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There are limits even to free speech (hate radio)
Portland Tribune ^
| 03/21/03
| John Calhoun
Posted on 03/22/2003 9:20:08 PM PST by Andy from Beaverton
There are limits even to free speech (hate radio)
In January, Oregon experienced two violent hate crimes. In Medford, a man from India was beaten because the attackers believed that he was an Arab. In Portland, blacks were targeted in a night of random attacks.
Oregon has a history of hate crimes reaching back decades. The most notorious case in recent years was in 1988, when Skinheads murdered Mulegeta Seraw, an Ethiopian immigrant. In that case, a court awarded the victims family compensation from the White Aryan Resistances Tom Metzger, who had incited the Skinheads with his violent, racist rhetoric.
Michael Savage, a radio talk-show host on KXL (750 AM), is continuing this tradition of hate and racism. On a daily basis he denigrates gays, Muslims, women, Mexicans, the poor and most immigrants. He also advocates violence against some of these groups.
Last May, in a reference to controlling illegal immigrants, he asked, Do we have a government anymore? If we had a government, wed blow them out of the desert with airplanes.
Discussing the homeless in April 2002, he said, In a sane society, they would be beaten up, thrown in a van, and thrown in a work camp. An article published in the San Francisco Chronicle included this excerpt from one of Savages shows: We need racist stereotypes right now of our enemy in order to encourage our warriors to kill the enemy.
Three National Guardsmen, recently returned from service in the Middle East, were responsible for the attack in Medford.
Its impossible to tell whether Michael Savage is responsible for any specific hate crimes, but some would argue that it is only a matter of time. This raises the question of what a responsible community can do. Supporters of Michael Savage claim that it is his free-speech right to say what he wants on the air. They say that if we seek to remove him from being broadcast, we are advocating censorship. Besides, they say, Savage is just providing entertainment.
Lets be clear about one thing: Michael Savage is not entertainment. He is promoting a dangerous message of hate that is damaging to our community. However, he is on the air not because KXL is concerned about free speech but because the station manager believes that this kind of programming is profitable.
KXL is in a ratings war with other radio stations, and Savage attracts listeners. Listeners attract advertisers. This makes money for KXL, which is owned by Paul Allen. Thats right, the owner of the Portland Trail Blazers is the No. 1 promoter of hate speech in the Pacific Northwest.
Whether Michael Savage is on the air in Portland is not a free-speech issue for Paul Allen. It is a commercial issue. If Savages ratings dropped, do you think theyd be discussing First Amendment rights?
You and I do not have the chance to broadcast our views three hours a day on a major radio station. Are we being censored because we do not have that access? If Savage were dropped by KXL, putting him in the same position as the rest of us, would that be censorship?
Let us also keep in mind that in spite of what Savages supporters say, there are limits to free speech. As the courts ruled in the case against Tom Metzger, hate speech that leads to hate crime is not free.
Challenging KXLs broadcasts of Michael Savage is not an attack on free speech. Challenging Paul Allens sponsorship of the Savage Nation is in fact a celebration of those rights. Allen, KXL and the advertisers that finance these broadcasts need to hear that Portland wants no part of Michael Savages bigotry and hatred.
John Calhoun is president of the board of the social services organization Neighborhood House and a member of the Coalition Against Hate Radio. He lives in Southwest Portland.
TOPICS: Editorial; US: Oregon
KEYWORDS: hatespeech; mediabias; michaelsavage; nprhatestoo; pacificahatestoo; pc; politicallycorrect; radio; savagenation; talkradio
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Here's his e-mail if you want to tell him how you feel:
John Calhoun
To: Andy from Beaverton
I don't care to share my emotions with him but is any of this at all believable. I, personal;ly, don't think so.
To: Andy from Beaverton
"Challenging KXLs broadcasts of Michael Savage is not an attack on free speech."Oh really?
3
posted on
03/22/2003 9:25:41 PM PST
by
Zipporah
To: Andy from Beaverton
What about Alec Baldwin ?
"And I have come back from Africa to stained dressed and cigars and this and impeachment. I am thinking to myself, in other countries they are laughing at us 24 hours a day and Im thinking to myself, if we were in other countries, we would all right now, all of us together, [starts to shout] all of us together would go down to Washington and we would stone Henry Hyde to death! We would stone him to death! [crowd cheers] Wait! Shut up! Shut up! No shut up! Im not finished. We would stone Henry Hyde to death and we would go to their homes and wed kill their wives and their children. We would kill their families. [stands up, yelling] What is happening in this country? What is happening?
4
posted on
03/22/2003 9:29:32 PM PST
by
John Lenin
(Age is a question of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it don't matter)
To: Andy from Beaverton
Targeting Savage will only make Savage stronger. He's like those people in those games, where they get stronger and stronger with each challenge. That's Savage. CAHR has been targeting Savage for ages, and since then he's gone national, gotten more stations and is now on television! I say bring it on! Savage is brilliant and intense and loves a challenge!
To: John Lenin
Maybe you should remind Mr. Calhoun.
6
posted on
03/22/2003 9:34:03 PM PST
by
CyberAnt
( -> -> -> Oswego!!)
To: I_Love_My_Husband
Jew-Baiting Leftists Denounce "Hate Radio"
By Richard Poe
June 7, 2002
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AN UNHOLY ALLIANCE of leftists, Democrats and Muslims has joined forces to muzzle talk radio. Its weapons are advertiser boycotts, smear campaigns, calls for repressive legislation
and Jew-baiting.
Talk radio has always antagonized leftists. It allows grassroots Americans to speak out -- and grassroots America despises the Left.
For many years, the "Fairness Doctrine" silenced talk radio. It required stations to provide "equal time" for opposing views. If honestly observed, the rule would have required stations to fill every minute of available airtime with a parade of dissenters, from Save the Whale activists to Holocaust revisionists. Most stations found it easier to avoid political controversy altogether.
In 1987, the Fairness Doctrine was repealed. This opened the door for both leftists and rightists to speak their minds freely. In practice, though, no one wanted to hear leftwing commentary. There was simply no market for it.
Between 1990 and 2001, the number of all-talk radio stations in the U.S. grew from 200 to over 1,300, reaching tens of millions of Americans each day with commentary that was overwhelmingly conservative.
Unable to compete in the marketplace, the Left responded with political attacks. After the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, the Clintons blamed "hate radio" for the slaughter, and darkly implied that censorship might be needed.
Now a new coalition of Democrats, Muslims and leftwing activists has taken up the Clinton cause. They have targeted San Francisco talk show host Mike Savage, whose program airs on 350 stations nationally.
In April, a Portland, Oregon group calling itself the "Coalition Against Hate Radio" announced a boycott of Savages advertisers and called on KXL radio to drop his show.
"[Savages] content is an unbroken stream of hate and chauvinism directed against women, people of color, liberals, immigrants and in particular people of Middle Eastern heritage and people of the Muslim faith," said coalition spokesman Tom Nelson.
Among its 20-odd member organizations, the Coalition includes the Muslim Educational Trust, Islamic Societies of Southwest Washington and Portland, Jews for Global Justice and the Multnomah County Democratic Party.
Its plain enough why Muslim and leftwing religious groups would oppose Savage. But why the Multnomah County Democratic Party?
An April 26 article in NewsMax.com offers one theory. In a NewsMax column of March 8, Savage exposed Democratic Senators Chuck Schumer of New York and Ron Wyden of Oregon as the principal opponents of a bill requiring photo IDs for voters. Such a bill would deprive Democrats of one of their favorite political tools voter fraud.
A similar law worked brilliantly in Mexico, as Allan Wall an American writer living in Mexico described in FrontPageMagazine.com:
"In contrast to ours, the Mexican election [of 2000] went quite smoothly. Decades of rigged elections, which had become a highly-developed art form, had been overcome
The presidential election passed with no major incidents nor disputes, and resulted in a peaceful change of regime after 71 years of one-party rule."
Perhaps Senators Schumer and Wyden fear a similar upset, should America clean up its voting system. In any case, Savages March 8 column gave Oregon Democrats plenty of reason to fear him.
The campaign against "hate radio" does not rely on boycotts alone. It also pushes government repression, in the form of a new "Fairness Doctrine."
Talk-show host Neal Boortz reports that "at a recent meeting of the Democratic Party of Oregon a resolution was adopted to use the power of government and the `fairness doctrine to rein in
talk show hosts." The Wisdom Fund an Islamic advocacy group also favors restoring the Fairness Doctrine.
Some of Savages critics have resorted to crude Jew-baiting.
One site, posted by the so-called Coalition for Human Decency, makes a point of calling Savage "Michael Weiner" and taunts him for hiding his alleged Jewish background.
"On his show, he tries to portray himself as a Christian, who has incredibly strong feelings about Jewish issues," it sneers. But the alert Jew hunters at MichaelSavageSucks.com are not fooled.
"He almost comes unglued every time a Palestinian kills a Jew, but not vice versa
" the essay continues. "If you listen to his show, for even an hour, you will surely realize he is Jewish."
Personally, I have no idea whether Savage is Jewish. If he chooses to keep his background private, thats his business, not mine.
Far more interesting to me is the rank hypocrisy of the Coalition Against Hate Radio, its fellow travelers and its spiritual role models, the Clintons people who will stop at nothing, absolutely nothing, to silence any opposing voice.
Click here for Poe's upcoming media appearances.
Click here to view this article at NewsMax.com and FreeRepublic.com.
Richard Poe is a New-York-Times bestselling author and cyberjournalist. His latest book is The New Underground: How Conservatives Conquered the Internet. His previous book is The Seven Myths of Gun Control.
To: Andy from Beaverton
The liberals are losing it, and as usual they're lying through their teeth to keep the morons in line.
I hope they keep it up. Savage will roll them over like the fools they are.
To: Zipporah
"Challenging KXLs broadcasts of Michael Savage is not an attack on free speech." Comparing him to Tom Metzger is pretty close to actionable. This entire screed is pretty close, but as a public figure the bar is high and Savage is a figure who thrives on controversy. I don't think he would sue, but I kinda wish he would
To: Andy from Beaverton
I guess the easiest way to say this is, if John Calhoun doesn't like Mr. Savage, then I will have to listen to him and buy his advertiser's products.
Thanks Calhoun for steering me in the right direction.
;^)
5.56mm
10
posted on
03/22/2003 9:40:06 PM PST
by
M Kehoe
To: Andy from Beaverton
On a daily basis he denigrates gays, Muslims, women, Mexicans, the poor and most immigrants. He also advocates violence against some of these groups.
Really? I've listened to Savage numerous times. I'd say that sometimes he practices what some might call "politically incorrect pissed speech".
Savage is a bright guy that has a clear-headed way of looking at some things. On gays? I don't recall what Savage says about them. On Muslims I've never heard him say anything negative except about the radical Islamic-Facist types. He has said positive things about Islam and has had numerous Muslims speak on his show. On women? I don't know what this guy is talking about. The poor? Savage rants on what he calls "bums". On immigrants? Savage speaks about illegals.
The guy that wrote this doesn't listen to Savage.
To: Andy from Beaverton
Based on this article I would say Savage (who I have never listened to) is over the top.
Based on the fact this comes from the Portland Tribune (who I have read and found borderline fascist) I'd say I should start listening to him and get back to you all later.
12
posted on
03/22/2003 9:42:28 PM PST
by
lizma
To: Andy from Beaverton
Savage is a clown...
I came to that conclusion after I heard him say: And I paraphrase: "Liberal reporters covering the middle east should be shot for treason".
Michael Savage is a blight on conservative radio. He's an embarrassment at best, a liability at worst. He's our Michael Moore.
To: Andy from Beaverton
Wow,white guys in Oregon are lucky,they're never killed in a hate crime,I may move there.
Thanks,John Calhoun
14
posted on
03/22/2003 9:58:53 PM PST
by
mdittmar
(John Calhoun is a moron,idiot,simpleton. Savage ain't to bad.)
To: lizma
Please do, and give him a fair shot.
To: The Lake City Gar
Michael Savage is a blight on conservative radio. He's an embarrassment at best, a liability at worst. He's our Michael Moore. I would say he is in competition with Mike Gallagher for that distinction. They both are downright embarrassing.
To: Andy from Beaverton
KXL is in a ratings war with other radio stations, and Savage attracts listeners. Listeners attract advertisers. This makes money for KXL, which is owned by Paul Allen. Thats right, the owner of the Portland Trail Blazers is the No. 1 promoter of hate speech in the Pacific Northwest. Rasheed Wallace served a seven-game suspension this season for threatening an official after a Blazers game. Teammate Bonzi Wells spit on Danny Ferry of the San Antonio Spurs early this season and was suspended as well. Paul Allen does more to "promote" their "hate speech" than he does Savage's.
I won't hold my breath waiting for Calhoun to demand that Wallace and Wells be cut from the Blazers. Paul Allen didn't become a billionaire by turning his nose up at winning ball games, Arbitron ratings, and software market share.
To: Andy from Beaverton
Muslim terrorists beliefs casued them to kill. should we outlaw that whole religion?
What about eco-terrorists? Outlaw extreme environmentalist views?
He chooses his cases selectively.
18
posted on
03/22/2003 10:30:34 PM PST
by
WOSG
(Liberate Iraq! Lets Roll! now!)
Comment #19 Removed by Moderator
To: Andy from Beaverton
With all the rape , murder assaults and robberies this author chooses to focus on just two crimes. These crimes were supposedly hate driven. This supposed hate is because Savage has a radio program. What a moron.
BTW, hate tends to form within the human soul all by itself and generally does not require help from something so trivial as a talk radio host. What a moron this guy is.
20
posted on
03/23/2003 4:21:39 AM PST
by
BRL
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