Ted Rall and Don Imus

By Duncan Maxwell Anderson

Now that Imus has lost his MSNBC show while black broadcasters use similar and worse terminology on the public airwaves, we have an explicit double standard forming. White people can't use certain words and black people can. That's bad, but at least we are on the verge of acknowledging it.

If so, what about white cartoonist Ted Rall? This cartoon depicts the Secretary of State calling herself "Bush's beard! His house nigga" and suggests she be sent to an "inner city racial re-education camp" and be forced to "hand over your hair straightener", presumably so her nappy hair can return to its natural state. This is both more offensive and more studied than Imus' toss-off line.

Rall's work has received awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award, and is syndicated by a reputable syndicate.

Could we have some clarity please? I would like to propse that the Society of Professional Journalists be explicit that they will tolerate attacks on conservative African Americans that would be out of bounds if applied to any others. They are professionals, after all, and love to natter on about codes of conduct and other such professional concerns.