ArtSpooner said:
CBS fired Imus, who I really believe is not a racist, for a crude, bad joke. Why does this guy get nothing for basically the same offense?
Imus, whether he was joking or not, used terminology that's demeaning to a race and gender other than his own. The fact of the matter is, a person can make jokes about a group(race, etc.) that they are a part of, without the assumption that s/he is biased against that group. By using the term "nappy headed", Imus referred to a physical characteristic of another race that was traditionally considered inferior when compared to the characteristic of his own race.
Now, if you're saying that Toucher was being anti-Evangelical, then perhaps. But, Evangelicals are not a persecuted minority, they're the largest religious group in this country, and have sway politically. They're also not an ethnic religion, it's a belief system the one must choose to believe in. So, in this way, it's different than a person being considered "Jewish" regardless of whether they practice Judaism. Religious discrimination is wrong, but that does not mean that outsiders aren't allowed to criticize aspects of a religion. Non-Muslims argue against the lack of rights for women in Muslim society, and Non-Catholics against celibacy vows, for example. In some other countries, that may be considered persecution, but here it is not.
If Toucher was biased against Tim Tebow, I think it was for this reason: Despite being an exceptional College player, there's great debate over his future in the NFL. His willingness to change his throwing mechanics might be laudable, but the necessity of it is worrying. Tebow was a low 1st round pick and, if anything, that was higher than he was expected to be drafted. So the fact that Tebow appeared to receive at least as much attention as the top prospects prior to the draft, partly because he's considered a "good guy", was arguably unfair.
I took Toucher's comment to have the meaning of "As white as a Nazi rally", referring to uniformity rather than any deeper implication that religiosity equates fascism and genocidal tendencies. An absurd joke, that may not be funny, but not a religious or political attack. And certainly not an attack on his own race.
