I am well aware of Savage’s hostility toward fellow talkers. It makes me cringe.
We all have weaknesses, and we all behave badly at times. I wish he were not so mean in that way, but his meanness does not excuse others who want to broadcast their hatred for him.
This is a column directed at the listeners who like him despite his flaws, and when I wrote it, I knew it would bring out those who despise him, who can’t resist inserting their hatred in the comments, which does no one any good, and that’s too bad, as always.
Savage is the one who can not resist inserting his bizarre fixation on other radio hosts into his show. His “meanness” does excuse others from expressing their dislike. You seem to want to excuse his bad behavior while bashing others for what you perceive to be the same behavior.
At the risk of using language that borders on hypocrisy, I’ll try to use a little culture.
I must admit I too have found Savage’s bashing of colleagues distasteful at times. Since he is so smart in other areas, I wish he’d find alternate ways to say the same thing. It used to bother me a lot, then I thought about something he frequents — buffets! (He likes Indian, I prefer Chinese and salad bars.)
Rather than letting it bother me, I decided to treat Savage’s show as a smorgasbord. He does present many ideas worth considering. When he does get into those tirades, that’s like a dish that’s offered that I’ll just ignore.
I do credit Savage with teaching me how to fish, or better stated how to cook fish. For years I always burned fish fillets and couldn’t get them to taste good. Savage had a segment where he said he had the same problem until he learned to cook it on one side, flip it, and THEN add the spices on top.
So that’s what I kept tuning in. I many times didn’t know what to expect since it wasn’t all politics all the time. It was really welcome at his particular time slot, as the day drew to a close and I wondered if I could make anything of the remaining evening, or just opt for sleep as he said he often does. Or make meatballs.
I think he’s going to miss terrestrial radio. We do have all these devices that you can connect with, yet AM and FM radios are many times easier to simply turn on. I don’t think it’s the same level of intimacy like when you’re working in the garage or out running errands and have the radio running in the background. Moreover, streams generally don’t play local ads; I do like knowing which advertisers support the programs I like.
I many times felt I was all alone in my thoughts of what’s happening lately, esp. in this country until Savage echoed or further refined in his unique style what I was thinking. I’m still somewhat lost, it’s strange not hearing his voice at 3:06PM Pacific.
Oh, well, like Savage says, “That’s all.”