I’m sure many of you have heard Don Imus and the comment he made referring to the Rutgers women as “nappy-headed hoes.” Imus went further to call them “Jiggaboos” and compare them to the teams in Spike Lee’s film “Do the Right Thing.” This shows his ignorance concerning black culture because the film he was attempting to cite is “School Daze.” As a black woman, I take extreme personal offense to the comments he made and am tired of people defending his statements.

A comment posted on MSNBC stated that black men disrespect black women all the time and that he is only being criticized because he’s white.

Just because someone is doing something wrong, that doesn’t make it acceptable. Bigotry and racism are never OK, and it would be impossible to argue that Imus would have said the same comment in reference to a predominantly white team.

There are a multitude of strong, intelligent and respectful black men who do not degrade black women. Referring to a small number of rappers who are in poor taste does not validate that argument.

I understand many people feel that reverse discrimination is a problem in America, and I cannot disagree on certain occasions, but this is not one of those situations.

Black women have led a long and tumultuous history in America, and a precedent still remains after nearly 150 years. Although women such as Oprah, Tyra Banks and Beyonce all wear smooth, silky and beautiful locks of every style and shade, will they always be characterized as nappy-headed hos by people like Imus?

Of the many black women I encounter every day, very few of them are “nappy-headed” as Imus so eloquently put, and if so, it is because they choose to be. Black hair care may be different, but that does not give anyone the right to use a large part of that culture as a way to be derogatory and belittling.

For people who are oblivious to black culture, the natural look is coming back. People of all colors and creeds don dreadlocks, twists and afros as a representation of themselves – whoever they choose to be.

People like Imus, Mel Gibson, Isaiah Washington and Michael Richards show that all people have not evolved in their thinking and prejudices. Racist stereotypes are still deeply threaded in the fabric of this country. I love being a beautiful black woman.

A pitiful, half-hearted apology is not going to change the nature of what he showed himself to be in that one 45-second embarrassment. What is most frightening? The fact that people are still ignorant enough to say such things, that NBC merely suspended him for two weeks or that people are defending such a crass and inappropriate remark and individual?

Dia Wall is a junior broadcast journalism major from Irving.