Dear Editor
I was very late crawling into bed one night. Actually, it was more like one morning. The bedside radio was set at the CBC; at night it picks up programs from public broadcasting stations all over the world, which I find very interesting. However, I wasn’t interested in what was on at the time so I did what I rarely do: I dial twiddled.
Suddenly, loud and clear, there came a private station from south of the border. At first, by the tone, I thought it had to be from Texas, but it was closer, too close. It was an all-night phone-in and the person I heard was the host. Then I heard a caller going on about Them and that if nothing was done those Aliens would be murdering people all over the country. For a moment, I could see numerous little green men rushing all over, zapping people. Then I realized he meant immigrants. It was very obvious that the host agreed with the caller. There was a break, three minutes of commercials offering truck tires, we will pay your back taxes, we will pay your credit card debt, and telling truckers where they could get the latest information on trucking. Aha! It was a 24-hour station for truckers. However, as the show wore on I hoped Canadian truckers do not listen to it. It didn’t seem to be truckers calling in anyway. It was apparent it was a station for Republicans and fundamentalists. Anyone else was rudely shouted down. The next caller tried to give his opinion to state that everyone was an immigrant or descended from immigrants and that included the black people who had been unwilling immigrants.
“Oh, don’t give me that stuff and don’t give me that black stuff.”
It didn’t take long to realize that if a person with Democrat leanings phoned in they were shouted down and perhaps cut off, after being insulted.
I turned back to the CBC to get something for the mind. I did. A repeat interview about the growing role of comfort dogs.
Another night I thought I’d check on the redneck station one more time. It was worse than before! A woman tried to give her opinion regarding immigrants, saying Joseph and Mary had been forced to go to another country, with Baby Jesus, to escape the murderous intentions of King Herod. The host, who constantly kept on about what he called Christian values, cut her off, saying she was “dumber than ----.”
Well there are immigrants and then there are immigrants. Some can be joyfully welcomed, just like some of the people raised here. Others prove to be as unwelcome as some of the people raised here. I sure would not like that host to immigrate to my neighbourhood – and he was raised on this continent.
After listening to that man telling so any callers their thoughts didn’t matter, I recalled a day when I was 15 and chrome furniture had been in style for some time. I ventured an opinion.
“I don’t think I like chrome furniture,” to which a certain male snapped in a sneering manner, “Who cares what you think.”
There sure wasn’t going to be any discussion on the good and bad points of chrome furniture. I simply had no right to an opinion.
I have real concerns about a radio station that pays someone to preach their opinion constantly and arrogantly and who has the means to silence anyone who agrees with him. That is not what we should have in a democracy. Mind you, he is in a country where what passes for a leader calls the “mainstream media” The Enemy of the People. That sounds like dictatorship, where the presses are smashed and reporters murdered.
I almost forgot. The host believes everyone should carry a gun and social programs like Medicare are a form of communism. Perhaps so, but of a kind that does not end up being just a medium for yet another dictator. Perhaps a small c communism.
Of late years, we had a government that tried to starve our national radio and television, the CBC. I could hardly believe my eyes when I read a certain circular some of the MLAs of that party were sending around. Untruths. I suppose some politicians would like to destroy the CBC because their excellent investigative reporters could be breathing down their necks someday.
Some people will say that CBC is paid for by our taxes. Of course, it is. Isn’t everything? Would you rather have the airwaves dominated by someone like the man on the so-called truckers’ station, going on about Christian values, being rude, bad mannered, unkind, bigoted and harsh? What does anyone learn by listening to him?
Of course, most private radio stations are not like that one. They give community service, but I wish their announcers wouldn’t shout.
All my life, the CBC has entertained me, educated me, made me think, made me laugh and sometimes annoyed me. By supporting our public broadcaster, I support Canadian talent, reporters who travel the world to bring us news, reporters who give us Canadian news (one of my favourites at present comes from North Battleford), technicians, artists, musicians, writers and on and on. People tune into CBC all over the world.
I suppose many people will say they can get news from the internet. I would wonder who is putting it there.
I will sign off by again referring to that redneck station. I suppose it is just one more example of what makes America grate.
Christine Pike
Waseca
