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Thanks to alert American bloggers (notably Turbanhead, Sepiamutiny, Herstory and Moorishgirl) Indian Americans are raging mad at the racism and sexism displayed by a Philadelphia radio station last week when its African-American DJ, phoned an India-based call center worker, showering her with obscenities on-air, and then offering her humiliation to his listeners as entertainment.
The following is the version provided by blogger Turbanhead who taped it from Philadelphia´s Power99 radio station WUSL. (http://www.turbanhead.com/mt/archives/002437.html)
NARRATOR INTRO: Wakeup with Star and Buc Wild in the mornings of Power 99 FM.
STAR: I´m going to play this call from earlier before we get out of here. This is the, uh, call that I made to -- I thought it was a company here locally. Not that I was surprised. (laughter)
STAR: I saw this infomercial about, uh, what are these things called again? Oh, the, uh...
FEMALE VOICE: Bead? Oh shoot.
STAR: Anyway, let -- let´s just play the call. I was surprised when I got somebody on the line in East India. These little beads that I saw. Little white kids, uh, a little machine that puts them in their hair.
FEMALE VOICE: Mm´hm.
STAR: Play it.
(tape begins)
STEENA: This is Steena. How may I help you?
STAR: Hi, Stain-a, you say?
STEENA: Yes.
STAR: (in fake Indian accent) Yeah, I called and I just got hung up on. I´m calling from America about the quick beads for my daughter´s, uh, hair. Quick beads.
STEEA: Okay. May I have your ZIP code please?
STAR: 10274.
STEENA: 10274?
STAR: Yes. Get it right. Now are you in India? Because I just spoke to someone in India who hung up on me.
STEENA: Thank you. I am from India, ma´am.
STAR: Okay. So my call is being outsourced to India.
STEENA: That´s right.
STAR: In... in regards to my six year old, white American daughter who wants to get the quick beads like Serena and Venus Williams.
STEENA: Now. I´ll definitely place an order for that. See...
STAR: What´s that?
STEENA: ...in the ad, she called to place a quick bead of counier. To ensure proper handling...
STAR: Ma´am, I don´t know what the hell you´re saying. Hang on a second. Let me try and get something straight here. The quick beads, like Venus and Serena Williams, that to advertise to -- to the white kids on television. This call has been outsourced to India?
STEENA: That´s right.
STAR: Well, ma´am, what the eff would you know about an American white girl´s -- uh, uh -- hair? And quick beads.
STEENA: Just to inform you, ma´am, we´re a national chain services company. And we´re just taking calls on the opposite...
STAR: Listen, bitch! Don´t get slick with the mouth! Don´t you get slick with me, bitch!
STEENA: Now if you continue to speak this language, I will disconnect the call.
STAR: Listen to me, you dirty rat eater. I´ll come out there and choke the eff out of you. (laughter)
STAR: You´re a filthy rat eater. I´m calling about my American six-year-old white girl. How dare you outsource my call? Get off the line, bitch!
(laughter; end of tape)
STAR: Pull it up.
(laughter)
STAR: Heard they listen well out there. (end of clip)
The African-American DJ, whose real name is Troi Torain, is reported to have a history of savage radio behavior. According to a report from New York, Star prides himself on being "the Hater" and his website notes that "he has the audacity to be unconstrained by neo-conservative intellectual influence."
The exclusive Star interview further notes, "Hate is one of the truest natures of mankind. We´ll always have Hate, even when we branch into outer space and set up new civilizations. To eradicate hate would mean becoming desensitized or emotionless" and then qualifies this statement with a follow-up, "Does a fat bitch love cheeseburgers? Absolutely."
When DJ Star worked at radio station WQHT, he played plane-crash sound effects when Aaliyah died, complete with a woman screaming, causing his former co-host Miss Jones to walk out. Star has promised to "bury his old station" when he gets to New York.
In addition to WUSL in Philadelphia, DJ Star can currently be found on Hartford´s WPHH station.New York´s WWPR-FM (Power 105.1) is slated to broadcast DJStar from January 17, 2005.
SEETHING ANGER
The broadcast by DJ Star is rousing young Indian Americans like never before. A call for action has been mounted, including the filing of a complaint with the FCC.
Acknowledging that DJ Star ´has inspired a wrath and rage within that I haven´t felt in months’, Anna John, who contributes to Sepiamutiny as well as to her own blog Herstory, is angry enough to exhort fellow Indian Americans to ´rage against the racist machine.´
And, in a call to action, Turbanhead writes: ´Hey brown people! If you´re finished trying to be all street (pimping your mom´s Toyota Camry ain´t gonna get you on 50-Cent´s crew) and gangsta, why don´t you get off your lazy asses and do something productive. The morning show on Philadelphia´s Power 99 radio station has posted (and since removed) a racist call they made to a call center operator located in India. Listen to the clip then voice your outrage at the station´s management by calling with and/or writing a strongly worded response. While you are at it, direct some of that outrage to the local TV, radio and newspaper outlets in Philadelphia.´
Indian American businessman Prashant Kothari comments: ´I´m all for standing up and exposing this sort of hypocritical and offensive racism for what it is. I´m in the outsourcing business too -- we don´t run a call center though, and so far haven´t had this sort of crap. However, there´s no way we can take this nonsense lying down... passivity does not pay, esp in America.´
Another wrote: ´I told this story to my British Asian boyfriend, and his response was simply "90% of the racism I´ve experienced in my life has come from black people." It´s really a shame that a DJ who you´d think would be more sensitive to issues of culture and race should be the perpetrator of more xenophobia and hate. But this IS the direction that shock radio is headed, isn´t it? Obviously listeners eat it up or they wouldn´t give these wankers (and there´s at least one in every major market, and others who get syndicated) so much money and airtime. Generally they stick to verbally abusing women, this guy just upped it to attacking a brown one. I think it´ll only get worse as the U.S. gets more fragmented.´
Some Indian Americans are of the view that pressure must be exerted on "higher-ups" in the media to refrain from creating a culture where stupid skits and ratings´ ploys are used boost ratings or sales. Others say that DJ Star is just doing what successful shock jocks do, and that he is just an equal opportunity offender.
One thoughtful blogger writes: ´There is a place for each type of humor. Humor that plays up stereotypes tends to do well in a stand-up setting. It may not sit well with some people, but its in a private setting. When broadcasting such idiotic messages over a public system, one can only cringe and shake their head. Plenty of racist jokes fly around, even within our communities (typical Sardar, Gujarati, South-Indian jokes). However, they are in context with humor at the core of the joke, and are not meant to be hateful... good comedians make it sound humorous, laid-back, and funny, not hateful. That’s why good comics are good, they know where that line between humor and racist hatemongering exists.
This was not humor, it was verbal abuse. Verbally abusing a lady simply doing her job is unacceptable and in the name of humor or satire, it definitely does not fly. One look at the transcript and anyone can tell that is verbal abuse. "STAR: Listen to me, you dirty rat eater. I’ll come out there and choke the eff out of you." The very fact that the caller threatened violence (although in vain), it is disturbing. Take this same line and throw it any other person or community and no one will find it funny. Only idiots would.´
An Indian American warns: “Too many times, we´ve kept quiet and ignored it. It´s time to step up and let our voices be heard. Send this out to your friends if you care to. and call Power 99´s main number, letting them know what you think of their new racist morning show. Their number is 215.483.8900 and their address is: Power99 WUSL-FM, 440 Domino Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19128.”
Note to readers: (The DJ Star audio file has been mirrored at http://angrydesi.typepad.com/)
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