LA radio is enough to drive anyone MAD
The only way any love will happen in this world is if we can all 'just get along' and learn to suppress the major things that irritate us. I do, so shockingly, admit to having 'episodes' in my life where I was unable to do this. I was driven mad after listening to the radio. "Jay Severin," a textbook Fascist Ideologue was spewing venom in the same city I had to live, Boston. I got into such a war with him, answering him on a much lower wattage, screwing with him on line, doing "Exposes," basically, thinking WAY too much about him. Not soon enough, I realized I was having all the signs of a manic meltdown. I ended up fleeing town, screaming and shaking. He's still on the air there, but I'm safe, I no longer have to think about him. Nowadays, I do not even go back to visit- my own hometown! I can't take the chance of snapping again!
So now I'm in LA and was able to refocus, get involved; - movie stars, freeways, new people, hooking up with the local college rock station and life settled in. Lately, however the LA radio dial changed dramatically with both the local INDY ROCK station and more importantly, the FM talk station going out of business in the same week. I don't have the "NPR" personality nor am I ever going to be their classy target demo- so again, i had to surf the AM.
Oh my God. It's Goebbels on one channel, Himmler on the other- anywhere you turn you hear it, "Traitors," "Socialists," "Godless Atheists!!" The worst vitriol, however is for those demon "Mexicans!"
KFI is the main AM boomer with it's cheap syndicated Rush and Laura and standard right wing fare, but the 4 hour afternoon drive is starting to really get under my skin. "John and Ken," who claim, as they ALL do, to be both "Libertarians (secret code: Uber Capitalists)" and more frightfully, "Entertainers." The show is the same one trick pony every day. When they aren't going to "be right back," what is left of the hour is screaming about "The Mexicans," and I mean screaming, in the same high thrill pitch which makes it impossible to differentiate between the hosts. They are men, but neither possess masculine tone and bass, shrill, constantly on fire, I do mean RABID. They have identified the enemy and make it very clear. There is no question. THEY are the reason for every problem in LA-- the economy, the weather and I kid you not- the traffic!
I can only imagine, their "target demo," is essentially ME- 40- 50 year old white guys. The entertainment boils down to one thing- anger. Relentless, blood curdling righteously indignant, anger. JOHN is always angry, or "playing" the angry white man who has had enough of THOSE PEOPLE. John, see, makes over 7 figures a year, has a life of extreme comfort, yet is bothered by what 50 percent of the population of LA 6 days a week, 4 hours a day at 50 thousand watts.
Dude, calm down. I live here. Right in the thick of Echo park. My LA experience is hipsters and actor types are completely unreliable in areas of common courtesy. Its a town filled with people that need to know on first impressions, "what can you do for me?" MEXICAN people, for whatever their crimes are, are the only NICE people in this Suffering sinking polyglot.
Furthermore, for whatever the real or unreal immigration issues are, consider this hypothesis. If JOHN himself happened to have been born in Mexico, Salvador or worse, Haiti, don't you think HE would be the first one to jump the border? I see hordes of white men, like me, my age, in cars- after work -when they oughta be thinking about their lovely wives, children, mistresses, whatever-, instead filling their craniums with unending, ceaseless, hypnotic repetition that the enemy is in the next car over. You should hear the sneers, maniacal laughter (when neither host could qualify as "funny,") the not so subtle and the blatant cultural put downs and how -THEY don't come out and SAY it, being "responsible broadcasters," but they want YOU to think it, mnnn...hmmm. -blatant racist input. I listen in horror as my fellow man is dehumanized way beyond any political issue- everything in essence boiling down to -can we say it? HATE your neighbor. I never even heard it on Jay Severin. It's pretty raw.
It's frightening and believe me, has taken its toll on the nation's second city, a city under siege with corporate sponsored purposefully intentional, destructive daily diatribes. Yes, the reference to RADIO RWANDA is not far off. For now it's simply offensive and BAD RADIO, but at any time the spark will ignite into violence and brother, KFI should be held accountable. I am horrified to think anyone in their right mind is "entertained" by this.
The mental meltdown that occurred after a steady diet of RUSH, Hannity, general AM thought control, with this James Addkisson in Knoxville, who shot up a church he felt was filled with "Liberals," (Unitarians for Gods sake!) did, in fact occur to me, as I confessed earlier. However, with just .0001 percent more sense than this angry white man on the edge had, I got the hell out of Dodge before the relief of having my hands around the throat of the host. I have since learned to just stay AWAY from commercial radio all together, keep rockin' with the hard-to-get signals of KXLU and just DRIVE. However, I did enjoy the FM talk station.
971 FM TALK, survived without Stern for a few years but now that there's really only 2 corporate behemoths left to decide whats good for 18 million people, ("CBS/Viacom/Infinity etc etc" and always evil empire of CLEAR CHANNEL) the station was unceremoniously yanked from the air recently without warning. CBS is too cheap to pay the real time hosts anymore. Now, people like me, that prefer dirty talk and a non ideological, humor based, neutral enough dose of 'whats going on in the world,' now have NOWHERE to go! I can't afford cable, I don't watch TV. Now I have no idea what's going on, unless I want it filtered through the fiery dragon of AM hate radio.
I was 'specially a big fan of the TIM CONWAY JR (and BRIAN Whitman) show every evening. It was humanism with wit, but best, you could listen to a wide swath of people in Los Angeles, unscripted. C & W's best trick was their ability to bring out all the freaks, including guys with the most amazing gangstah revelations. It made me feel connected to the city. If it wasn't for "Gina's news," I would never have known about the plane that went down in the Hudson, wall street whatnots or if Paris Hilton was in or out of Jail. Now that is gone forever. KABC actually Hired Conway as a 5 week "fill in host" 2 weeks after the station went down, at the same time in the evening, but fired him 3 days later for a "joke." I don't think so... He was incongruous to what AM now means.
Look, the entire AM band is now just varying degrees of rabid corporate apologists, goose stepping purists and criminal hate speech. It does indeed drive people off the edge. Knoxville is no anomaly, it is a sign of whats to come. I know, I tell you- I don't claim to be "normal," but I was so affected by the radio, I had to leave my hometown of 40 years to escape it. Most guys can't do that. They don't. They won't. They can't. They stay. They freak out. The radio does have the power to impact average and not so average schmoes in profound ways. And it's getting worse, not better.
Imagine the new president, an idealist, courageous, first non white man, who , for most of us who try to just get by, are wide eyed amazed and so hopeful for. Think about the juxtaposition of Hope in a city that not just tolerates hate but oversees its business operations. Very few, local people have talk show jobs these days - but they managed to find ANGRY John and ANGRY KEN (a closet case, by the way, courageously 'living the lie') to represent LA.
And what about the fastest growing demographic in LA?- the people, single guys, (um...more 'actors') living in their cars. Exposed at their most vulnerable, at the height of personal despair and anxiety, without the luxury of homes and cable TV, are huge consumers of this provocative air pollution. Let your imaginations wander just for a minute on what is being created and stoked. When is someone going to stay Enough!?! Can I say it? ENOUGH.
Hey, I have problems of my own, so I simply turn the dial to non commercial rock music. The word is out, however, it's a thin line a lot of us characters inhabiting US cities walk these days.... AM hate speech is not helping...
So now I'm in LA and was able to refocus, get involved; - movie stars, freeways, new people, hooking up with the local college rock station and life settled in. Lately, however the LA radio dial changed dramatically with both the local INDY ROCK station and more importantly, the FM talk station going out of business in the same week. I don't have the "NPR" personality nor am I ever going to be their classy target demo- so again, i had to surf the AM.
Oh my God. It's Goebbels on one channel, Himmler on the other- anywhere you turn you hear it, "Traitors," "Socialists," "Godless Atheists!!" The worst vitriol, however is for those demon "Mexicans!"
KFI is the main AM boomer with it's cheap syndicated Rush and Laura and standard right wing fare, but the 4 hour afternoon drive is starting to really get under my skin. "John and Ken," who claim, as they ALL do, to be both "Libertarians (secret code: Uber Capitalists)" and more frightfully, "Entertainers." The show is the same one trick pony every day. When they aren't going to "be right back," what is left of the hour is screaming about "The Mexicans," and I mean screaming, in the same high thrill pitch which makes it impossible to differentiate between the hosts. They are men, but neither possess masculine tone and bass, shrill, constantly on fire, I do mean RABID. They have identified the enemy and make it very clear. There is no question. THEY are the reason for every problem in LA-- the economy, the weather and I kid you not- the traffic!
I can only imagine, their "target demo," is essentially ME- 40- 50 year old white guys. The entertainment boils down to one thing- anger. Relentless, blood curdling righteously indignant, anger. JOHN is always angry, or "playing" the angry white man who has had enough of THOSE PEOPLE. John, see, makes over 7 figures a year, has a life of extreme comfort, yet is bothered by what 50 percent of the population of LA 6 days a week, 4 hours a day at 50 thousand watts.
Dude, calm down. I live here. Right in the thick of Echo park. My LA experience is hipsters and actor types are completely unreliable in areas of common courtesy. Its a town filled with people that need to know on first impressions, "what can you do for me?" MEXICAN people, for whatever their crimes are, are the only NICE people in this Suffering sinking polyglot.
Furthermore, for whatever the real or unreal immigration issues are, consider this hypothesis. If JOHN himself happened to have been born in Mexico, Salvador or worse, Haiti, don't you think HE would be the first one to jump the border? I see hordes of white men, like me, my age, in cars- after work -when they oughta be thinking about their lovely wives, children, mistresses, whatever-, instead filling their craniums with unending, ceaseless, hypnotic repetition that the enemy is in the next car over. You should hear the sneers, maniacal laughter (when neither host could qualify as "funny,") the not so subtle and the blatant cultural put downs and how -THEY don't come out and SAY it, being "responsible broadcasters," but they want YOU to think it, mnnn...hmmm. -blatant racist input. I listen in horror as my fellow man is dehumanized way beyond any political issue- everything in essence boiling down to -can we say it? HATE your neighbor. I never even heard it on Jay Severin. It's pretty raw.
It's frightening and believe me, has taken its toll on the nation's second city, a city under siege with corporate sponsored purposefully intentional, destructive daily diatribes. Yes, the reference to RADIO RWANDA is not far off. For now it's simply offensive and BAD RADIO, but at any time the spark will ignite into violence and brother, KFI should be held accountable. I am horrified to think anyone in their right mind is "entertained" by this.
The mental meltdown that occurred after a steady diet of RUSH, Hannity, general AM thought control, with this James Addkisson in Knoxville, who shot up a church he felt was filled with "Liberals," (Unitarians for Gods sake!) did, in fact occur to me, as I confessed earlier. However, with just .0001 percent more sense than this angry white man on the edge had, I got the hell out of Dodge before the relief of having my hands around the throat of the host. I have since learned to just stay AWAY from commercial radio all together, keep rockin' with the hard-to-get signals of KXLU and just DRIVE. However, I did enjoy the FM talk station.
971 FM TALK, survived without Stern for a few years but now that there's really only 2 corporate behemoths left to decide whats good for 18 million people, ("CBS/Viacom/Infinity etc etc" and always evil empire of CLEAR CHANNEL) the station was unceremoniously yanked from the air recently without warning. CBS is too cheap to pay the real time hosts anymore. Now, people like me, that prefer dirty talk and a non ideological, humor based, neutral enough dose of 'whats going on in the world,' now have NOWHERE to go! I can't afford cable, I don't watch TV. Now I have no idea what's going on, unless I want it filtered through the fiery dragon of AM hate radio.
I was 'specially a big fan of the TIM CONWAY JR (and BRIAN Whitman) show every evening. It was humanism with wit, but best, you could listen to a wide swath of people in Los Angeles, unscripted. C & W's best trick was their ability to bring out all the freaks, including guys with the most amazing gangstah revelations. It made me feel connected to the city. If it wasn't for "Gina's news," I would never have known about the plane that went down in the Hudson, wall street whatnots or if Paris Hilton was in or out of Jail. Now that is gone forever. KABC actually Hired Conway as a 5 week "fill in host" 2 weeks after the station went down, at the same time in the evening, but fired him 3 days later for a "joke." I don't think so... He was incongruous to what AM now means.
Look, the entire AM band is now just varying degrees of rabid corporate apologists, goose stepping purists and criminal hate speech. It does indeed drive people off the edge. Knoxville is no anomaly, it is a sign of whats to come. I know, I tell you- I don't claim to be "normal," but I was so affected by the radio, I had to leave my hometown of 40 years to escape it. Most guys can't do that. They don't. They won't. They can't. They stay. They freak out. The radio does have the power to impact average and not so average schmoes in profound ways. And it's getting worse, not better.
Imagine the new president, an idealist, courageous, first non white man, who , for most of us who try to just get by, are wide eyed amazed and so hopeful for. Think about the juxtaposition of Hope in a city that not just tolerates hate but oversees its business operations. Very few, local people have talk show jobs these days - but they managed to find ANGRY John and ANGRY KEN (a closet case, by the way, courageously 'living the lie') to represent LA.
And what about the fastest growing demographic in LA?- the people, single guys, (um...more 'actors') living in their cars. Exposed at their most vulnerable, at the height of personal despair and anxiety, without the luxury of homes and cable TV, are huge consumers of this provocative air pollution. Let your imaginations wander just for a minute on what is being created and stoked. When is someone going to stay Enough!?! Can I say it? ENOUGH.
Hey, I have problems of my own, so I simply turn the dial to non commercial rock music. The word is out, however, it's a thin line a lot of us characters inhabiting US cities walk these days.... AM hate speech is not helping...
Brother...you've totally nailed it! This is the first blog comment in the USA I have ever made. I'm an American citizen who has lived in Asian countries since early 1990's. I only started to really pay attention to things again in the US during the US primaries. It took me almost one year to understand the cultural references and to get to know the people referred to all the time. I usually lurk at left-liberal sites simply because they are the only passable readable ones. The rest sound like the people live in a sub-banana republic. All i want to know is WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO MY COUNTRY? What the hell is going on there? After you let Bush steal the Gore election, WHY did you put up with it?
Americans simply have no idea of just how angry the rest of the world is with them. Before I could say i was an American and the hatred was carefully directed at the Bush regime not Americans personally. But now it is.
All i can offer by way of rationalising to myself is that as an educator in the US in early 1980's I saw firsthand the slashing of education budgets and the deliberate dumbing down of the population. Do you realise the only TV shows that most of the 2 billion people here get out of the US are "smarter than a fifth grader" thing and Jay Leno with his Jaywalk of idiots?
Are Americans TRYING to destroy their own country? Both my adult kids won't even visit.
Like the most excellent Peter Choyce writes, talk radio is insidious and hate-mongering ONLY. Does anyone honestly believe it is not adding to the violence and sense of despair?
But my question is this---WHY is it allowed? Why doesn't someone file a police report that these federal violations of Federal Laws against hate crimes are being violated and that you are personally offended? Hate crimes of speech do not fall under the 1st amendment and there is plenty of precedent. So what gives? Who is controlling Americans...Americans or the corporations?
Maybe concerned viewers should google these two criminals that pretend to be radio hosts and find out where their kids go to school and then go picket the schools? That's what we did in the late 60's. We didn't take crap like this lying down. We knew it was our responsibility as citizens to protest blatant crime doing.
It's legal to picket or to assemble so why aren't people doing this?
Like Peter says, Mexicans are people and we are all humans. Do we really have to TELL people this?
My suggestion is this- make it mandatory that in order to graduate high school, kids must spend one year outside the US. Let me tell you that you spend ONE DAY in a foreign country where the people are brown or yellow skinned and YOU are the only white person and believe me your perceptions, bigotry and latent prejudices all get changed FAST.
Bravo Peter! Tell it like this on your radio shows. Why not? It is the PATRIOTIC thing to do.
Thanks for the rant
an expat in Malaysia
Posted by: marybeth ramey | March 20, 2009 at 03:31 AM
IS THIS BLOG EVER UPDATED?
Posted by: Uri Geller | November 08, 2009 at 02:38 AM
I agree with Marybeth... bring this to the airwaves. Brutal, honest, outraged and hopeful commentary alongside beautifully wicked rock and roll... a tried and true combination that, somehow, has sadly been forgotten and shunned by the people.
Posted by: steve | November 25, 2010 at 10:31 AM