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 b****es, 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
- "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?!
Free speech is a b**** 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.
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.
Yeah, it probably surprised them too. After all, that's probably the main reason they played the song. No such thing as bad publicity.
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 b**** sometimes.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. 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.