Culture Non-Shock

I was drinking my daily does of V-8 juice (man, that’s good) and reading about further fallout from the Imus foot-in-mouth story. A few television and radio journalists and talk show hosts have called on hip-hop performers, promoters and producers to avoid three especially inflammatory words (two sexist and one racist). Some performers have responded that the lyrics are art or maybe they’re terms of affection. I appreciate the gesture but let’s face it: We live in a culture that celebrates the art of the insult. From shock radio to blog warfare to the public humiliation of reality contests with at least one nasty judge (usually British), it’s all cruel and crude and disgusting and it’s making someone a boatload of money because we’re buying it. If we’re just figuring that out, maybe we all shoulda had a V-8.