Is California just going for the "cesspool of hate" award?
I've been putting off this post for too long.
On May 28th, two of the hosts of a Sacramento morning radio show called Rob, Arnie & Dawn in the Morning spent over half an hour encouraging and promoting the physical and emotional abuse of transgender and questioning children. No, seriously.
Rob Williams and Arnie States, whose show plays on KRXQ 98.5 FM, were discussing a story involving a transgender child in Omaha Nebraska, when they launched into their tirade. Quotes include:
ROB WILLIAMS [11:12]: This is a weird person who is demanding attention. And when it’s a child, all it takes is a hug, maybe some tough love or anything in between. When your little boy said, ‘Mommy, I want to walk around in a dress.’ You tell them no cause that’s not what boys do. But that’s not what we’re doing in this culture.
ARNIE STATES [13:27]: If my son, God forbid, if my son put on a pair of high heels, I would probably hit him with one of my shoes. I would throw a shoe at him. Because you know what? Boys don’t wear high heels. And in my house, they definitely don’t wear high heels.
ROB WILLIAMS [17:45]: Dawn, they are freaks. They are abnormal. Not because they’re girls trapped in boys bodies but because they have a mental disorder that needs to be somehow gotten out of them. That’s where therapy could help them.
ROB WILLIAMS [18:15]: Or because they were molested. You know a lot of times these transgenders were molested. And you need to work with them on that. The point is you don’t allow the behavior. You cure the cause!
ARNIE STATES [21:30]: You got a boy saying, ‘I wanna wear dresses.’ I’m going to look at him and go, ‘You know what? You’re a little idiot! You little dumbass! Look, you are a boy! Boys don’t wear dresses.’
ARNIE STATES [29:22]: You know, my favorite part about hearing these stories about the kids in high school, who the entire high school caters around, lets the boy wear the dress. I look forward to when they go out into society and society beats them down. And they end up in therapy.
"Allowing transgenders to exist, pretty soon it becomes normal to fall in love with the animals."
"If the kid ever gets to be eighteen and says 'I still feel like a woman!' you say, 'Get out! Go be a freak! And understand, SON, that society will never accept you because we still have some moral judgment."- Arnie States
And quoting from a Fox40 article:
"You guys imply that all you have to do is...whack my non-existant child with a shoe if he goes clopping around the house in high heels," commented a listener who identified herself as a male-to-female transgender who previously had served in the US armed forces for 22 years. "Don't you think that all the abuse that I took in school would have changed that basic nature in me?"
"Thank you for your service, but let me just say this right now," quipped an angered States. "You fought (in the armed forces) for nothing! With the opinions that you have right there, you fought for absolutely nothing!"
...Yeah.
Not surprisingly, there was no small amount of outrage. GLAAD demanded an apology.
The station manager and the hosts did respond. Did they answer with genuine regret, a heartfelt apology, and the understanding of what they had done?
If you even need to ask, then I envy your happy little dream world. The station manager denied any wrongdoing. "Did they do anything wrong?" he said. "If you’re a regular listener, the answer is no." Okay, then!
On air, Williams said:
This show has a strong, unwavering, unblemished, untarnished dedication and commitment to battling for children and against children being harmed in any way. For years, we did a feature called ‘The Silence Epidemic’ when nobody talked about children being left alone in hot cars. To bake to death and their parents not being in any way held accountable. We discussed child abuse at levels that no other show would talk about.
So, it's not children that they hate. Just transgender people. Also, there's a strong similarity between this garbage and Bill O'Reilly, Frank Schaeffer, and the other anti-choicers who call abortion a holocaust, call abortion providers mass murderers, then have the gall to act surprised when someone takes them at their word. It's the same, "Sure I said repeatedly that these people don't deserve to live, but I didn't mean it!" Ridiculous. (But the murder of Dr. Tiller is a subject for another post.)
Also said:
Everyone that listens to this show, everyone that’s even aware of this show, knows that we have an underlying tone: You don’t hurt kids! That’s understood. But when you’re having a serious conversation, sometimes you need to what we call ‘release the pressure valve.’ That’s what Arnie’s role on the show is. To make a point and release some of the pressure and let people laugh.
Right, so people are supposed to laugh at violence against transgender children. Thanks for clearing that up.
But it's not all bad news. The third host, Dawn Rossi was clearly distressed by her colleagues' comments and protested. As an anti-oppression activist, I know that taking a stand like that is incredibly hard, especially when faced with such vitriol, so good for her.
Also, at this time four sponsors--Snapple, Sonic, Chipotle, and Bank of America--have pulled their advertising. Hopefully, this will send a message to the station: bigotry will cost you money.
If you want to help, you can email the station manager, the hosts, and (very importantly) the sponsors.
Copy/pasted from the unfunny business post:
John Geary
Vice President & General Manager
KRXQ-FM
(916) 339-4209
jgeary@entercom.com
Arnie States
On Air Personality
KRXQ-FM
(916) 334-7777
rad@robarnieanddawn.com
Rob Williams
On Air Personality
KRXQ-FM
(916) 334-7777
rwilliams@entercom.com
procity@procitymortgage.com, info@LASIKworld.com, corpcsf@wellsfargo.com, heidi.barker@us.mcd.com, walt.riker@us.mcd.com, Debra.Lewis@VerizonWireless.com, john.britton@att.com, joseph.l.goode@bankofamerica.com, Darryll.harrison@nissan-usa.com, enewswire@fypower.org, info@fypower.org, trcigar@aol.com, public_relations@homedepot.com, pr@ckr.com
Contacts go to:
ProCity Mortgage, Some LASIK place, Wells Fargo, McDonalds, Verizon Wireless, AT&T Wireless, Bank of America, Nissan Motors, FY Power, AOL, Home Depot and Carl's Jr (Hardee's on the East Coast).
Some good posts on the subject are rm's which is here, virginia_fell's here, and the post at unfunnybusiness on journalfen.
Sources:
"98Rocked: Advertisers Pull Support From Local Radio Program" at Fox40.com.
"KRXQ Sacramento Radio Hosts Encourage Violence Against Transgender Children" at the Huffington Post.
GLAAD calls for apology from "Rob, Arnie & Dawn Show" for encouraging the beating of transgender or questioning children at afterelton.com.
GLAAD's first call to action.
An update at the GLAAD blog.
Well, it feels good to get that off my chest.
EDIT: Carl's Jr/Hardee's and Verizon have also pulled their sponsorship! Yes!
EDIT AGAIN: Well's Fargo is also no longer advertising on KXRQ!
EDIT TAKE THREE: Nissan's pulling their support as well!
RETURN OF THE EDIT: AT&T and McDonald’s are gone too! That's ten big name corporations so far.
On May 28th, two of the hosts of a Sacramento morning radio show called Rob, Arnie & Dawn in the Morning spent over half an hour encouraging and promoting the physical and emotional abuse of transgender and questioning children. No, seriously.
Rob Williams and Arnie States, whose show plays on KRXQ 98.5 FM, were discussing a story involving a transgender child in Omaha Nebraska, when they launched into their tirade. Quotes include:
ROB WILLIAMS [11:12]: This is a weird person who is demanding attention. And when it’s a child, all it takes is a hug, maybe some tough love or anything in between. When your little boy said, ‘Mommy, I want to walk around in a dress.’ You tell them no cause that’s not what boys do. But that’s not what we’re doing in this culture.
ARNIE STATES [13:27]: If my son, God forbid, if my son put on a pair of high heels, I would probably hit him with one of my shoes. I would throw a shoe at him. Because you know what? Boys don’t wear high heels. And in my house, they definitely don’t wear high heels.
ROB WILLIAMS [17:45]: Dawn, they are freaks. They are abnormal. Not because they’re girls trapped in boys bodies but because they have a mental disorder that needs to be somehow gotten out of them. That’s where therapy could help them.
ROB WILLIAMS [18:15]: Or because they were molested. You know a lot of times these transgenders were molested. And you need to work with them on that. The point is you don’t allow the behavior. You cure the cause!
ARNIE STATES [21:30]: You got a boy saying, ‘I wanna wear dresses.’ I’m going to look at him and go, ‘You know what? You’re a little idiot! You little dumbass! Look, you are a boy! Boys don’t wear dresses.’
ARNIE STATES [29:22]: You know, my favorite part about hearing these stories about the kids in high school, who the entire high school caters around, lets the boy wear the dress. I look forward to when they go out into society and society beats them down. And they end up in therapy.
"Allowing transgenders to exist, pretty soon it becomes normal to fall in love with the animals."
"If the kid ever gets to be eighteen and says 'I still feel like a woman!' you say, 'Get out! Go be a freak! And understand, SON, that society will never accept you because we still have some moral judgment."- Arnie States
And quoting from a Fox40 article:
"You guys imply that all you have to do is...whack my non-existant child with a shoe if he goes clopping around the house in high heels," commented a listener who identified herself as a male-to-female transgender who previously had served in the US armed forces for 22 years. "Don't you think that all the abuse that I took in school would have changed that basic nature in me?"
"Thank you for your service, but let me just say this right now," quipped an angered States. "You fought (in the armed forces) for nothing! With the opinions that you have right there, you fought for absolutely nothing!"
...Yeah.
Not surprisingly, there was no small amount of outrage. GLAAD demanded an apology.
The station manager and the hosts did respond. Did they answer with genuine regret, a heartfelt apology, and the understanding of what they had done?
If you even need to ask, then I envy your happy little dream world. The station manager denied any wrongdoing. "Did they do anything wrong?" he said. "If you’re a regular listener, the answer is no." Okay, then!
On air, Williams said:
This show has a strong, unwavering, unblemished, untarnished dedication and commitment to battling for children and against children being harmed in any way. For years, we did a feature called ‘The Silence Epidemic’ when nobody talked about children being left alone in hot cars. To bake to death and their parents not being in any way held accountable. We discussed child abuse at levels that no other show would talk about.
So, it's not children that they hate. Just transgender people. Also, there's a strong similarity between this garbage and Bill O'Reilly, Frank Schaeffer, and the other anti-choicers who call abortion a holocaust, call abortion providers mass murderers, then have the gall to act surprised when someone takes them at their word. It's the same, "Sure I said repeatedly that these people don't deserve to live, but I didn't mean it!" Ridiculous. (But the murder of Dr. Tiller is a subject for another post.)
Also said:
Everyone that listens to this show, everyone that’s even aware of this show, knows that we have an underlying tone: You don’t hurt kids! That’s understood. But when you’re having a serious conversation, sometimes you need to what we call ‘release the pressure valve.’ That’s what Arnie’s role on the show is. To make a point and release some of the pressure and let people laugh.
Right, so people are supposed to laugh at violence against transgender children. Thanks for clearing that up.
But it's not all bad news. The third host, Dawn Rossi was clearly distressed by her colleagues' comments and protested. As an anti-oppression activist, I know that taking a stand like that is incredibly hard, especially when faced with such vitriol, so good for her.
Also, at this time four sponsors--Snapple, Sonic, Chipotle, and Bank of America--have pulled their advertising. Hopefully, this will send a message to the station: bigotry will cost you money.
If you want to help, you can email the station manager, the hosts, and (very importantly) the sponsors.
Copy/pasted from the unfunny business post:
John Geary
Vice President & General Manager
KRXQ-FM
(916) 339-4209
jgeary@entercom.com
Arnie States
On Air Personality
KRXQ-FM
(916) 334-7777
rad@robarnieanddawn.com
Rob Williams
On Air Personality
KRXQ-FM
(916) 334-7777
rwilliams@entercom.com
procity@procitymortgage.com, info@LASIKworld.com, corpcsf@wellsfargo.com, heidi.barker@us.mcd.com, walt.riker@us.mcd.com, Debra.Lewis@VerizonWireless.com, john.britton@att.com, joseph.l.goode@bankofamerica.com, Darryll.harrison@nissan-usa.com, enewswire@fypower.org, info@fypower.org, trcigar@aol.com, public_relations@homedepot.com, pr@ckr.com
Contacts go to:
ProCity Mortgage, Some LASIK place, Wells Fargo, McDonalds, Verizon Wireless, AT&T Wireless, Bank of America, Nissan Motors, FY Power, AOL, Home Depot and Carl's Jr (Hardee's on the East Coast).
Some good posts on the subject are rm's which is here, virginia_fell's here, and the post at unfunnybusiness on journalfen.
Sources:
"98Rocked: Advertisers Pull Support From Local Radio Program" at Fox40.com.
"KRXQ Sacramento Radio Hosts Encourage Violence Against Transgender Children" at the Huffington Post.
GLAAD calls for apology from "Rob, Arnie & Dawn Show" for encouraging the beating of transgender or questioning children at afterelton.com.
GLAAD's first call to action.
An update at the GLAAD blog.
Well, it feels good to get that off my chest.
EDIT: Carl's Jr/Hardee's and Verizon have also pulled their sponsorship! Yes!
EDIT AGAIN: Well's Fargo is also no longer advertising on KXRQ!
EDIT TAKE THREE: Nissan's pulling their support as well!
RETURN OF THE EDIT: AT&T and McDonald’s are gone too! That's ten big name corporations so far.