Don

By
Bill Press                                                                             Read Spanish Version

Who
says racism is dead in America? It’s alive and well on talk radio, on
WABC in New York, from the microphone of legendary talk show host Bob
Grant.

Grant
is one of the pioneers of talk radio, and his record of racist
hate-talk is as old as he is. He once complained about New York City:
"Minorities are the Big Apple’s majority, you don’t need the
papers to tell you that, walk around and you know it. To me, that’s a
bad thing. I’m a white person."

He
hated the fact that Magic Johnson was still alive: "Why is it
taking so long for the HIV to go into full-blown AIDS?" He once
complained that the United States has "millions of
sub-humanoids, savages, who really would feel more at home careening
along the sands of the Kalahari or the dry deserts of eastern Kenya.
People who, for whatever reason, have not become civilized." His
solution was the "Bob Grant Mandatory Sterilization Program."

And
Grant expressed his disappointment in early news accounts of Commerce
Secretary Ron Brown’s plane crash: "I have a hunch Brown might
be the lone survivor. I just have that hunch. But then, I’m a
pessimist at heart." For that remark, he was fired in 1996. But
he’s back, as ugly as ever.

It’s
pretty disgusting stuff. Bob Grant makes Don Imus sound like Mother
Theresa. But still, thanks to the First Amendment, Grant has the
right to barf his bile, even on talk radio — as long as WABC can
find enough corporate sponsors willing to associate themselves with
this modern-day KKK wizard without a hood. Unfortunately, that does
not seem to be a problem.

But
tolerating hate speech is one thing. Honoring it is another. And
therein lies the rub. Radio & Records magazine recently announced
plans to award Bob Grant with a Lifetime Achievement Award at its
annual meeting in Washington, D.C., on March 13-15. To R&R’s
credit, it decided to rescind the invitation after receiving
complaints about Grant’s history of hate-filled remarks. But now
right-wing talk-show hosts are up in arms.

Voicing
their support for Grant, conservative talkers Rush Limbaugh, Sean
Hannity and Neal Boortz have announced plans to stay away from this
year’s R&R meeting. "I do think it would be wonderful to see
talk show hosts refuse to appear at this convention," said
Boortz. "What we have seen here in this revocation of the award
to Bob Grant is simple pandering to political correctness. Nothing
more, nothing less." As if reading from the same script,
Limbaugh moaned: "We’re losing to political correctness. Grant
deserves a lifetime achievement award from a whole lot of people, not
just a trade magazine."

Baloney.
A lifetime achievement award for what? Hatred? Bigotry? In the most
vile terms, Grant has consistently slimed African-Americans and gays.
To be offended by that kind of hate speech is not just being
politically correct. It’s called being responsible. It’s about
treating people with dignity and respect, no matter their race,
religion, sex or sexual orientation.

This
is not a censorship issue, either. Nobody’s denying Bob Grant the
right to speak. Under the First Amendment, he can say whatever ugly
things he wants. He can even broadcast them over the airwaves on
WABC. The only question is: Should the radio industry reward Grant
for his bigotry with a lifetime achievement award? And the answer is:
No!

What
I don’t understand is: Why are so many conservatives rushing to
defend someone who calls blacks "sub-humanoids" and
"savages"? Surely, that’s the kind of speech both liberals
and conservatives should condemn.

After
all, talk radio is a powerful medium. Words heard over the radio have
a profound influence on the thoughts and actions of listeners. There
are two kinds of talkers: those who inspire the best in people and
those who incite or encourage the worst. Most talkers today,
conservative and liberal, inspire the best. Bob Grant is one of those
who incites the worst. He has a right to spew his hate, but he should
not be applauded for it.

Limbaugh,
Hannity, Boortz and other conservative talkers may choose to honor
racist, ugly, hate speech. But in so doing, they smear themselves
with Grant’s slime.

Bill
Press is host of a nationally syndicated radio show and author of a
new book, "How
the Republicans Stole Religion."
You can hear "The Bill Press Show" at billpressshow.com.
His email address is: bill@billpress.com. His Web site is:
www.billpress.com.

©
2008 Tribune Media Services, Inc.