December 03, 2007
How Don Imus Is Ruining Christmas
John Gibson is wrong -- it isn't secularists who are ruining the holidays.
From the Elizabethton (Tenn.) Star: "One new addition to this year's parade was not well received by many. Santa Claus was not allowed to greet the crowd with his traditional 'ho, ho, ho.' Instead, Santa was told to say, 'ha, ha, ha.'"
Click here if you haven't already guessed the reason.
While politicians including John McCain and Christopher Dodd appear to be welcoming shock jock Don Imus back with open arms, others haven't been so quick to forgive and forget. The grand marshal of Elizabethton's parade confirmed that the decision to censor Santa was made because of Imus' derogatory remarks ("nappy-headed hos") about the Rutgers women's basketball team, which got him dropped from MSNBC and fired from CBS Radio in April.
Like the proverbial phoenix, sort of, Imus is suing his former employer and is back on the air, this time on New York's WABC. To drive home the point that he is seriously sorry about the incident that nearly ended his career, he now has two black sidekicks.
As we pointed out last spring, Imus has a long history of racially insensitive remarks, yet remains a wildly popular figure among Beltway establishment figures. Maybe he really has learned his lesson, but will he do anything for the poor citizens of Elizabethton?
"That is not very Christmas-y. 'Ha, ha, ha,' that sounds like Santa is making fun of you," scoffed one parade-watcher to the Star. The anti-"ho ho ho" campaign has gone global, according to Australia's Daily Telegraph: A Santa-recruiting firm in Sydney is instructing its hires to drop St. Nick's traditional greeting in favor of "ha, ha, ha."
"Gimme a break," an anti-child sex abuse advocate told the paper. "Leave Santa alone."
