HOT97's "Tsunami Song" Most offensive song ever [Archive]

MADE

01-25-2005, 02:35 AM

This song was played on HOT97, which is apparently a big radio station in NYC. They aired the song "Tsunami Song" on their morning show.

Just listen to it and you will see why it is the most offensive song ever.

http://www.thesilent1.com/longer_hot97_tsunami.mp3

Before the song played there was a heated discussion between the DJ's:

Before introducing the "Tsunami Song," Miss Jones and co-host Todd Lynn start attacking Miss Info (who is Asian) when she vocalizes her objections to the song. They get all into it, and Miss Jones finally tells Info she's only complaining because "you feel superior, probably because you're Asian." When Miss Info stands her ground, and makes it clear that the song is offensive to Asians, Lynn says, "I'm gonna start shooting Asians."

And there are now two online petitions you can sign:
http://www.petitiononline.com/tsunmai7/petition.html
http://www.petitiononline.com/endhate/petition.html

Here is some proof:
washingtonpost.com
N.Y. Station Stirs Furor With Song Mocking Tsunami Victims

By Mark Egan
Reuters
Tuesday, January 25, 2005; Page C07

NEW YORK, Jan. 24 -- A radio station here apologized Monday for repeatedly airing a joke song that ridiculed victims of the recent tsunami in South Asia and used racial slurs.

WQHT-FM, known as HOT 97, ran the segment on its "Miss Jones in the Morning" show. The piece used racial slurs to describe people swept away in the disaster and made jokes about child slavery and people watching their mothers die.

"You can hear God laughing, 'Swim, you bitches, swim,' " was one line in the song.

The hip-hop and R&B station, known for its "shock jocks," apologized on its Web site, saying it "regrets the airing of material that made light of a serious and tragic event. We apologize to our listeners and anyone who was offended."

WQHT's program director and deejay Tarsha Nicole Jones, who uses the on-air name Miss Jones, apologized on the program and said the segment should not have been broadcast.

The piece drew wide criticism from New York's City Hall to the capitol in Albany, with many lawmakers calling on the Federal Communications Commission to fine HOT 97.

"At a time when virtually the entire world has come together to help in the tsunami tragedy relief, employees of HOT 97 have come up with this song," said New York State Assembly member Jimmy Meng, a Democrat from Queens. "We are disgusted and demand immediate action by the FCC."

An FCC spokesman had no immediate comment.

The piece was also denounced by the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations, which said it had received calls from offended Muslims.

Emmis Communications Corp., which owns the station, issued an apology and said each of the seven staff members on the show has agreed to contribute a week's pay to tsunami relief efforts.

The incident is not the first time HOT 97 has been accused of racism and poor taste. The station made headlines when deejay Star, now at another radio station, called Jennifer Lopez a "rice-and-bean eater" and satirized the plane crash that killed R&B singer Aaliyah in 2001.

© 2005 The Washington Post Company

synergy

01-25-2005, 05:11 AM

urban dwellers and immaturity go hand in hand...nothing surprising here...

Cohen

01-25-2005, 07:55 AM

- "So now you're screwed, it's the Tsunami, you better run or kiss your ass away, go find your mommy, I just saw her float by, a tree went through her head, and now the children will be sold to child slavery..."

WTF?!

Mulder

01-25-2005, 09:16 AM

Free speech is a bitch sometimes. I don't agree with the content or condone it, in fact it sickens me. But it is protected under the first amendment unless it can be shown to be "fighting words". As the content (to my knowledge) did not contain foul language, I don't see how the FCC can fine them.

MADE

01-25-2005, 09:24 AM

Well one of the DJ's did say they want to kill all asians...

Yeah it is free speech, but it's not something that should be aired on public radio. And it is in very, very bad taste.

Anyhow everyone should sign the petition, if you feel like you want to do more, there are people who are e-mailing their sponsors (i.e. McDonalds, Reebok, Sprint PCS) and complaining to them. What really surprises me is the lack of exposure this radio station received.

ima_drummer2k

01-25-2005, 09:26 AM

Originally posted by MADE
What really surprises me is the lack of exposure this radio station received.
Yeah, it probably surprised them too. After all, that's probably the main reason they played the song.

No such thing as bad publicity.

NJRocket

01-25-2005, 09:55 AM

Originally posted by Cohen
- "So now you're screwed, it's the Tsunami, you better run or kiss your ass away, go find your mommy, I just saw her float by, a tree went through her head, and now the children will be sold to child slavery..."

makes me sick

WTF?!

111chase111

01-25-2005, 09:59 AM

Originally posted by Mulder
Free speech is a bitch sometimes. I don't agree with the content or condone it, in fact it sickens me. But it is protected under the first amendment unless it can be shown to be "fighting words". As the content (to my knowledge) did not contain foul language, I don't see how the FCC can fine them.

This doesn't have anything to do with "free speach". "Free speach" has nothing to do with good taste and everything to do with Government censorship.

No body is complaining about their right to say it, they are 1) complaining about what was said (exercising free speach as well) and 2) amazed that someone would actually do something like this and think it was funny.

So, if the station decides to fire the people responsible, the station is just excercising it's right to free speach. I guess it is a bitch sometimes.

Mulder

01-25-2005, 10:41 AM

Originally posted by 111chase111
This doesn't have anything to do with "free speach". "Free speach" has nothing to do with good taste and everything to do with Government censorship.

No body is complaining about their right to say it, they are 1) complaining about what was said (exercising free speach as well) and 2) amazed that someone would actually do something like this and think it was funny.

So, if the station decides to fire the people responsible, the station is just excercising it's right to free speach. I guess it is a bitch sometimes.

But they are complaining about their right to say it.

The text of the article stated

Jimmy Meng, a Democrat from Queens. "We are disgusted and demand immediate action by the FCC."

That means this government official is calling for the government to step in and fine them for something they said.
If the FCC does take punitive action then that's government regulating speech.
That's a free speech issue. It is a violation of the first amendment.

Oski2005

01-25-2005, 11:01 AM

Originally posted by synergy
urban dwellers and immaturity go hand in hand...nothing surprising here...

Urban dwellers? Could you elaborate on your point?

BrianKagy

01-25-2005, 11:11 AM

Lynn says, "I'm gonna start shooting Asians."

HAHA! OMG ROFLMAO, that's hilarious! Because, get it, he's saying he's going to start SHOOTING PEOPLE, hahaha, and not just people but ASIAN people!!!!! HAHAHA! It's funny because they're ASIAN and he's going to SHOOT them!!!! See, that's the joke!!!!

Wow, I think I just used up all of my 2005 sarcasm allotment. No more D&D for me.

MADE

01-25-2005, 12:06 PM

Isn't that what the FCC is there for? To regulate things being said in the public view?

What I find really funny about the whole situation is that these African-American people are making derogatory/racial comments about Asian people. There has got to be some sorta hipocracy playing here. I mean come on, those who complained about all this racism in America is now being the ones that are racist towards another minority group.

What makes it such bad taste is that they made racist comments about a tragic event. I can understand Shaq's comments about Yao Ming, because he was just being goofy...but making fun of Asians about 160,000 of them dying is just ridiculous.

Saint Louis

01-25-2005, 12:30 PM

So what do you think the reaction would be if this scenario was turned around? What if it was 160,000 dead in places like Nigeria, Benin, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, etc? An Asian radio host goes on the air with a song make fun of the victims, the majority dead Africans. Do you think there would be an outcry?

Here's my dumb Anglo question of the day. Why is there such animosity by African-Americans towards Asian-Americans?

FranchiseBlade

01-25-2005, 01:31 PM

Originally posted by Saint Louis
So what do you think the reaction would be if this scenario was turned around? What if it was 160,000 dead in places like Nigeria, Benin, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, etc? An Asian radio host goes on the air with a song make fun of the victims, the majority dead Africans. Do you think there would be an outcry?

Here's my dumb Anglo question of the day. Why is there such animosity by African-Americans towards Asian-Americans?

There is animosity from SOME African-Americans toward Asian-Americans, not as a whole.

One of the reasons is that Asian American immigrants who work in low cost inner city areas that have been tradional African American strongholds presents competitions for jobs etc.

There is also the traditional amount of ignorance and misunderstandings. In the case of Asian immigrants who run businesses in the community, many believe that African-Americans are more likely to steal from them. This breeds resentment among African-Americans who are unfairly suspected etc.

That is just the surface of course, and that is a problem. But all in all most of both races don't have a problem with the other race.

langal

01-25-2005, 02:00 PM

I used to live in South Central Los Angeles. Believe me - there is and should be no special "bound" between minorities. Countless blacks have called me "chink" or "Chinaman". Not as many whites. As a Chinese born here in the USA, I have to say that white people are generally a lot nicer and more open-minded to me than blacks or Latinos.

Originally posted by MADE
Isn't that what the FCC is there for? To regulate things being said in the public view?

What I find really funny about the whole situation is that these African-American people are making derogatory/racial comments about Asian people. There has got to be some sorta hipocracy playing here. I mean come on, those who complained about all this racism in America is now being the ones that are racist towards another minority group.

What makes it such bad taste is that they made racist comments about a tragic event. I can understand Shaq's comments about Yao Ming, because he was just being goofy...but making fun of Asians about 160,000 of them dying is just ridiculous.

Zion

01-25-2005, 02:01 PM

Originally posted by synergy
urban dwellers and immaturity go hand in hand...nothing surprising here...

Yes, please elaborate.

SamFisher

01-25-2005, 02:15 PM

Originally posted by MADE
Isn't that what the FCC is there for? To regulate things being said in the public view?

No.

deepblue

01-25-2005, 02:51 PM

waran007

01-25-2005, 03:03 PM

waran007

01-25-2005, 03:10 PM

Originally posted by FranchiseBlade
There is animosity from SOME African-Americans toward Asian-Americans, not as a whole.

One of the reasons is that Asian American immigrants who work in low cost inner city areas that have been tradional African American strongholds presents competitions for jobs etc.

There is also the traditional amount of ignorance and misunderstandings. In the case of Asian immigrants who run businesses in the community, many believe that African-Americans are more likely to steal from them. This breeds resentment among African-Americans who are unfairly suspected etc.

That is just the surface of course, and that is a problem. But all in all most of both races don't have a problem with the other race.

I completely agree. There is a substantial rift between the two cultures, primarily due to lack of contact. I have heard of many Asian-Americans being treated horribly in predominantly black communities in the states. But, by the same token, there have been countless stories of similar tactlessness when African-Americans travel overseas to Asian nations.Here's an example. (http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,1101010827-171791,00.html)

Clearly, none of this validates, the horrible song that Hot 97 aired. I would be outraged if they didn't receive a hefty fine from the FCC, considering that Janet Jackson's breast was considered distasteful enough to receive one.

jlaw718

01-25-2005, 03:42 PM

Originally posted by Zion
Yes, please elaborate.

I really doubt there is a need to call him out on his post.

If it had been, say, a country station that had played the song and a poster had said 'Doesn't suprise me because rural hicks and immaturity go hand in hand' would people call him out? Doubtful. Because for some reason that type of comment is accepted. But, if you are somebody that would have, then that shows a consistency that I applaud.

As a person of mixed ethnicity, I'm amazed at the lack of intellectual consistency with which we are offended.

Of course I'm frustrated when I hear someone make a comment about 'urban' types, etc. But, again to be consistent, I find it disingenuous to sit back and allow stereotypical comments about 'hicks' or 'rednecks' or 'southerners' to go by without at least commenting with the same disdain as I do when it hits closer to home, i.e. the urban stereotypes.

We lose credibility when we're 'selectively' offended. I'm not Asian, but I'm offended by the conduct of HOT 97.

We don't need comments generalizing 'urban dwellers'. I'm not even sure what's meant by that term.

And, by the same token, lets remember the little twinge inside of us that we felt when we read it and consistently apply that next time we see a thread lambasting the rural stereotype.

111chase111

01-25-2005, 04:57 PM

Originally posted by Mulder
But they are complaining about their right to say it.

The text of the article stated

That means this government official is calling for the government to step in and fine them for something they said.
If the FCC does take punitive action then that's government regulating speech.
That's a free speech issue. It is a violation of the first amendment.

However, the FCC does regulate what is acceptable on the airwaves as they are only leased to the radio stations. FCC has total control over what gets said over the airwaves and freedom of speach has little to do with it.

If the government put them in jail or had them murdered for what they said you could make the "free speach" arguement but it is within the FCCs bounds to keep the ariwaves "decent" (whatever that means).

Think about it. If the FCC didn't have this power then Janet Jackson and CBS could not have gotten into trouble over her breast. She could have argued "free speach" (like Larry Flynt) and nothing could have been done. However, since it was on TV and the FCC has power over what goes over the airwaves CBS got a huge fine - which is probably what is being asked of this radion station.

Mulder

01-25-2005, 05:36 PM

Here's an example of what I am talking about from an article in a cycling magazine. Apparently a shock jock got pissed about cyclists for some reason and said they should be run over. A lawyer answered the question at the end of the article in this way...

...in 1969 the Supreme Court reversed itself in Brandenburg v. Ohio. The new doctrine strongly protected free speech:

"Advocacy of the idea of illegal conduct, without more, is constitutionally protected. Only where such advocacy is directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless conduct and is likely to produce such actions may the speech be suppressed."

Today's "shock jocks" may sound like troglodytes, but most of them know their first amendment law better than most lawyers. If you were to listen to a tape recording of the offending shows, you would probably never hear a single sentence or string of sentences that contains the three essential Brandenburg elements:

1) The speech must direct, not just advocate, unlawful conduct. (Do it! Go now-do it!)
2) The unlawful conduct must be imminent or at a certain time in the future, not an indefinite future. (Go out NOW! Today, this morning, on your way to work, DO IT!)
3) The speech must be likely to produce lawless action.

link (http://www.insidetri.com/news/fea/1775.0.html)

francis 4 prez

01-25-2005, 05:50 PM

111, why do you keep spelling it "speach" instead of "speech?"

Zion

01-25-2005, 07:23 PM

Originally posted by jlaw718
I really doubt there is a need to call him out on his post.

If it had been, say, a country station that had played the song and a poster had said 'Doesn't suprise me because rural hicks and immaturity go hand in hand' would people call him out? Doubtful. Because for some reason that type of comment is accepted. But, if you are somebody that would have, then that shows a consistency that I applaud.

As a person of mixed ethnicity, I'm amazed at the lack of intellectual consistency with which we are offended.

Of course I'm frustrated when I hear someone make a comment about 'urban' types, etc. But, again to be consistent, I find it disingenuous to sit back and allow stereotypical comments about 'hicks' or 'rednecks' or 'southerners' to go by without at least commenting with the same disdain as I do when it hits closer to home, i.e. the urban stereotypes.

We lose credibility when we're 'selectively' offended. I'm not Asian, but I'm offended by the conduct of HOT 97.

We don't need comments generalizing 'urban dwellers'. I'm not even sure what's meant by that term.

And, by the same token, lets remember the little twinge inside of us that we felt when we read it and consistently apply that next time we see a thread lambasting the rural stereotype.

Yes, 'hicks', 'rednnecks' or 'southerners' (used in a contemptuous manner) would still disgust me.

Whats even worse is that the poster is commenting (if you can call it that) on the ignorance and plain stupidity of the DJ's and then turns around and does the same thing. You talk about people being 'selectively' offended and i agree with you that does happen a lot. If you were offended by HOT 97 why are you not offended by the poster.

Of course he/she has not replied as to the meaning of 'urban dwellers' so it this could all be rubbish

jlaw718

01-25-2005, 07:50 PM

Originally posted by Zion

Whats even worse is that the poster is commenting (if you can call it that) on the ignorance and plain stupidity of the DJ's and then turns around and does the same thing.

I agree with you on this.

I have absolutely NO IDEA what 'urban dweller' is supposed to mean.

I guess that term is supposed to be code for 'black'. And the assumption that being black equates with being immature is preposterous.

111chase111

01-25-2005, 08:20 PM

Originally posted by francis 4 prez
111, why do you keep spelling it "speach" instead of "speech?"

Probably because it rhymes with "peach". I'm a lousy speller.

moomoo

01-25-2005, 08:47 PM

Jin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jin_%28rapper%29) responds.

WARNING: EXPLICIT LYRICS
(if there are appropriate times for profane release, this would be one of those times):

http://www.alljin.com/Audio/Exclusives/jin-tsunami_response.mp3

So has that Miss Jones beyatch been *****-canned yet?

robbie380

01-25-2005, 09:56 PM

Originally posted by jlaw718
I agree with you on this.

I have absolutely NO IDEA what 'urban dweller' is supposed to mean.

I guess that term is supposed to be code for 'black'. And the assumption that being black equates with being immature is preposterous.

lol i was going to make that joke but you made it for me. i figured someone here would insinuate that urban means black. only black people live in urban areas...i think we all know this. also any sort of comment that can be perceived as racist is automatically against black people since black people are the only people in america that have trouble with racism.

man who knows what he meant...maybe he just meant mexicans, maybe he just meant people in the hip hop culture, maybe he meant cubans or puerto ricans.

FranchiseBlade

01-25-2005, 10:30 PM

Originally posted by robbie380
lol i was going to make that joke but you made it for me. i figured someone here would insinuate that urban means black. only black people live in urban areas...i think we all know this. also any sort of comment that can be perceived as racist is automatically against black people since black people are the only people in america that have trouble with racism.

man who knows what he meant...maybe he just meant mexicans, maybe he just meant people in the hip hop culture, maybe he meant cubans or puerto ricans.

which is why people asked for clarification. Nobody jumped down his throat or accused him of anything. They just wanted to what he wanted to mean. Maybe he meant inner city youth of any color. Isn't it still a strange thing to say about them? I understand asking for clarification.

Oski2005

01-25-2005, 10:33 PM

Well somebody got fired for making a tsunami joke, and it was no where near as bad as this song.

Link (http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/3351282)

If you don't want to read, I'll break it down quickly. A prominent English sports commentator, Rodney Marsh, made a joke during a call in show that David Beckham turned down a trade to Newcastle because of trouble with the "Toon Army in Asia." The fans of Newcastle are known as the "Toon Army." Say it with an English accent and it sounds like sort of like tsunami. If that pun cost him his job, I wonder what the terrible song would cost those DJs if they worked in England.

I guess that guy is an urban dweller.

robbie380

01-25-2005, 11:41 PM

Originally posted by Oski2005
I guess that guy is an urban dweller.

he very well could be. england has some very urban areas.

MADE

01-26-2005, 12:29 AM

Well apparently from what I heard from friends in NYC. They say that it is getting a lot publicity over there. So at least some things are being done to make sure people hear about this.

SWTsig

01-26-2005, 12:43 PM

"if you have hate in your heart, let it out! white power."

God bless dave Chappelle.

Eva123

01-26-2005, 01:42 PM

This news haven't gotten any real big national exposure. It is mostly being heard in NY. If this was a song about black people and about shooting blacks, there will be a huge outcry. Every stations will be talking about it. Sadly, this incident is not. Asians and Asian-American doesn't have outspoken influential leaders like Jesse Jackson, etc.
The host, Miss Jones and her co-host should be fired. Outraged!

mc mark

01-26-2005, 01:59 PM

Originally posted by Eva123

The host, Miss Jones and her co-host should be fired. Outraged!

So shall it be written, so shall it be done!

-----------------

Radio station pulls show over tsunami slur

HOT 97 morning show ridiculed victims

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- The entire staff of the New York radio show "Miss Jones in the Morning" was taken off the air on Wednesday after broadcasting a song that ridiculed victims of the tsunami in South Asia, the radio station said.

New York FM radio station WQHT, or HOT 97, repeatedly ran the segment last week on the show, hosted by deejay Tarsha Nicole Jones who uses the on-air name Miss Jones.

Jones and her team were suspended indefinitely, according to publicist Lizzie Grubman, who declined to say whether Jones would feature in another show at a later date.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/TV/01/26/quake.slur.reut/index.html

Rocket River

01-26-2005, 10:07 PM

These the same *ss clowns that made the
joke. . .

What were Aaliyah's last words
then played a bunch of scream . . less than 24 hrs
after she died in an airplane

Damon Dash . . he boyfriend reportedly
tried to beat the ***** out of one of the DJs
One of the women in the booth walk out after that

They tried to be SHOCK JOCKS like howard stern
but
all SHOCK JOCKS SUCK

Rocket River

nappdog

01-26-2005, 10:39 PM

Originally posted by Rocket River
These the same *ss clowns that made the
joke. . .

What were Aaliyah's last words
then played a bunch of scream . . less than 24 hrs
after she died in an airplane

Damon Dash . . he boyfriend reportedly
tried to beat the ***** out of one of the DJs
One of the women in the booth walk out after that

They tried to be SHOCK JOCKS like howard stern
but
all SHOCK JOCKS SUCK

Rocket River

But then there's the race issue-we can argue about how all racism is the same but that's just not true. A black person making fun of or being racist to a black person is not treated in the same light as a white person who does it to blacks.

In this incident, the blacks were being racist and insensitive to Asians.

The lyrics were this:

There was a time, when the sun was shining bright
So I went down to the beach to catch me a tan
Then the next thing I knew, a wave 20 feet high
Came and washed your whole country away

And all at once, you can hear the screaming chi-nks
And no one was saved from the wave
There were Africans drowning, little Chinamen swept away
You can hear God laughing, 'Swim you bitches swim.'

[Chorus]
So now you're screwed, it's the tsunami,
You better run and kiss your ass away, go find your mommy
I just saw her float by, a tree went through her head
And now your children will be sold to child slavery

http://www.newyorkpost.com/news/regionalnews/38657.htm

It's like when a black person saids the word "nig-ger" to another black vs a white or asian person saying it to a black person. It will not and should not be treated the same.

Eric Riley

01-27-2005, 02:07 AM

Now when the say the whole team was taken off the air, is that including Miss Info (the Asian DJ), the one who was against the song in the first place?

rocketlaunch

01-27-2005, 11:04 AM

HOT97’s Miss Jones & Morning Team Fired!
Thursday - January 27, 2005
Silver T
Late last night New York's #1 station Hot97 released this statement, regarding the Tsunami Song

Statement from WQHT-FM, HOT 97

January 26th, 2004 (New York City) - Miss Jones and the HOT 97 Morning team have been indefinitely suspended for the airing of a song that made light of a catastrophic event, as well as comments made at the time the song was aired.

Earlier this week, Miss Jones said on the air "I apologize to all who have been offended by my poor decision to go along with playing that insulting (to say the least) Tsunami song. I should have known better and I didn't. So I'm sorry and hopefully we can move forward from this, or I can move forward from this being a better hostess, because I am better than that, and I know better than that -- and you deserve better radio than that."

While Miss Jones has apologized on the air, in the media and on the HOT 97 website, station management felt that stronger action was necessary to demonstrate the severity of the situation.

Emmis Radio and HOT 97 will not tolerate such derogatory and racially insensitive content. This incident in no way reflects the spirit of HOT 97. The station has a long-time and well-known reputation for community involvement and support.

Emmis Radio President Rick Cummings said, "What happened is morally and socially indefensible. All involved, myself included, are ashamed and deeply sorry. I know the members of the morning show are truly contrite. They know their actions here are inexcusable."

We would like to clarify that no company advertising on our station had any connection to the Tsunami Song and no company advertising on our station endorsed or sponsored the offensive material aired on the "Miss Jones in the Morning" show. We apologize for any misunderstanding that may have caused listeners to believe that anyone, other than the morning show staff, was responsible for the material that should not have been aired.

rocketlaunch

01-27-2005, 11:06 AM

heres a response from JIN a popular asian rapper.

http://www.alljin.com/Audio/Exclusives/jin-tsunami_response.mp3

nappdog

01-27-2005, 11:08 AM

This guy has a interesting take on this whole incident. It goes beyond just Miss Jones and the Hot 97 crew. He blames it more on the people who operate behind the scenes: the management and owners. It's sort of like a conspiracy theory to him but I agree 100% .

Here's the link (quite a long read):

http://p076.ezboard.com/fpoliticalpalacefrm57.showMessage?topicID=34.topic

JuanValdez

01-27-2005, 11:53 AM

Iused to know a DJ who was disenchanted with the industry and was learning to be a nurse. He said that everything on the radio is carefully scripted beforehand unless you were doing college radio. He'd even have to submit his script to a manager for approval before his show. IF HOT97 operates in a similar manner, it would seem to me to be a deliberate effort by management to get listeners by creating controversy. Perhaps it didn't quite play the way they'd hoped and now they're backtracking. I bet that the DJs and everyone else involved keep their jobs and get back on the radio once it blows over.

SoSoDef76

01-27-2005, 03:00 PM

The thing that most offended me about the radio broadcast was the use of the word "chink." I find it blatantly racist. There is simply no reason for anyone to use that word.

In any case, I find the Hot 97 song to be equivalent of someone writing/playing a song mocking the 9/11 tragedy right after it happened. For DJs who make a living in NYC and probably experienced 9/11 first-hand, I find it especially sad that they actually desired to laugh at the similar (if not worse) tragedy of others.

If the tragedy was domestic, this song would never have happened.

pirc1

01-27-2005, 03:26 PM

Not to mention there were only a few Chinese that died in the tragedy (less than the number of Americans).

DollarBill

01-27-2005, 03:42 PM

Originally posted by pirc1
Not to mention there were only a few Chinese that died in the tragedy (less than the number of Americans).

that just shows you how ignorant they are.

Sishir Chang

01-27-2005, 09:26 PM

I'm out of the US right now and only heard about this last night when I got an email about this.

Like everyone else here I'm really sickened by this but the more I think about it the less I'm surprised by it. In this age of pushing the envelope in regards to taste it was only going to be a matter of time before someone tried to capitalize on the tsunami for entertainment value, especially since very few Americans were directly affected by it.

IMO this does raise many free speech issues and while I'm totally disgusted by the song and the people who came up with it I'm leery of making an FCC issue of it. As another poster noted free speech is a bitch and the point of free speech is to protect all speech not just speech that we don't find offensive.

Since this is a commercial for profit station a better solution IMO would be to hit them where it matters by targetting their advertizers. They're certainly free to broadcast whatever offensive garbage they want but at the same time those of us as the listening public are free to boycott their advertisers to show that we don't approve of them financially supporting HOT 97's garbage. Leave the government out of it and use the freedom of the pocket book to enact change.

A similar situation happened in Minnesota a few years ago when a local shock jock was broadcasting offensive comments and skits about the Hmong, an Asian refugee group that's settled in MN, a local coalition of Asian and other groups formed and threatened to boycott advertisers for that station. Sure enough after about a month and repeated refusals by the shock jock to apologize they issued an apology and dropped the offensive skits.

As to the animosity between blacks in Asians this isn't something that's new but has been simmering for awhile. During the 70's and 80's Koreans and other Asians started opening stores and buying up property in innercity areas that were predominantly black. Many blacks resented the new immigrants and percieved that there was a systematic economic bias that favored the new immigrants over the people who had lived there before. At the same time Asian immigrants had been long fed stereotypes of African Americans as being lazy, prone to crime, ignorant and violent. These led to several incidents between the two groups in New York and LA including boycotts led by the Nation of Islam and Al Sharpton up to beatings and shootings by both sides. During the Rodney King Riots LA's Korea town was practically under siege and armed Koreans exchanged fire with rioters. Relations have calmed down somewhat sense but tensions are still under the surface.

Also in regards to their not being Asian American groups who speak out against racism towards Asians there are a few. The most prominent is the JACL, Japanese American Civil Liberties, who have spoken out on issues like reproations for survivors of the detention camps, Wen Ho Lee and assaults on Vietnamese fishermen in Texas.

Its sad this had to happened but it looks like this situation is being resolved quickly with the firing of the DJ's and an apology issued.