gets the grease," namely that the vast majority of phone calls made and e-mails sent demanded his firing.

Great good can come from the enlightened, worldwide dialogue generated from this incident. No good comes from trash talk and thought! A sign of improvement will be that people become choosier about what they like to listen to, read and watch. People must vote with their pocketbooks and not purchase products that promote prejudice and/or perversion (for example, rap, hip-hop and violent CDs and DVDs).

However, this hasty firing shows that advocates of free speech must make their voices heard, too. Uncensored dialogue, which fosters enlightenment, is part of our democracy's foundation. Many people protested that Imus crossed the line with some bigoted comments, but I hope the advertisers and networks didn't cross the line by denying him a fair hearing.

Pam Price, Henderson