Basically this is a debate taken from Fox News' Your World segment. The debate is between the host, Neil Cavuto, and political rapper M-1 of rap group Dead Prez. Cavuto repeatedly tries to defend Don Imus' racist statements in the debate, saying "A ho is a ho" and that since both hip hop artists and Don Imus use the expression, there is nothing wrong with what Don Imus said. Cavuto also called Don Imus' statements as "errant" and "badly phrased". M-1 barely gets to say much of anything until the end, and then Cavuto dismisses his comments as "outlandish". You have to see the video and read the transcript of the article for yourself, but it is obvious that Fox News and Cavuto were trying to make the rapper M-1 say something that would justify the usage of the word "ho", and therefore they would have a reason to justify what Don Imus said. In other words, they wanted to blame rap music for Don Imus' comments. The debate and video is nowhere to be found on fox news' website.
Posts: 1158 | Registered: Feb 2006
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posted
What the hell was M-1 talking about though? Black rappers are allowed to call people hos because of white oppression? We're forcing them to say it?
Cavuto is asking the right question, but I think he should have bene having a discussion with his guest rather than just using him as a set piece to get confirmation of an already held belief. I'd call that either a dishonest interview or a short lived interrogation.
I think there are lingering problems with equality in this country, ones that can't be fixed at all my more legislation, or even by enforcement. But when I start hearing about "white oppression," that's when my brain starts to throb. It's over the top hyperbole.
I already posted my thoughts on the race issues in this debate in the other thread on Imus, so I'll spare you all the rant for a second time. I'd be curious to hear more from M-1 though on how I can further oppress him.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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M-1 is a little crazy, but what he was trying to say is said earlier in the debate, where he says "Once again, with personal responsibility taken at hand here, we're talking about rappers who are coerced to say things other than what the reality of our community is...". In other words he is saying that companies like MSNBC, who owns Interscope Records, are just as responsible as the individual rappers who actually rap the lyrics. Basically it's a "you make this type of music, or you don't get the record deal" type of thing with a lot of big-name record labels. A lot of what M-1 says is hard to understand unless you know what he is talking about.
Posts: 1158 | Registered: Feb 2006
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Dammit, I had a nice long post all set to go and the friggin internet chose the moment I hit "Add Reply" to hiccup. God that's frustrating.
Anyway, the cliffs notes version is that M-1 is a hypocrit. I don't necessarily think that the situation is that NBC is demanding rappers rap about hos and thugs. But even if that is the case, when a rapper goes out and raps about smackin his bitch up, the responsibility for those lyrics is his more than NBC's. They can't take NBC's money and then say they are blameless in the issue, they are selling out.
He wants the money AND wants to be morally superior. He can't have both.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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It's Fox, people. Linking to Fox is like linking to MTV in terms of credibility. What can you expect? Stop watching it, linking to it, reading it, and demand better.
This is not aimed at anyone in this thread, but is a general call for sanity. Posts: 8473 | Registered: Apr 2003
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I'd like to see the dicussion Cavuto was theoretically trying to have, only done in good faith. He clearly was just looking for validation of arguments he had already formed, and M-1 was just his foil, but the argument is a good one to have.
I think this is a discussion America should be having. Sure we all see the blatent forms of racism, and there's never a shortage of people who will point fingers at an old white guy who lets slip a racially charged comment. The argument goes way beyond racism, our society has created acceptable and unacceptable forms of discrimination. Imus crossed an invisible line, rappers like M-1 have a free pass.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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"Basically it's a "you make this type of music, or you don't get the record deal" type of thing with a lot of big-name record labels."
Same relationship between FoxNews and it's broadcast staff. "You act stupid, or you don't get on-air."
Posts: 8501 | Registered: Jul 2001
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Last I checked the ladies basketball team in question wasn't playing in push-up bras and vinyl tanga panties.
Posts: 3936 | Registered: Jul 2000
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Regardless of who uses the word "ho", there's a difference between using it generally, and using it to refer to specific people.
EDIT - I watched the video again, and I'm pretty sure that when Cavuto said, "a ho is a ho, right?" he meant that the word is the same no matter who says it, and taking it out of context is a little unfair.
posted
I'm really not trying to defend rappers who demean women. I just find an element of cruelty in insulting specific people on national radio/tv that I don't see in using it in the general sense.
Posts: 2907 | Registered: Nov 2005
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Okay... Am I the only one who finds something disturbingly funny about the fact that Neil Cavuto and M-1 are seriously supposed to represent the two sides of this political issue here, and are being presented as such on national television with countless viewers listening to them debate?
Posts: 8120 | Registered: Jul 2000
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