Oh hell no. Not again. Back to business as usual, my friends. While the Don Imus thing sparked a huge national debate about
racist language and broadcasting, it just so happens that Asians actually have to deal with this all the freaking time. Imus' remarks were just plain dumbass and off-the-cuff, radio personalities across the country purposely construct entire prank and skit segments to offend Asians. It happens all the time, and no one does a damn thing. For instance, Power 105.1's
"Are You Smarter Than An Asian?" segment from the other week... and now, the latest bit of
racist radio to come ot our attention, courtesy of WFNY 92.3 Free FM in New York. On April 5th, "The Dog House with JV and Elvis" midmorning show made a six-minute prank call to a Chinese restaurant, in which a series of unsuspecting employees have to deal with this caller's racist, sexist remarks, while the hosts laugh their asses off in the background:
In the skit, a series of apparently unsuspecting employees of a Chinese restaurant are berated by a caller who tells one woman he would like to "come to your restaurant" to see her naked, especially a part of her body he refers to as "hot, Asian, spicy." The caller also attempts to order "flied lice," brags of his prowess in kung fu and repeatedly curses at several employees.
You can listen audio file of the prank
here or
here. It's pretty infuriating. The usual, tired-ass
racist garbage passing for "comedy" on the airwaves, and we're not taking it anymore. Juvenile and idiotic to the infinite degree, this was a planned, thought-out sketch done expressly to
mock Asians and reduce us to the same inhuman stereotypes—a joke to be laughed by all of New York. The segment was replayed on "The Dog House" last week. This got the attention of the Organization of Chinese Americans in New York, who sent out this press release:
Liliana Chen
Principal
eLcie Media Services
T: 212-947-3434
E: lil@lilianachen.com
OCA EXPRESSES OUTRAGE OVER 92.3FREE FM RACIST AND SEXIST RADIO SEGMENT
April 22, 2007 - Today, the New York metropolitan area chapters of the Organization of Chinese Americans - New York, New Jersey, Long Island and Westchester/Hudson Valley – expressed their outrage over a recent segment aired on WFNY 92.3Free FM that involved a prank call to a Chinese restaurant. In a letter to Thomas Chiusano, the station's President and General Manager, OCA called for an immediate apology by the hosts of the racist, vulgar and sexist segment, JV & Elvis, their producer and the station. In addition, OCA demanded for the immediate firing of JV and Elvis and their show's producer.
In the segment, the caller begins by telling the first restaurant employee, "I would like some Asian food, son of a bitch" as well as to the second employee, "I would love to have lots of Asian food, son of a bitch." The caller then tells a the restaurant's female employee, "Should I come to your restaurant so I can see you naked? " and continues, "That way, I can see your hot Asian spicy ass." As the caller goes on, he tells yet another employee that he would like some "flied lice," but not "some old dung" and indicates that "I am training in Kung Fu, bitch" before ending with "Tell that hot Asian girl answering the telephone, I'd like to tap her ass."
OCA-NY President, Vicki Shu Smolin, citing the letter, reiterates, "What is especially disturbing to the Asian American community is that the segment first aired on April 5 - just a day after Don Imus referred to the Scarlet Knights, the Rutgers University women's basketball team, as 'nappy-headed hos.' Even more infuriating is that after CBS rightly fired Don Imus on April 12, JV & Elvis aired the segment AGAIN on April 19. It is apparent that not only did JV & Elvis not learn anything from the Don Imus scandal, but CBS and CBSRadio decided that Asian Americans are easy prey for racist radio broadcast."
Ms. Florence Chen, President, OCA- New Jersey adds, "New Jersey is home to numerous technology, manufacturing and telecommunication firms and home to nearly three-quarters of a million Asian Pacific Americans. Until we are satisfied with the actions of 92.3FreeFM, we will be calling on the strength of the Asian American market to urge advertisers to pull their support."
Mr. John Tandana, Executive Vice President, OCA-Long Island continues, "Once again, radio has tried to gain ratings to the detriment of Asian Americans. The segment lasted over six minutes, the entire time, casting Asian Americans and women in a demeaning manner. Asian Americans have and will continue to contribute immensely to this country's economy, intellect and culture. We will not allow talk radio to spread stereotypes that hurt our community."
Ms. Jeannette Wang, President, OCA-Westchester/ Hudson Valley affirms that "If the executives of CBS, CBSRadio and 92.3FreeFM do not fire the DJs and their producer, they are sending a very strong message to the Asian American community that they do not care. A strong signal must be sent that this type of broadcasting is unacceptable."
The OCA Chapters are urging its members and colleagues contact the following individuals to demand the apology from and firing of JV & Elvis and their producer:
Thomas Chiusano, President and General Manager, WFNY 92.3 Free FM
tchiusano@923freefm.com
40 W 57th St, Fl 14
New York, NY 10019-4001
(212) 314-9231
Leslie Moonves, President & CEO
CBS
51 West 52nd Street
New York, NY
10019-6188
John Mainelli, Program Director, WFNY, 92.3 Free FM
john.mainelli@cbsradio.com
WFNY-FM
40 W 57th St, Fl 14
New York, NY 10019-4001
(212) 314-9230
Karen Mateo, CBS Vice President of Communications
1515 Broadway
New York, NY 10036
(212) 846-7638
karen.mateo@cbsradio.com
According to this article, CBS Radio, which owns WFNY, has suspended the two hosts:
CBS Radio Show Hosts Suspended After Prank Call. But really, is that enough? Shouldn't CBS go all the way and fire the hosts and producer responsible for this skit? Or will CBS management choose to indeed embrace the double standard that made "The Doghouse" think they could get away with this in the first place—that somehow Asian Americans are easy targets for this kind of
racist mockery. The fact of the matter is, they thought they could get away with it. Well, they can't. And I urge you to let them know this. Use the contact info above and demand justice. I've said it before, and I'll keep saying it. If we sit on our hands and stay quiet, it basically sends the message that radio stations and other media can just go right on perpetuating stuff like it. And they will.
That's racist!
