World turned upside down & back

I've changed in the past few weeks. I can't remember a time in my life where in a few short weeks, my core beliefs, my habits, my actions, my circle of comfort has been changed in such a huge way.

First, Don Imus is gone. I can still hear his voice, Charles reading the news, Bernard asking "Lord, hear our prayer." Am I the only woman who could find humor in the off-color, sometimes degrading & self-depreciating commentary provided by Imus in the Morning? I know I'm not alone in saying morning info-entertainment is sorely lacking after his departure.

Then, our national discussion on Oprah's Town Meeting, which was pre-empted here in Virginia by the coverage of the Virginia Tech shootings. I heard it was wonderful, thoughtful & profound. What I was experiencing during those two days, Monday & Tuesday, April 16 & 17, was horrible. I live just over the mountain from the VA Tech campus, less than 30 miles on the road but about 10 miles straight line. I forgot my indignation over the media idiocy & had to face real agony.

Blacksburg as a small town & VA Tech as a state university are close knit communities, interwoven by people & place. When any part feels pain, we all feel pain. The trauma of this horrible event has been unexplainable. We've shared our grief, our loss, our heartfelt efforts to remember, & most important our strength to move forward. We will prevail.

Then I had some personal health challenges, overcame them, & have to get through recovering in the next few weeks. Watching the news on Tuesday, killing time, I see my hometown in NJ, on fire with family members forced to evacuate. In a drought situation, who is giving the OK for Air Force National Guard units to practice with fireballs in the forest? With the rain of last night dampening the blaze, it's all up for investigation now. We're back to the disgustingly ridiculous coverage of the death of Jerry Falwell, which means I've turned the tv off.

Now I know to some this may be whining, but it's just how it is. What I'm struggling with is what is really important, what is going on in our world? Any thoughts!?!

Where is the intelligence police?

OK, Imus said a stupid thing. With that said, what has followed has become an important dialogue about the topics of race & sexism in the United States. These are topics that have become so unpopular, even edging towards taboo, that now when we are actually talking about them, we have to direct our anger towards an old, white man to point the finger.

Don Imus has led a very colorful life. In recent years, he has openly discussed his past, addressed how he has handled becoming a better person, spoken honestly how he is a work in progress, and when this comment was said, quickly apologized. Who are we, any one person or group of persons, to say Don Imus isn't allowed to make a mistake? I know I have made a few. I also know I'll make a few more, hopefully, before I'm done. Why has this become such a huge deal?

Yes, I'm a woman, and I've been the object of this type of sexist attack by stupid men. There was no one who stood up for me, called for a boycott, called for the offender to be fired from his job or his professional identity to be taken from him. I stood up for myself, as the women of the Rutgers University Basketball team have done, with exceptional dignity. You don't let the offender continue on in his life without telling him he was stupid, and you expect better, then you let it go.

It's a shame that such an opportunity for growth for our society as a whole has been stopped by greed and fear.