Does anyone take this toolbag seriously anymore?
Jesse wants to heave 'ho' off the airwaves
By DAVID HINCKLEY
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Jesse Jackson
The Rev. Jesse Jackson renewed his call for radio stations to "draw the line on dignity" during a visit yesterday to WBLS (107.5 FM).
Speaking with Paul Mooney, Ellen Cleghorne, Ann Tripp and Mark Jordan on the morning show, Jackson linked radio stations cleaning up their act with several other causes, including renewal of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
Jackson is promoting a petition, which he hopes will get a million names, in support of retaining key clauses in the law.
Moreover, he warned, imperiled voting rights reflect the country's broader lack of commitment to equality and a troubling pattern of preference for privileged social and economic classes.
For instance, he said, a disproportionate number of lower-income people are fighting the Afghan and Iraqi wars.
"For people at Yale and Columbia, this war is academic," he said. "For us, it's bloody."
But Jackson also said black people need to take more responsibility for their own lives.
"We need to respect ourselves," he said. "We must maintain our own dignity." Which is where radio and the entertainment industry come in.
Jackson accused some radio stations, not by name, of "making a profit from degrading us." He cited popular songs that refer to women as "ho's" or "bitches," as well as songs that use the N-word.
"I'm distressed when I go to a club and see people dancing to songs that use these words," he said. "We should never dance to degradation. It's diminishing the worth of our life."
Jackson drew a parallel between the entertainment industry, "where some companies seem to think it's cute to call black women 'ho's'," and college athletics, where black athletes often have a low graduation rate.
Both situations add up to exploitation, Jackson said. "When you leave school with no diploma and a few clippings, you have wasted a great opportunity."
The use of the N-word and terms like "ho" has been debated for years on radio, with some stations and hosts arguing it just reflects what listeners say to each other.
AROUND THE DIAL: Eugene Bergmann, who has written a comprehensive biography of the late Jean Shepherd titled "Exclesior, You Fathead," will talk about the book and Shep tomorrow with Leonard Lopate, noon-2 p.m., on WNYC (93.9 FM, 820 AM). ... Fans of Zacherle will be pleased to hear he's back in the studio, re-recording his classic "Dear Valentine." He's 87, by the way. ... The morning show on WBAI (99.5 FM) yesterday did a sympathetic two-hour special on Ward Churchill, the Colorado professor who has come under widespread fire for suggesting Sept. 11 was in part a response to U.S. excesses in other nations. Churchill has taken a regular roasting on much of talk radio. ... WXRK (92.3 FM) is promoting its Internet sister, KRock2 (www.krockradio.com), by having tickets to Tuesday's Coldplay show at the Beacon available only through KRock2. ... Got some old radio memorabilia lying around? The Radio Hall of Fame in Chicago is looking for just that sort of thing. Contact Bruce DuMont at [email protected].
Originally published on May 11, 2005
― shookout (shookout), Friday, 13 May 2005 15:54 (twenty-one years ago)
As someone who's background is mostly Hip-Hop, I've encountered all the arguments all my life, and I've certainly wasted my breath on many occasion.
I eventually came to realize that haters either dislike anti-melodic music, or are culturalists (racists) to some degree. The defense really is as simple as "there's many different types of Hip-Hop", and it really doesn't need to go further I think.
But since 1996, I too despise Hip-Hop. Very little sounds enjoyable to me now. I'm not sure I even have a good argument for why I dislike it.
― PappaWheelie (PappaWheelie), Friday, 13 May 2005 16:41 (twenty-one years ago)
most of the "bitch"'s and "ho"'s are already removed from hip hop radio, most stations play clean edits of the record where those words, among others, are erased or replaced. it might vary from station to station, but usually they're pretty wary of being penalized by the FCC (who cast a much more watchul eye on urban stations than, say, classic rock stations, which let f-words slip by pretty often in my experience). Jesse's right that most clubs play the dirty versions, though.
― Al (sitcom), Friday, 13 May 2005 17:26 (twenty-one years ago)