Imus is the new Janet Jackson

There was an article on cnn.com tonight explaining why "nappy" is a racsist term and is so bad. It goes so far as to call it "the other n-word."

I'm no racial expert, so there's probably a 90% chance that what I'm about to say is either racist or just plain wrong. So I'll appologize in advance, but I'll also preface it by saying that my view here would be the same if we were talking about any race, color, religion, or other collective group:

If the term "nappy" was really as bad as it's supposed to be, would we really need an article on cnn.com to explain to us why it's so bad?

I'm not arguing that "nappy" is an acceptable word to use (especially not after reading the article), and I'm not saying Imus should have said it. But I think everyone needs to take a step back and look at the magnitude of the offense and the magnitude of the corresponding reaction and public outcry. Did Imus really commit an inherently heinous crime? Or did he commit a standard crime which the media has made really heinous?