Racist Humor On Your Radio

My early influences when it comes to humor aren't the same as most people's influences. When I was far too young, I stole listens to my dad's comedy record albums from Flip Wilson, George Carlin, Redd Foxx, and Richard Pryor. I can't lie and say that I got every joke, but after hearing the bits so many times I figured out (for the most part) where the comedy was.
From there, I followed the path of offensive humor to each and every edition of "Truly Tasteless Jokes" and "Gross Jokes." I remember getting "The Big Ethnic Joke Book" confiscated in elementary school, which was a true shame at the time because that tome went so far as to designate a separate chapter for each minority. Everybody got a chapter, from Gays to Blacks, Jews to Polacks, and even the handicapped.
When I think about some of those jokes now, I cringe. When I think of some of the things I've said during my 15-year run behind the microphone, I wipe my brow in relief that I still get a paycheck. Now, more than ever, the voice of racial inequality is demanding to be heard. Broadcasters can no longer hide behind characters or bits to make racist "jokes." Don Imus shamelessly calling the Rutgers ladies "nappy headed ho's" was to racial humor what Janet Jackson's boob was to broadcasting indecency as a whole. One chief difference, however, was that Janet Jackson hasn't exactly made her career out of pushing indecency. Imus, from what I know of him and his show, has a history of letting some genuine-sounding prejudice ooze onto his airwaves.
I have to add as a disclaimer that I've only heard Don Imus a handful of times. As a longtime Stern fan, I have only been exposed to him through Howard bashing him and the occasional/accidental channel flip to see his gruesome visage on some NBC derivative. I've read enough news stories to know that he's not the most open-minded individual when it comes to accepting other races and ways of thinking. When I heard his fateful NCAA basketball-related comment, I felt the same way I felt after taking phone calls on the air the day after the Janet Superbowl. I knew a change was a-comin'.
It's here. A prank call to a Chinese restaurant claimed the victim known as the Doghouse with JV and Elvis. Former fellow CBS employees. Another radio guy used the phrase "Jewish Black Guy" to call someone cheap. Goodbye to you. Opie and Anthony, fellow CBS employees, may very well be off XM for good due to a bit they ran that included Condoleeza Rice getting raped.
With the Federal Communications Commission armed with a 250K fine per indecent incident AND Al Sharpton's posse (I can still write that, yeah?) on the hunt for racist jokes, it's not the time to be pushing envelopes. There is more of a burden than ever before for radio hosts to create compelling, funny, and I dare say "edgy" content without putting themselves (or their companies) in harm's way. Despite what you might think or hear radio callers say, this is not a First Amendment Issue. No matter what our job title is, we all have the right to express ourselves freely by speaking or writing. However, when you sign a contract to a corporation and advertising is sold on the radio show you produce...that particular speech isn't exactly protected as "free."
Howard Stern actually said it best on his show today: "You want freedom of speech? Go stand in a closet and talk." His show is on satellite radio and he takes full advantage of the lax indecency standards. I haven't heard his show since he moved it from terrestrial radio, but not a show goes by for which I haven't read the re-cap (kept online by an amazingly-attentive fan). Since the move to satellite, the language and show content has either evolved or descended past the boundaries of taste. Still, he realizes that if he finds himself out of favor with major advertisers...he'll suffer a similar misfortune as the above-mentioned radio dudes.
I'm not about to turn this into a confessional so I can unburden myself of my previous proclivity for racial humor. I wouldn't be so dumb as to even admit to one even slightly-offensive joke, especially with the current state of affairs. I will simply say that even though I may have previously found humor in feeding into stereotypes, I can see why and how the time has come to put an end to the venom, hatred, and sheer ignoranced that has contributed to the racial divide in this country.
Hypocrite? Your momma. The time has come to take necessary steps to bring us closer together as a people. All this brouhaha has forced me to challenge myself and what I find funny. Why should it be funny to make a joke about a black man stealing your wallet or a Jew being cheap? Is there anything funny about being a homosexual in an era where gays are still beaten and killed?
Don't misunderstand me...I think one can make jokes about other types of people without wanting to consciously discriminate against them. I am also not so myopic that I think everyone who makes a "black joke" truly sees them as equals. I will make an occasional joke with my General Manager at work, a stately African-American gentleman who has taught me an indescribable amount professionally and personally. The nature of our humor is good, but I know that there is a line there somewhere. My point is, even when I may have crossed that line I think Earnest can tell that I am more fascinated by our difference in color than bothered by it.
But can he? Deep down inside, how does it make him feel to hear a white boy who has lived a pretty damn easy life poke fun at the racial stereotypes he's dealt (and still deals) with? Had I been born an African-American, I know I wouldn't want to hear even a playful joke at the expense of my people who were brought here on slave ships. I can't even begin to speak for White America, but I can honestly state that I have heard from far too many people who forget that well into the 1950s there were separate hotels, restaurants, and drinking fountains in the good old U.S. of A. If I had a dime for every "I just wish they'd get over it" that's called me on the radio, I would be set for life.
That's where the root of the controversy is, by the way. The backlash against Imus getting fired stems from a vocal contingent of white people who just don't get it. They feel like they weren't directly responsible for slavery, they don't understand why there's a BET "but if we had White Entertainment Television there would be a riot", and they're not even remotely concerned if a white American broadcaster wants to use his forum to spew ignorant and intolerant rhetoric. Rather than bother to actually think about any points Al Sharpton might have, these people point the finger of racism at him in an attempt to discredit the Reverend.
The Reverend Al Sharpton has indeed made it his life mission, apparently, to be the "voice of the black community." Can you blame him? I sure as hell can't. Sure, he's controversial and brash. He seems to find any media opportunity within a 50-mile radius. He preaches to anyone who'll listen. What the hell is wrong with that? He's doing it all to make sure that people who have been the victims of discrimination can at least have the chance to be heard! I can't say that I fall in line with everything that he says, but at least he's used his position in this life to stand up for what he believes in. Even though my current career landscape has changed due to his crackdown, I have to say that I generally like what Al Sharpton is all about.
I definitely didn't intend for this to read like a case study in sociology. I know that you might read this and think I'm some sort of white apologist trying to unburden myself of some guilt. I'm not. For my first ten years or so, my only exposure to African-Americans was through music, entertainment, or sports. Then we moved down to Orlando a few houses down from Meke (pronounced "Mickey") Smith and his family. We were only a year apart, so we started playing ball together and I would end up at his house talking to his family. I finally got to know someone of a different race and found out that there are many ways in which we as people are alike, yet a few ways in which we couldn't be more different. I would never be so bold as to say I completely grasped what it was like to be Black In America, but the Smith family opened my eyes more than a little.
Fast-forward through the years. No, "some of my best friends" haven't been black, but I can honestly say I never rejected or accepted a friend based on their race. I still find Richard Pryor's old stuff some of the funniest comedy I've ever had the pleasure to hear. Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock carried his legacy and even improved upon it. The "cracker crowd" even has the Blue Collar guys when they want to laugh it up about fishin' and NASCAR. Stern hits the paid-for airwaves on Satellite four days a week and flies his finger in the face of the FCC. A bunch of guys are out of work because they ignored the winds of change when it comes to the current comedy culture in our country.
Is it fair that these guys, most with families to feed, have lost their livelihood? Yeah, actually. As someone who is not offended by humor so much as genuine racist tendencies, I think we've put too many ingredients into the stew of hatred we've been brewing for far too long. Think about the people you know who still make racist jokes or use that "N" word. If they were in a position to hire one candidate or another and race was the defining factor, what do you think would happen? When you say you "Jew" someone down a few bucks, does it even occur to you that you're projecting disdain on a people who has seen millions executed in concentration camps?
Again I run the risk of appearing to try to have my cake and eat it, too. I have been exposed to and immersed in such language and humor for my entire adult life. For the first time, I'm forced to think about why stereotypical humor has been funny to me and others. These ways in which we observe and joke about minorities, domestic violence, whatever...why do we laugh the hardest when the joke is the "wrongest"? Is it our nature as people to laugh at what shocks us?
So many questions. I'll gratefuly close this barrage of verbosity by saying that I don't fear the executioner's blade of employment termination any more or less than I did before the Imus Incident. I wondered aloud on the air today if it was still permissible for me to observe that of all the DHL delivery drivers, as opposed to UPS or FedEx, I don't know that I've ever seen a "caucasian" driver. The phones lit up, Savannah said I was going to get in trouble, and we got some good tongue-in-cheek laughs about the state of racial humor. Earnest seemed to get a good laugh out of it; good times were had by most.
Then, after the show an unnamed-employee tells me that this particular delivery service has more lax hiring standards and doesn't let things like felonies get in the way of a qualified applicant. This causes me to ponder the situation even more deeply than before. Does this mean, then, that white people don't commit as many...ahhhh, forget that. I'm not even going there.