stephanie
07-13-2007, 07:24 PM
:poke:
Kantele Franko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, July 13, 2007
Bay Area immigrant rights advocates say radio host Michael Savage should be fired for using hateful language when suggesting supporters of an immigration reform bill who fasted in San Francisco's Civic Center Plaza last week should starve to death.
During a July 5 broadcast of "The Savage Nation," his nationally syndicated talk show, Savage said, "I would say let them fast till they starve to death ... because then we won't have a problem about giving them green cards because they're illegal aliens."
More than 30 protesters publicly denounced Savage and the on-air remarks outside San Jose City Hall on Thursday and said his comments should not be disregarded on the basis of constitutional free speech.
The group, which included San Jose State students who participated in the hunger strike and a variety of community activists, called on radio stations such as Clear Channel Radio's KNEW 910 AM in San Francisco to apologize for airing vile language and hate speech and cheered in support of the immigrant students who fasted.
Calls to several members of Savage's production team at Talk Radio Network and Clear Channel were not returned Thursday, and an assistant contacted in the afternoon said Savage would not be available for comment until after his show, which airs until 7 p.m.
The immigrant students fasted to show support for the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, which would make higher education or military service a part of the path to citizenship for young illegal immigrants. The DREAM Act was introduced in Congress in 2001 and most recently stalled in June as part of the Senate's hotly debated immigration reform bill.
Mark Silverman, an attorney with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, said Savage's comments were as offensive as those of controversial radio host Don Imus, who was fired from CBS after making racist remarks about the Rutgers women's basketball team earlier this year.
"I think wishing the death of people is just beyond belief for someone who has access to 10 million listeners," said Silverman, a longtime immigrant rights advocate.
Julia Curry-Rodriguez, an assistant professor of Mexican American studies at San Jose State, called the broadcast "uninformed, ahistorical and flatly incorrect" and condemned Savage for analogizing the immigrant students to terrorists.
In one part of the broadcast, Savage said the students were stealing education from the United States and added: "Go make a bomb where you came from."
Such comments are not atypical for Savage, who is known for his anti-immigration views and often offensive speech, said Karl Frisch, a spokesman for Media Matters, a liberal media watchdog that tracks Savage's program.
"I think he's probably more likely to insult somebody else than he is to apologize," Frisch said. "This is a guy who has built his career on personal character assassination."
Lots of surprising comments at site...http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/07/13/BAGTDQVU6J1.DTL
Kantele Franko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, July 13, 2007
Bay Area immigrant rights advocates say radio host Michael Savage should be fired for using hateful language when suggesting supporters of an immigration reform bill who fasted in San Francisco's Civic Center Plaza last week should starve to death.
During a July 5 broadcast of "The Savage Nation," his nationally syndicated talk show, Savage said, "I would say let them fast till they starve to death ... because then we won't have a problem about giving them green cards because they're illegal aliens."
More than 30 protesters publicly denounced Savage and the on-air remarks outside San Jose City Hall on Thursday and said his comments should not be disregarded on the basis of constitutional free speech.
The group, which included San Jose State students who participated in the hunger strike and a variety of community activists, called on radio stations such as Clear Channel Radio's KNEW 910 AM in San Francisco to apologize for airing vile language and hate speech and cheered in support of the immigrant students who fasted.
Calls to several members of Savage's production team at Talk Radio Network and Clear Channel were not returned Thursday, and an assistant contacted in the afternoon said Savage would not be available for comment until after his show, which airs until 7 p.m.
The immigrant students fasted to show support for the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, which would make higher education or military service a part of the path to citizenship for young illegal immigrants. The DREAM Act was introduced in Congress in 2001 and most recently stalled in June as part of the Senate's hotly debated immigration reform bill.
Mark Silverman, an attorney with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, said Savage's comments were as offensive as those of controversial radio host Don Imus, who was fired from CBS after making racist remarks about the Rutgers women's basketball team earlier this year.
"I think wishing the death of people is just beyond belief for someone who has access to 10 million listeners," said Silverman, a longtime immigrant rights advocate.
Julia Curry-Rodriguez, an assistant professor of Mexican American studies at San Jose State, called the broadcast "uninformed, ahistorical and flatly incorrect" and condemned Savage for analogizing the immigrant students to terrorists.
In one part of the broadcast, Savage said the students were stealing education from the United States and added: "Go make a bomb where you came from."
Such comments are not atypical for Savage, who is known for his anti-immigration views and often offensive speech, said Karl Frisch, a spokesman for Media Matters, a liberal media watchdog that tracks Savage's program.
"I think he's probably more likely to insult somebody else than he is to apologize," Frisch said. "This is a guy who has built his career on personal character assassination."
Lots of surprising comments at site...http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/07/13/BAGTDQVU6J1.DTL