Conservative talk show host Neal Boortz flatly advocated the murder of Atlanta citizens on his June 14 radio show. His characterizations of "carjackers" as "urban thugs," his use of slang such as "yo," and his playing of hip-hop music behind his statement indicate that he is most likely referring to black residents, though his defenders are denying he meant any such thing. You and I know damn well what he meant, but be that as it may. The issue is plain:
Neal Boortz told his listeners to go kill people.
More below the fold, including what we can do to get Boortz fired and hopefully arrested.
Here's part of what Boortz told his audience:
"And we got too damn many urban thugs, yo, ruining the quality of life for everybody. And I'll tell you what it's gonna take. You people, you are -- you need to have a gun. You need to have training. You need to know how to use that gun. You need to get a permit to carry that gun. And you do in fact need to carry that gun and we need to see some dead thugs littering the landscape in Atlanta. We need to see the next guy that tries to carjack you shot dead right where he stands. We need more dead thugs in this city.
http://mediamatters.org/...
Media Matters has the clip and a transcript. So does The Ed Show, along with an interview with Georgetown professor Michael Eric Dyson and the NAACP's Hilary Shelton. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/... (video link, not sure I can embed it).
Neal Boortz works for WSB-AM in Atlanta. He is broadcast nationally by Dial Global, a subsidiary of Triton Media.
This is a letter I wrote to all the contactable bigwigs at WSB and Triton.
On June 14, your employee, radio host Neal Boortz advocated the murder of people he labeled "urban thugs." These are his words, as broadcast by WSB-AM and carried by Dial Global throughout the nation:
"And we got too damn many urban thugs, yo, ruining the quality of life for everybody. And I'll tell you what it's gonna take. You people, you are -- you need to have a gun. You need to have training. You need to know how to use that gun. You need to get a permit to carry that gun. And you do in fact need to carry that gun and we need to see some dead thugs littering the landscape in Atlanta. We need to see the next guy that tries to carjack you shot dead right where he stands. We need more dead thugs in this city. And let their -- let their mommas -- let their mommas say, 'He was a good boy. He just fell in with the good crowd.' And then lock her ass up."
This is beyond "inappropriate speech." This is the blatant advocacy of lethal violence. This is urging Atlanta residents to become domestic terrorists and criminals.
I understand that you cannot control what Boortz said on the airwaves. However, now that you are aware of his words, it is incumbent upon you to take action. Have you fired Boortz yet? Have you reported him to the Atlanta police, or the GBI, or to federal authorities? If not, please prepare to share the blame when one or more of Boortz's listeners decides to follow Boortz's instructions and gun down Atlanta citizens. You will be accessories to murder. You may already be accessories to the issuance of terroristic threats.
This is not a political issue. This is a criminal issue. You must decide whether you firm will be an accessory to criminal violence.
Thank you.
Here are their emails:
walt.phillips@coxradio.com; beth.bowers@coxradio.com; pete.spriggs@coxradio.com; condace.pressley@coxradio.com; michael.dobson@coxradio.com; hans.heilmann@coxradio.com; joel@famapr.com
The last one is to some guy at Triton; the others are to WSB management. I also used Dial Global's contact form to send them the same letter:
http://www.dial-global.com/...
The next step is to find out who Boortz's sponsors are and slam them. I hope some of you can start that process in the comments.
This is serious. This is not something we can shake our heads about, make smartass comments about, or stick our nosies up in the air and ignore. Boortz told his listeners to start killing people. What do we intend to do about it?