Letter: People must shun anything related to ‘hate radio’

Monday, March 8, 1999 | 11:43 a.m.

On page 5A there was a related story about a "shock jock" being fired for making a tasteless joke about the Jasper, Texas, tragedy. The story stated that the radio announcer had also made previous racial statements and that history shows that he will probably be hired by some other station.

Hate radio is apparently in a contest to see who can be most flagrant in being obnoxious and catering to those who feel that they have to blame a minority for any shortcoming in their lives.

While virtually everyone is shocked and disgusted by the actions of King, few of our leaders are vocal in denouncing those on the airwaves who foster intolerance and directly or indirectly encourage violence.

In some cases prominent politicians such as Sen. Trent Lott and Rep. Bob Barr have spoken at, wrote for and generally supported a white supremacist group.

Rather than wait for these groups to strike again, it is important to show our displeasure before the violence takes place. Radio stations should review their policies before hiring hate radio announcers, companies should refuse to advertise on stations which allow hate content and consumers should boycott any company which does advertise on hate radio.

Any politician not willing to publicly and honestly denounce hate groups should not receive our support. While protecting free speech is a critical part of our government, it is important that those who want to tear down our country and what most of us stand for must realize that they are not going to receive support and must be held responsible for their actions.

ROGER CHRISTENSEN