Imus' hate speech punished while Washington's is rewarded? | Issue Letters | Advocate.com | Advocate.com

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Imus' hate speech punished while Washington's is rewarded?

Why does NBC think that it's okay to reward one form of hate speech while punishing another? Just this past April, NBC decided not to air Don Imus's program on MSNBC after the much-publicized divisive and hurtful comments made on that program. NBC News President Steve Capus stated that "These comments were deeply hurtful to many, many people" when justifying NBC's decision. Now, we have Isaiah Washington being rewarded by NBC with a role in the upcoming "Bionic Woman", with NBC Entertainment Chief Ben Silverman stating that "everyone deserves a second chance". So Imus's deeply hurtful comments are punished, and Washington's are rewarded. Apparently, NBC is selective in the kind of hate speech they will tolerate, which is disappointing in this age of increasing hate violence.

Frank Kiraly
Columbia, SC
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