On May 29, the Rob, Arnie and Dawn in the Morning Show of KRXQ Sacramento outraged people all over the country with their anti-Transgender hate speech by advocating that parents verbally and physically abuse their Transgender children and by celebrating anti-Transgender bullying. After 11 advertisers pulled their advertising from the station, the Rob, Arnie and Dawn in the Morning Show have finally responded to the massive outcry that has followed:
WE HAVE FAILED YOU. AS A SHOW, AS PEOPLE, AS BROADCASTERS, WE HAVE SIMPLY FAILED ON ALMOST EVERY LEVEL. WE PRESENTED OUR OPINIONS ON A VERY SENSITIVE SUBJECT IN A HATEFUL, CHILDISH AND CRUDE FASHION; AND THEN, GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO RETRACT THOSE REMARKS, WE DEFENDED THEM. SINCE THEN, YOU, OUR LOYAL LISTENERS, HAVE MADE IT CLEAR TO US THAT WE WENT TOO FAR. THE RESPONSE HAS BEEN OVERWHELMING.
more below the fold...
Not only this, but they’ve decided to suspend broadcasting new shows until Thursday, June 11 when it sounds like they will make an on-the-air apology and further address the situation at 7:30 am.
HELL YEAH LGBT activists and netroots! From what I’ve read, this type of biggotry is fairly common from the KRXQ crew, so I’m not holding my breath that there will be any lasting change from the station. Yet again, I wasn’t holding my breath for this much mobilization and for such a fast response from both the station and advertisers - but I find myself sitting here corrected and being psyched about it.
I say we need to keep the pressure up. We need to acknowledge them for (finally) taking responsibility but also let them know that an apology is not enough. Check out GLAAD’s call to action and the Boycott KRXQ Facebook Group for ways to stay involved. Below I’ve posted the text of an email I sent to KRXQ this morning:
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Rob, Arnie and Dawn,
I have to admit that I was impressed reading the June 7 comment on your website. Your tone was necessarily humble and remorseful. Its always hard to admit a mistake, and to do for so many to read takes guts.
But you made a terrible, terrible mistake and its important that you take to heart how big an impact hate speech like that can have. Not out of spite or because you need to be punished with guilt, because that never seems to work very well anyway. But because the psychological, emotional and physical abuse of Transgender youth and adults in this country is severe and widespread, and people are suffering and dying because of it.
You advocated child abuse and you laughed about it. In fact, Rob and Arnie, you even persisted after being challenged by Dawn to stop. Think about how easy that was for you. Think about how often it happens on your show, whether it be directed at Transgender children, LGBT people in general, or anyone who fails to live up to your standards for “proper” men and women.
And then think about how many people in this country share these views and think about how hurtful, terrifying, and literally life threatening that is for Transgender people. I am a Transman. While born female, I have always felt more like a boy and faced terrible harassment and bullying for being a “tomboy.” I’m 26 now. I’ve legally changed my name, had gender reassignment surgery and have been undergoing hormone therapy for the last four years. Unless I disclose that I am Transgender [which I do more often than not because I am proud!] no one ever even suspects that I spent 20 years of my life as a girl. But I will never forget nor fully heal from the emotional pain caused by anti-Transgender bullying from my peers as a young person.
And you advocated that parents do this to their children. But the very worst thing about this entire situation, is that parents all over the country are doing exactly what you advocated in real life. Over 40% of the homeless youth population in this country is Transgender, Bisexual, Lesbian, Gay or Two-Spirit. So many of these children were banished to the streets by their parents who feel the same way that you do - that there are natural, morally-right ways to be men and women and that anyone who strays from these roles should be punished by the people that love them most, for their own good. With many studies citing the LGBT student suicide rate at more than double that of non-LGBT students, this is not only not funny, its terrifying.
If you really mean what you said in your website comment, you will do more than simply apologize on Thursday. Your May 28th show sent a message of hatred and disrespect to Transgender children and their parents. I hope that you will use Thursday’s show to not only apologize for your comments, but to make a 180 degree turn in your rhetoric by praising Transgender children and the parents who are courageous enough to support them. Yes, of course you have a right to your own opinions, and if you want to continue to allow a closed-minded outlook on life to dictate your moral views, go right ahead thinking that being Trans is a disease. But after coming to terms with the depravity of your own hate speech against Trans families, you can’t deny that to endure this type of hatred day in and day out takes guts - precisely the kind of courage that you admit you did not demonstrate during this past week.
And if you truly mean what you say, you will not just praise Transgender families, but you will educate your listeners about ways to get involved to advocate for Transgender rights and support Transgender families. If you really believe that what you said on May 28th was wrong, and you understand how widespread attacks on Transgender people are, you must take action to help end it because it is an injustice and you played a part in it.
You have a big opportunity to make a huge impact on this situation because you reach a lot of people. I will be paying close attention to your Thursday response, and I hope you use that opportunity to legitimately contribute to the eradication of hatred and discrimination against Transgender people.
Thank you in advance,
