Hi all,
Finally, here's a follow-up statement posted on the RAD show's web site by the hosts and manager (I'll post it
verbatim in case it's eventually removed):
UPDATED JUNE 12TH, 2009, 3:40 AM
A follow up statement from Rob Williams:
To the overwhelming majority of our audience, I want to say a heartfelt “thank you.” Thank you for having the courage to stand by us and to keep the show in check. It was through the loyal listeners of the Rob, Arnie and Dawn show that Arnie and I were dragged, kicking and screaming, to the reality that we had gone too far and crossed a line in the eyes of OUR audience. It is still a point of sadness and frustration that it took us so long to acknowledge our mistake, believe our audience, and begin making things right. The show of Thursday, June 11 serves to set things in forward motion.
To the minority, I question whether or not you really ever understood what it is that we do on the RAD show. To those of you insisting on continuing to cry “You Caved,” I ask you: Who did we cave to? When presented with the fact that your fellow listeners are the ones who said in no uncertain terms that we needed to step back and apologize, who exactly is it that you are suggesting we caved to?
If you feel the need to be angry at society for having its’ limitations on what they define as decent discourse, so be it. We live in a world where our free speech is granted, but the right to be heard is not. Our audience keeps us in check; not advocacy groups, not management figures and not advertisers, our listeners. Without our enormous audience, we are worthless to any advertiser, any radio station and any organization that would ask us to further their cause.
The RAD show is, has been, and will remain a show about society. We will continue to offer stark opinions and occasionally outrageous comedy, understanding that we will occasionally offend, but hopefully never hurt.
The heart of the RAD show has never truly been called into question; we are, each in our own individual way, decent, compassionate people striving to make a difference. Arnie just wants to make people laugh, Dawn just wants to make people bored, and I just want to make people think.
As the owner and leader of the show, I hope you will remain a member of our powerful family.
Rob Williams
Rob, Arnie and Dawn
______________________________________
We would like to thank our two very special guests for stopping by and sharing their stories with us. If you would like to learn more about them, please visit the following links.
To learn more about Kim Pearson and the TransYouth Family Allies organization visit http://www.imatyfa.org.
And to read Autumn Sandeen's online contributions visit http://www.pamshouseblend.com.
If you miss today's show, you can download the full two and a half hours directly from this web site by clicking on the [link below].
Thank you,
The Rob, Arnie & Dawn Show
______________________________________
The following is a statement released by John Geary, Vice President and Market Manager of 98 Rock in Sacramento, CA:
I know that you are probably aware of the recent comments made on the Rob, Arnie and Dawn Show, which have clearly upset, and caused pain to, many who heard them. I regret that, as those remarks do not represent my beliefs, or those of Entercom. We have always encouraged, and will continue to encourage, everyone on the Rob, Arnie and Dawn Show to exchange diverse and, at times, provocative points of view. These recent comments, however, were not just provocative; they were hurtful. and, they were unacceptable.
The show that aired today was intended to provide an open forum to candidly discuss the complex issues of sexual identity, and to be a positive and thoughtful consideration of this topic. We can't undo the hurt that may have been caused, but we can foster a greater level of tolerance and understanding by people on both sides of the issue. I believe that today’s program began that process.
(The podcast of today’s show is available by clicking here.)
John Geary Vice-President / General Manager
Entercom / Sacramento
5345 Madison Avenue l Sacramento, Ca. 95841
Direct: 916.339.4209 l Fax: 916.339.4294 l jgeary@entercom.com
After having listened to the entire set of podcasts, I have to admit I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, the attempt at making right an obvious wrong seems honest. The hosts were genuinely interested in the experience of transgendered individuals (we even heard from the mother of 8-year old Ben--now called "Katie"--whose
story originally sparked the RAD show hosts' derogatory comments regarding transgender youth). The guests were fair yet firm in their good-natured insistence that Rob Williams's feet would be held to the fire for a little while longer. Yet, on the other hand, Rob Williams summarily dismissed the influence of advocacy groups such as
GLAAD in forcing them to retract, and apologize for, disparaging comments made on-air regarding transgender youth. To be fair, he also dismissed First Amendment "flag-wavers" (referring to both groups as "ditch-dwellers" as opposed to the 80% of "center-laners" that he believes makes up the bulk of his audience). While this may sound like a pious wish to remain in touch with the more moderate (and larger) mainstream segment of the show's listener base, it misses the point; the point being that it's often the people on the margins that take it upon themselves to remind mainstream culture that it's skidding and out of control.
Personally, I'm glad we have "ditch-dwellers" such as GLAAD. When people like Rob Williams or Arnie States believe they represent--or address themselves to--mainstream society when they advocate forcing transgender children to remain imprisoned in a gender that isn't naturally theirs, GLAAD (and other organizations like it) will speak up... even if they do so from the ditch. It's just too easy and cowardly to "re-marginalize" already marginal groups by silencing their voices. Anyway, it's a moot point; as one of my clients (a great-souled man suffering from paranoid schizophrenia) sometimes says, "even the margins are part of the page; they frame its contents." So true.
One comment on some of yesterday's show's call-in listeners: we have a long, long way to go before "center-laners" even begin to understand what it means for a human being to be transgendered. There are so many rampant myths and misconceptions about who we are that the task appears hopeless. But Gandhi's
satyagraha movement, the U.S. civil rights and women's liberation movements, and the Stonewall riots (among many other such instances of social justice activism) show us that we must not give up. We shall overcome. And we shall do so as "center-laners" who remember what it's like to be "ditch-dwellers" and who will actively seek to listen to the voice of "ditch-dwellers" in order to make sure we're on track and cruising along with a purpose.
Love,
CJ
