In some ways I am amazed at how quickly Don Imus was taken down, but then perfect storms are like that. If you blinked, you might actually have missed it.

So what really happened, and what were the forces that came together albeit briefly to take down a man that I recently learned with some bemusement was actually mentioned in a humorous caption to a picture in my 1976 Eighth Grade School Yearbook.

Well let’s see. We have the racist and decidedly unchristian Reverends Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson (clearly whatever mail order church they may have gotten their ordination from, they neglected to teach them the lesson of John Chapter 8 where Jesus admonishes those who are without sin to cast the first stone in judgment of another - for the record, I am not suggesting that we should not be able to judge others, but certainly, those that have themselves displayed racist tendencies, should tread softly when accusing others of that particular malady.)

Secondly, we have the various sponsors of Imus’ program who, for many years, gladly spent their advertising dollars on his program, and presumably reaped significant benefits from that sponsorship. I guess the lesson that we can learn from this is to know who you are getting in bed with, and if their only motivation is to make money, don’t expect them to stick around once the gravy train has moved on. Obviously the likes of P&G and American Express, are where they are today because in the cosmic game of musical chairs, they have a very finely tuned ear to know when the music has stopped and when to quickly sit down and not get noticed.

Finally we have Imus’ fan base. It doesn’t appear that we have heard from many of them, but clearly they knew very well the racist crud that he was wont to spew, so they must have been amused and entertained by it, hence their ongoing listenership/viewership that led to all of those lucrative advertising dollars.

What happened to Imus should not come as a surprise to anyone. The real question is not why this happened, or even why it took so long, but rather what happens next.

There is an old joke about how Auditors are those that come in after the battle has ended and bayonet the wounded. In this case, that seems to be the role that Sharpton and Jackson have set for themselves. I am incredibly proud of the Women of the Rutgers Basketball team in that they have provided a positive image in their forgiveness of someone who undeservedly wronged them. If his contrition is sufficient for them, how dare it not be likewise for the likes of Sharpton and Jackson.

In one of William Jefferson Clinton’s more insightful observations, he noted that many of life’s gravest wounds are self-inflicted, and certainly, Don Imus easily falls into this category. At the Union Chapel in Oak Bluffs, however, Clinton also went on to say “it is important that we are able to forgive those we believe have wronged us, even as we ask for forgiveness from people we have wronged,”

I can’t say for certain, but it is a safe bet that when all was said and done, both Sharpton and Jackson most likely found it in themselves to forgive Bill Clinton, but it is very unlikely that they will ever forgive Don Imus, and in this I turn to one of my favorite verses from the Bible.

If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.

Luke 6:32-35

It is not for us to judge who to forgive and who not to forgive. Likewise, as a Nation, it is beneath us when we come upon someone who has been wounded and whose wounds we know or believe to be self-inflicted, to bayonet them and leave them for dead as if it is our job in all matters to mete out judgment.

Rather, ask yourself this. Going forward, is Don Imus more or less likely to be a force for good in the world now that he has been so readily judged and condemned without any opportunity for forgiveness, contrition or redemption?

So now, here we are waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Sharpton and Jackson clearly got what they wanted, which was another chance in the spotlight to try and show everyone that they are somehow relevant. Much has been made of how the next target of their righteous indignation needs to be the Rap Industry which regularly refers to women of color in incredibly racist and misogynistic terms, but don’t hold your breath. I would say that much more likely than any public campaign against the Rap and Hip Hop Industry, what is infinitely more likely (not that many will actually see or learn about it) will be the very private and back office shakedown that the Reverend’s Sharpton and Jackson will perpetrate upon anyone who ever sponsored the Imus Program. Note to all P&G Investors; keep an eye out for that footnote disclosure because it will be material.

As for Imus and his fan base, don’t worry; it will likely only be a temporary exile. One way or the other he will end up with a show again, be it Radio, Cable, Satellite Radio or Internet Podcast. People have hardly been listening to him and the likes of Howard Stern for all these years in blissful ignorance of what they were hearing. They know what they want and eventually they will get it back

Certainly not my cup of tea so to speak, but then neither is race baiting or corporate blackmail, but only one is specifically protected by the Constitution.