I've Had It With Racist Radio Hosts

[tgnyc]

It was just, like, a day or two ago that I had read that nationally syndicated radio talk show host Neil Boortz had described the appearance of African-American Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney as like a "ghetto slut," "ghetto trash," and "a welfare drag queen." The mindboggling viciousness and racism exploding from those comments knocked even a jaded racism watcher like me back on my heels.

And now just today I am reading that the nation's most famous blowhard, Rush Limbaugh, just referred to the black alleged rape victims at Duke University as "ho's" on his nationally syndicated radio program.

As a black man -- and as a progressive American -- I've had just about enough of this shit.

Conservative radio hosts and DJ's have a depressingly deep record of making racist -- and specifically anti-black -- remarks on the air. The following lowlights come just from items that I actually recall in recent years:

Michael Savage referring to inner-city children as "ghetto slime."

Limbaugh saying, "The NAACP should have riot rehearsal. They should get a liquor store and practice robberies."

Bob Grant, who in hanging up on black callers would dismiss them with, "I don't need my toilets cleaned today!" or "I don't need my windows washed today!"

Doug "Greaseman" Tracht, who, joking about the lynching of James Byrd, played a snippet of a Lauren Hill record, then cracked, "No wonder people drag them behind trucks," and said about the enactment of the federal Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday: "kill four more and we can take a whole week off."

Bill O'Reilly, who once referred to Mexicans as "wetbacks" on his TV program, and once cracked about a black singing group that was late for a live performance he was hosting, "I hope they're not in the parking lot stealing our hubcaps."

William Bennett, musing that "you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down."

Howard Stern, running announcements by the Ku Klux Klan which regularly speak hatefully of "niggers."

And then there's Don Imus. Characters on his show have:
*compared the appearance of black NBA players to apes
*referred to black journalist Gwen Ifill as "the cleaning lady"
*referred to black journalist Bob Herbert as a "quota hire"
*reffered to the black wife of former Secretary of Defense William Cohen as a "big-haried ho"
*called black tennis players Venus and Serena Williams "animals"

Now there are certainly examples of racism directed against other groups that get broadcast as well, but the frequency, depth of hatred, and magnitude of reach (the size of the audiences) of the anti-black comments is without parallel.

The most annoying thing is that these racists almost never suffer any long-term repercussions for their verbal assaults. They are typically at most "temporarily suspended." In extreme cases they may be dismissed, only to be quickly hired by some other media outlet.

I'm at the point where I'm prepared to hop on a plane and deliver a first-degree ass-kicking to next idiot who utters a tirade like Boortz's on the air. (He apparently has apologized for his remarks, but I don't care. It's too fucking late. There are no words that can heal the wound he slashed open with that outburst.) Some of these people are actually discussing, in a positive light, the murder -- the genocide, even -- of African-Americans.

But under the rubric of "violence isn't the answer," I will refrain from delivering the jaw-breaking lesson that so many of these cretins deserve. However, I swear to God that next time one of these manure-mouths spews this kind of bile, I will make it my personal mission -- through protest, mass letter and phone-in campaign, boycotts, whatever -- to see that s/he is NEVER again given a national platform from which to orally defecate into America's airways.

I will never stop. I will never tire. But this nonsense will come to an end, so help me God.

[BlooInBloo]

1. Would that America was on your side....

[Blue_Tires]

2. i just don't pay any attention to them...

[proud patriot]

3. Huzzah

:toast:

[Jane Austin]

4. I'm with you all the way.

I'm stunned that they get away with this.

[VOX]

5. Let it rip, tgnyc!!!

Keep calling these bastards out. There is nothing funny or clever about the vile sewage these @ssholes spew 24/7.

It really is hate radio, pure and simple. :grr:

[Jim Warren]

6. Good rant

You're a better man than I though as I'm just not as inclined to non-violence as you are.

[murielm99]

7. I wonder sometimes how people like Conyers can keep

going. They have been subjected to a lifetime of these indignities, and they still behave like gentlemen.

Maybe the Congressional Black Caucus does so much good in speaking truth to power because they are used to being treated badly and they have nothing to lose.

I understand how people get tired and worn down. I understand how they get angry and resort to violence, fulfilling the racists' prophecies.

[Initech]

8. I'm definately with you!

I get pissed off at these assholes on a daily basis as well. They definately deserve a first-class ass kicking, whether it's O'Reilly, Hannity, or Boortz. Their racism, sexism, and religion-pushing is all absolutely disgusting (oh and I'm a white guy by the way who does get disgusted at this stuff). I wish they'd all go back to the realm of political obscurity that spawned them.

Oh and if I hear one more conservative assclown spout the "Hollywood doesnt care about us" talking point, I will not be held responsible for my actions.

[Ksec]

9. until it stops being a money pit that corporations finance

itll continue. I dont know how many sponsors Boortzs show has but its too many. Listen to Rush and his hate radio program and then listen to which companies are sponsoring his hate . Mainstream US corporations financing this hate because people listen. Its all to much for me. Who are we to blame? The listeners or the sponsors?

[bobbieinok]

11. it's not listeners' choice; it's what 'they' want us to hear

in Tulsa, if I'm in the car and want to hear talk and not music (and not sports) I have 2 RW talk stations and a RW Christian station on am and NPR on fm (that doesn't come in well in some parts of town)

in Tulsa, I do not have the option of choosing a liberal talk show.......it's not what I've asked for, it's what I've been given

the whole argument that 'we' choose RW talk radio is similar to what the editors of the Des Moines Register told us at a Women's Political Caucus convention years ago in IA......there had been the 1st international women's day conference in Houston at which many topics were presented and discussed.....the Register only reported on 2-3 controversies....when asked why they didn't report on the whole conference, the paper's representatives said they reported on what Iowans wanted to hear........attendees constantly tried to make them see that they were reporting what they wanted to report, what could maybe start a fight, and NOT what many wanted to hear or what would help readers understand some of what was going on in the world in regard to women's issues....it was an eye-opening and EXTREMELY frustrating experience

[Ksec]

12. Well if nobody was listening would advertisers pay

money to these stations? I doubt it. I understand your point and agree to certain extent but people are listening, Fox has the highest rated cable network. They are experts at putting outlandish right wing things sandwiched in between mainstream stories, making the outlandish seem less so and taking it one step closer to mainstream.

Taking far right thinking and placing it in between kittens and cute little babies is a great way to make the far right theory one step away from being acceptable. They change the subject before it has a chance to register as a whack job theory. Anyway ratings drive the cost of ads and I doubt that companies would pay top dollar to a station that nobody is watching IMO.

[bunkerbuster1]

10. I hope we never get so jaded that we don't get angry

I'm white, but I get a sick feeling deep in my stomach whenever I encounter some dickhead like Michael Savage or Neal Boortz carrying on about "those people."

And I don't want to feel better about it. I don't ever want to "get used to it."

Thanks for reminding me.

[VolcanoJen]

13. Excellent round-up of vile quotes.

It's very important to remind people, from time to time, of the hate their radio heroes are capable of.

[Faygo Kid]

14. I don't think this push is any coincidence.

I think the talking points have gone out to play the "race card." Neal Boortz is getting a national rep he never had as a marginal host by playing to racial hatred, so he knows what he is doing. You are right to be pissed, and concerned. This isn't your imagination. It may be Rove's next move; in 2004 it was gay marriage. I think it will be race in 2006. It's a dangerous card to play, though. But, he has done the math, and figures race (see: Ward Conerly) will shore up the base this election year. Look for the talk show hosts to play it up over the next few months. Hannity is usually the best barometer for verbatim reciting of words from Rove.

[alittlelark]

15. Their apologies mean NOTHING... their racist supporters

will'Know' that they were forced to apologize by the 'Liberal Media'. Their racist beliefs will be shored up by the 'fact' that their racist radio icon was threatened by those evil leftist media types into an apology.......


It's all so F*ing scripted.....

[KyuzoGator]

16. Love or hate Howard Stern, he's no racist.

And I don't particularly like him.

[stevedeshazer]

17. Tony Snow had Lucianne Goldberg on his show a day or two ago

They were talking about welfare mothers, blacks who won't work, and Lucianne suggesting that the blacks in New Orleans were "sitting on their porches" while illegal immigrants were working for $16 an hour.

There are no repercussions because their listeners are racist, too. I just happened to catch this while radio-surfing.

[Catherine Vincent]

18. Left on, brother!

This has to stop.

[nicknameless]

19. Excellent rant! Thank you for posting it. (n/t)

[Stinky The Clown]

20. Tell ya what, pal ........

.... I'll jump on that plane with ya.

[MadisonProgressive]

21. So true. I'm with you 100%

[linazelle]

22. I share your frustration and I'm glad that you provided proof--it's

been lacking.

I was really disturbed during Katrina when the )$%(*#) like Hannity kept telling their imbecilic listeners not to play the blame game while they all blamed the victims. I still get pissed when I think about it.

[Maraya1969]

23. I had no idea all of this was going on. I can't stand to listen to them

so I don't hear it. Can't this stuff be reported to some agency that is supposed to oversee these things?

If you tell us who the advertisers are I would be more than happy to give them your information as an explanation for why me, my family, my friends and the friends of my friends will be boycotting them.

This IS disgusting and you have a very good instrument there with your compilations of quotes. Let's use it. Mass emails work well for this sort of thing.

[baby_mouse]

24. Quite so. It's long past time these people were banned.

They're just troublemakers and should be seen as such by the law. All they do is stir up mess.

Get them arrested and put in jail, it's what they need.

[seabeyond]

25. all these people have been allowed to make ugly sexist remarks

about women too. blacks and women. and they get away with it. they feed the very ugliest in the white male as the white male yell abuse. kinda like the christian yelling persecution. be mad. i will be mad right there with you. i hear ya

[Brewman_Jax]

26. This is supposed to be the 21st Century

and this is a racial caste society that allows and even supports this. The MSM can't stop talking about McKinney while Delay's resignation, Ken Lay and the Enron trial, and the Cheney shooting have quickly fallen away.