To the Editor:

The Imus affair should serve as a wake-up call to radio shock jocks everywhere that there is a limit to what society can tolerate when it comes to engaging in crude stereotypes or making jokes about race, ethnicity, religion or other immutable characteristics. It is shocking that Imus and his sidekicks were able to get away with the racial and anti-Semitic banter that was part and parcel of the "Imus brand" for so many years. That he did get away with it offers a depressing comment on our society and priorities, which seem to place a higher value on commercialism than on simple decency and respect.

At a time when America is faced with myriad challenges in terms of battling prejudice—the frequent stereotyping of immigrants and other minorities, the surprising resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan, the ugliness that has often marred the immigration debate, to name a few—the Imus affair is illustrative of how deeply racism and hate run through our society.

Until we address the root causes of bigotry, until we ask why such remarks are still acceptable on our airwaves, nothing will have been accomplished and nothing will have changed.