93 thoughts on “Stand up. For all of us.”

1. A righteous and brilliant post.

   Make the racists pay for their hatred.

   Well said anna.

2. I second that– thanks for doing this. And I sent in my letter of complaint to them. I took out the sort-of-threatening language at the end, though. Not really to my taste.

   There is a bigger issue here. I think the idea that minorities can’t themselves be “racist” is wrong. I try and explain why a little in a blog post on this this morning.

   We saw this with Martin Lawrence a couple of years ago. We’ve also seen it for years with rapper/comedians like Ice Cube. And I personally deal with it almost every day, when I get insults from African Americans and Latinos about my turban.

   But I’ve yet to hear from a major African American public figure any strong stance on this kind of black-on-brown and black-on-yellow hostility.

3. Your letter was much better than the one I sent, Anna, but I think the important thing is for all of us to express our outrage.

   Amardeep, I agree that, of course, minorities can be “racist.” The South Asian community can be just as guilty of this at times. But, it always astounds me, because I cannot understand how they can’t see the hypocrisy in such behavior. If you’re going to express outrage at Jennifer Lopez using the n* word (as Star & BucWild have), then you should have the good sense to be sensitive to other communities who would be similarly offended by slanderous words.

4. thank you. 🙂

   i just hope people like the letter enough to copy it for their OWN use. go ahead, alter it. re-write it. send it as is, i don’t mind. i just didn’t want anyone to give up on our request for help b/c they “just don’t know what to write”.

   ctrl-c, ctrl- v, sign your name, mail.

   done.

5. A friend of mine wrote letters to both Thea Mitchum and Richard Lewis…here’s what happened so far:

   richardlewis@power99.com wrote:

   Please know I am also personally concerned about the language (typed) that you have referenced in your email.

   All of us at WUSL-FM do not condone the use of offensive language in any form, on or off-air. This situation has been discussed with the people in question and I am confident nothing of this nature will happen again. I have also reprimanded the staff and reminded them that posting such material on our station’s Web site is not acceptable and will not happen again. I sincerely regret any discomfort this may have caused you or any friends and family. WUSL- FM (POWER-99), for many years, has been synonymous with being a helpful resource for our listeners and offering a great radio station to listen to, and my goal is to continue to build on that. Again I apologize to you personally for this and I understand your point of view. I do appreciate your taking the time to let me know your thoughts.

   Richard Lewis General Manager WUSL-FM (POWER 99)

   From: SD To: richardlewis@power99.com Date: Fri, 7 Jan 2005 09:15:41 -0800 (PST) Subject: Re: your important email to POWER 99

   Dear Mr. Lewis,

   The apology would appear more sincere had you not forwarded a prepared response within, literally, a minute of my having sent you an email detailing my concerns. It is obvious that you have not read my email and it is even more offensive that you attempt to represent that you have in your prepared response.

   It is precisely this type of attitude that incenses myself and the offended community. I have taken the time to express exactly my problem with the prank call broadcast by the morning show, the least I ask of you is to read the email. Your broad assumption that we are all saying the same thing is as poor a judgment as the jockey’s decision to place and air that offensive prank call on the radio. My complaint to Ms. Thea Mitchem is specific and deserves more attention that viewing a subject line and copying and pasting your prepared response.

   Shame on you for feigning concern.

6. Has anybody spoken to NOW? I know shock jocks are routinely sexist, but when a DJ says to an unsuspecting woman that he is going to “choke the eff out of you” for laughs, that’s really not good. Most radio stations don’t want to be publically identified with encouraging violence against women.

   Anybody have a friend in such circles?

   South Asian Sistahs come back! We love you!

7. ennis- wrt: South Asian Sisters…i was wondering the same thing!

   can’t we all just get along, if only to take this asshole down? 😉

8. Here’s an idea, why don’t all of you start a radio network (call it WDESI) and call him the N word! That should solve the problem!

9. Two wrongs don’t make a right Chris Prabhu.

10. I don’t think I said anything was wrong !?! It’ll just be a lot of fun.

11. I guess what I’m saying is that the retort should be spontaneous. If someone make fun of me I get back at them immediately with a witty remark and shock them that cool. Crying about it later as a whole group is sign of lack of self-esteem and strength.

    You guys know that Indians are good enough right? Then why care. We all know where that prank came from – someone who has a low self esteem.

    Thanks

    Chris

12. Way to go anna. It’s about hate, but also, it’s about civility. Simple things like the golden rule. Treating others with respect should be the minimum of human interaction.

    I wonder, does the fact that an automatically generated e-mail like that was sent mean that they get these sorts of e-mails all the time about all sorts of things, or that they are hearing a lot about this particular incident?

13. My letter to Richard Lewis, and his response…

    Dear Mr. Lewis, The audioclip of “Star” berating a woman was completely offensive. Actions need to be taken and I’m very concerned about the position your radio station takes on the actions of your staff. Please know that I am not the only one that is concerned about the outrageous comments he made to the woman in India. Reprimand him, teach him cultural competency, do something. Please do not send me a form letter apology. If you choose to respond, please make it sincere. Very concerned and extremely pissed,

    ---

    Thank you for your email. I understand you are “pissed and concerned” about the audio clip, and please know, so was I. No one at WUSL-FM condones the use of offensive language in any form, on or off-air. This situation has been discussed with the people in question and I am confident nothing of this nature will happen again, and I do believe this was an isolated incident. (It actually had occured about a month ago) I have also reprimanded the staff and reminded them that posting such material on our station’s Web site is not acceptable and will not happen again. WUSL-FM (POWER-99), for many years, has been synonymous with being a helpful resource for our listeners and offering a great radio station to listen to, and my goal is to continue to build on that. Again I personally apologize to you for this and I completely understand your point of view and your anger.
    I do appreciate your taking the time to let me know your personal thoughts. I hope you know I am doing all I can to make it right. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

    Richard Lewis General Manager WUSL-FM (POWER 99)

14. chris. let me see if i have this straight. in order for YOUR strategery to work, poor beleaguered “Steena” would have to “spontaneously” fire back with some sort of victorious retort.

    um, she was at WORK. it’s bad enough that she had to deal with his bullshit– she didn’t deserve to LOSE HER JOB over it.

    you’re attitude is troubling. this website (sepia mutiny) actually has a history of pissing people off for not being concerned/sensitive enough. it’s the last place for politically correct whining.

    just like in relationships, if you allow yourself to be disrespected, you’ll get what you deserve. if we are strong and hold ourselves in a healthy sort of esteem, we SHOULD call him out on his “prank”. your “i’m okay, we’re okay” approach isn’t appropriate for this scenario.

    oh, and btw…that sound you just heard was my head exploding.

15. peep this comment from my blog…

    didnt mean to be a defeatist. JUST LET THE INDIANS HANDLE THE MAN IN THEIR OWN WAY. Your calling the station up and making a ruckus is going to add publicity to this little known event. I’m sure the agency knows to deal with such talk and people. After all every call to India good/bad gets them some money. There are sufficient DIPLOMATIC WAYS in place to put people like STAR in his place. If he was man enough he would also play the other tapes where he may have gotten lamblasted!

16. I dont understand what the big deal is. If we ignore this incident, it probably wont happen again. Giving it publicity is exactly what these people want.

17. I dont understand what the big deal is. If we ignore this incident, it probably wont happen again. Giving it publicity is exactly what these people want.

    I fail to see your logic there. This program was not catering to South Asians, was not trying to shock or incite South Asians. It was trying to fuel hate, plain and simple. Remaining silent or ignoring the incident is approving this behavior, is endorsing the idea that it is okay to verbally attack an innocent person on the basis of their race and their work. Or in other words, what EOFIA said. 🙂

    If anything, we have been silent for far too long as a community.

18. Sorry for multiple comments..

    BUT!!

    Al- If someone calls your mom or your sister “rat-eater” or a “bitch” you would ignore it and hope that it probably will never happen again?

    Wow.. more power to you!

    You have the whole “If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other…” down. Which is commendable ofcourse! I wonder if you’d feel the same way if it hits too close to home.. as in your FAMILY or LOVED ONES!

19. I dont understand what the big deal is. If we ignore this incident, it probably wont happen again. Giving it publicity is exactly what these people want. Crying about it later as a whole group is sign of lack of self-esteem and strength.

    I don’t how much better than I can put this than Anna did, but I’ll give it a shot.

    What this individual did was single out a minority group for not only derision, but sanctioning of that behavior as allowable within our current society. He should definitely know better, not only because of his own minority standing, but how these kind of this action often sets off sparks within the community.

    Let me give you an illustration of that, some of you remember that there was a professor of Computer Science at the University of Florida by the name of Dr. Sami Al Arian. He was arrested for alleged connections to a terrorist group. But if you read the history, you can see that without any real proof Bill O’reilly on the Fox Network charged him as being terrorist throughout the show, and recanted later after his arrest that he never did any such thing. But what was also missed during that time was how a DJ in the south, Bubba the Love sponge”, went on the air without ANY knowledge of whether or not Al-Arian was guilty but promoted huge amount anger via inflammatory rhetoric:

    But Webb was the soul of journalistic probity compared to his R-rated Clear Channel colleague Todd Clem, better known as Bubba the Love Sponge. Even before Al-Arian appeared on “The O’Reilly Factor,” Bubba was falsely telling Tampa listeners that Muslim students at USF had been seen celebrating the Sept. 11 attacks. University spokesman Michael Reich says the school called the station and spoke to representatives in the newsroom who conceded they knew the accusations were not true but that they had nothing to do with Bubba’s program. The University’s general counsel office then contacted Clear Channel’s station manager, but to no avail. Bubba continued making the bogus claim, even insisting he had a videotape to prove it. He never did produce a tape. WXTB program director Brad Hardin did not return calls seeking comment.

    I do not know whether or not Al-Arian is guilty, but it’s an example of what can happen when you allow this kind rhetoric continue.

    Another example of this is when in the early 1990s Japanese and German economies were tanking, I don’t remember the details, but there huge amount anger directed towards the Japanese because of belief that they were buying all the real estate in the US. I remember shows and episodes in which Japanese cars were destroyed to show that anger.

    What interests me more is that none these people have any verifable facts what kind of impact outsourcing to India is having on the US economy. I have a relative who has consulting business and is dependent on bringing Indians to US and also to other locations around the world. I asked how much money is involved, and it’s laughable — a mere 0.4% of the USA GDP. Maybe someone can confirm these numbers, but come on, 0.4%?

    Here are some other questions: 1) Why doesn’t he attack the companies that outsource to India? Did Indians force them to go to India? 2) Has the DJ looked at his clothes, shoes, tv, ipod, computer, etc. and seen where they come from? The US has been outsourcing for over 60-50 years!!!

    I know that you might think I’m making too much of this, but look around, listen and read — Nationalistic hysteria has taken over in the past few years. You can see similar parallels with Europe over past 20 years, and nationalistic style parties have come to dominate the polictical realities.

    It’s not about low-self esteem, it’s about right and wrong, and ignoring it won’t make it go away.

    It brought to mind a quote, maybe not the most approriate, but I like it:

    In Germany they first came for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist.

    Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew.

    Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist.

    Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant.

    Then they came for me — and by that time no one was left to speak up

20. I really am embarrassed at what they said that’s just wrong, really wrong.

21. Isnt there some law against hate crimes which can be used against this racist DJ? Slap legislation on the racist bigot. Tell the radio station that they will be made culpable for the racism of their racist and bigoted DJ’s. And dont stop till the racist makes an apology.

22. I think we desis need to develop a thicker skin. The dj’s joke was in poor taste. But we have to remember that it was a ‘joke’. I think comparison with Sami Arian are unwarranted. Sami was being accused of being a ‘terrorist or terrorist enabler’ and the accusation was not in jest. So theres a qualitative difference in accusing Sami of being a terrorist and a practical joke on a person in Delhi. I am concerned that we desis are going down the path already taken by the African Americans and the lately the asians where every relatively small incident is blown way out of proportion. The risk is that when something serious really happens, mainstream America tends to shut you out because they are on a Complain Overdose with that particular ethnic group. Also I am not advocating for turning the other cheek. I am advocating for picking our battles wisely. I find it very interesting that we desis (especially us Indians) have not launched any letter writing campaign for the dozens of Indians imprisoned after 9-11 ( some of them are still in jail) and none of them have been charged yet. Its issues like these which need our time and energy which sadly is being spent on expressing outrage over a dick at a radio station.

23. There’s something we miss by focusing on the race angle, on the rat eater stuff. He made a joke out of calling up a woman and threatening to “choke the eff out of her”

    That’s serious stuff. Advocating violence against women is not a joke. It’s just not funny.

    Bitch and rat-eater I can ignore, but not a threat.

24. we ARE picking our battles wisely. see: Harold and Kumar. NO ONE would accuse US of “Complain Overdose”.

    as for your remarks regarding every indian person’s priorities (9.11 vs Power99), it’s a rather weak argument. this isn’t a zero-sum game. my outrage over being called a “rat-eating bitch” does not lessen the outrage i felt three years ago, when i worked my ass off for a civil-rights group that was addressing the very “priority” you accuse us of shirking.

    we ARE picking our battles. we’ve chosen this one. now lead, follow or get out of the way.

25. Punjabi Boy: for hate crime legislation to go into effect, you have to actually DO something. one of the things about ‘freedom of speech’ is that you can say pretty much anything you want to as long as your speech doesn’t put people’s lives in danger directly (see “‘Fire!’ in a crowded theater” argument. Even if you disagree… even if it’s abusive… it’s still allowed.

    I believe that Canada and other countries have laws that make hate speech NOT free speech, but not in the US. (Let us not discuss this here, as I don’t want this to degenerate into a political thread.)

    But even though what this dude said is LEGAL it doesn’t make it RIGHT. Hate speech still has consequences – look at all the action being taken here! The law might not prosecute you, but you’ll still get reamed out, inundated with mail and letters, boycotted, and protested if people are sufficiently outraged.

    Remember being eight years old and learning about the Constitution for the first time, then you go home and sass your mom with the argument that it’s freedom of speech? You still got your ass kicked, right? Yeah. Me too.

26. Our soldiers are dying to protect our freedom and our values

    ?? That’s news to me.

27. Our soldiers are dying to protect our freedom and our values…

    ?? That’s news to me.

    Way to miss the point, special Ed.

28. The whole attitude is stinking. Media is supposed to be more responsible and here the opposite is happening. In US, these people would have been sued for doing anything like this. The channel should be sued for such irresponsible behaviour.

29. I think its just silly to suggest that there should be legislation against this kind of speech. We should fight bad speech by drowning it with good speech and not by calling for laws which restricts speech. This is not what America is all about. Recently in Uk, some Sikhs/Desis stormed a theater because they did not agree with the content of a play. Kinda like Palestinians not letting Benajamin Caveman Netanyahu speak at a conference in Canada. As for having the ability to sue……Sue for what ? Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress ? There’s no lawsuit here.

30. Hi, did it occur to anybody that the girl’s name was Tina, and not Steena, an unusual name. To my South Asian ears, it sounded like “Hello, this is Tina..” and when Star heard Steena, everyone caught on to that. That said, if Star owned a business that needed a call center, he would locate it where it cost him less, too. It is all about money, honey. As far as eating rats is concerned, Tina’s chances of being a strict vegetarian are much more than Star’s.

31. hi, I think at the least, the manager should personally call and apologise to her!!! At the least!! Anil

32. Andrea

    Cheers for that.

    Al Mujahid

    What would be the consequences if a Jewish lady was telephoned and called a ‘bagel eating bitch’ or an African American woman was called ‘A fried chicken eating bitch’

    Whoever said those despicable things would be castigated and brought to apologise.

    Sometimes single issues crystalise things. You will only be spat upon if you allow people to spit on you.

33. What do Indians have to do with eating rats ?

34. indeed, what DO they have to do with rats? not a damn thing. that’s why this is so irritating. i had to take enough shit about, “you eat monkey brains!” when i was little– the only way to debunk complete lies is to address them head on…

    how are they going to know that we have nothing to do with eating rats if we “choose our battles” and slink off with our tail stromboli’d between our legs?

35. this is very disturbing. the power dynamic is magnified not only because she’s brown and “foreign,” but also because she’s a woman. i really don’t see him making a similar comment to a man (at least, obviously the “bitch” part). al mujahid, sure you could sue on i.i.e.d., or harassment. but more powerful than a lawsuit is speaking out and gathering the support of other communities of color in protesting this incident.

36. You are all right to be angry and upset by Star’s actions, he was completely out of place. He has pissed-off every ethnic group in this country and thinks by doing so he will not have to answer for his actions. What he is really doing is promoting hatred and violence towards others based on the way they look. He was trying to fuel hatred toward Indians and this cannot be tolerated. He will continue to do these type so things until he is taken off the air.

37. The DJ’s show is currently syndicated in two other towns besides Philly, namely Hartford CT and Augusta GA. His website is http://www.starandbucwild.com and voicemail 212 358 3937. The guy is crowing about blasting an entry into the NYC market on Jan 17 with a gaggle of sponsors in his pocket. This incident btw took place a month ago and if it were not for the inadvertent posting of the clip on the website and the subsequent stumbling upon it by some alert browser, the whole thing would have remained anonymous. Just like a couple of years ago, when in the DC area another Black Hip Hop DJ had played a very similar conversation and got away with it. As of now, there’s no public apology by either the station or the DJ himself.

    I assume many of you here don’t think much of the conservative media that is talk shows, newspapers, blogs. But probably your best chance in getting this issue played up is with these people.

    saurabh

38. Isn’t it ironic that one of the sponsors of Power99 has its headquarters smack dab in the middle of desiland? I am speaking of Vonage.

    Vonage 2147 Route 27 Edison, NJ 08817

    732.528.2600 732.287.9119 (fax

39. Don’t forget to file a complaint with the FCC!! They are the only ones who can make these chaps’ lives miserable. And be sure to complain to Clearchannel, the real owner of WUSL.

    The funny(?) thing is, this station, while being so racially offensive to brown Indians, has a fundraising link for the tsunami. Talk about a sham! We should ask them to take out that link.

40. Good heavens. Yes, this is racism, but that’s the least of this DJ’s problems. He must be missing half his brain, poor fellow. He and the other specimens heard on the air sniggering up a storm in appreciation. I’m sure Tina in India has a fresh perspective of what lies beneath the seductive gloss and glitz of the United States of Immigrantia.

    Star should be told people like him are the ones to blame for outsourcing, and if he truly feels bad for where the country is headed he’d better go back to school and work hard to fill the yawning hole between his ears.

    I’d tell Star to do himself a favor and stop being so transparently inane. I’d tell him his silly and abusive phone call inflicted on a decent and dignified call center operator is funny only to people like him. And if people like him have lots of admirers, this country is truly in deeper trouble than we think.

41. I personally don’t get offended by a lot of jokes in poor taste against Indians. I got a pretty thick skin. But this joke was not even that funny. And this crosses the boundary of harmless prank. This indian lady was not a telemarketer bothering him. He called her at customer service, she was trying to serve him, he then calls her names , the equivalent of an Indian guy berating a black guy as a watermelon , fried chicken eating nigga.

    And the worst thing is this idiot DJ had the nerve to get offended when Jennifer Lopez used the N word as a term of “endearment” in one of her songs. Man , the guy can’t take it ,but he sure can dish it out.

42. Go to all the Commercial site and post this e-mail address: richardlewis@power99.com ,have his e-mail ID subscribe for mass mailing as well. In the meantime, do eveerything we can to bring down the start and buc website.

43. i really hope the RJ was kidding about him having a daughter, cause then he will be one messed up dad…. kinda pity her!!

    he should put his daughter in steena’s place…!! would he still find it funny????

44. I heard that audio …. Its a real shame ….. Please see following site to raise a complaint…

    fccinfo@fcc.gov

    htt

    The FCC makes it convenient to file a complaint. Complaints can be filed electronically, by e-mail, by postal mail or by fax. Choose one of our three categories below (General, Slamming or Indecency and Obscenity) for information on complaint filing.

    General Complaints: wireless and wireline telecommunications issues, cable, broadcasting and telecommunications accessibility issues. When not filing electronically please remember to include this information.

    Indecency and Obscenity complaints, click here.

    • Electronically: USE FORM 475 for general telephone complaints such as billing disputes, cramming, wireless questions, telephone company advertising practices, paging services, unsolicited telephone marketing calls and faxes, and accessibility by persons with disabilities to telecommunications equipment and services: Privacy information for Form 475

    • Postal Mail: Federal Communications Commission Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau Consumer Complaints 445 12th Street, SW Washington, D.C. 20554

    • E-Mail: You can send a complaint to fccinfo@fcc.gov

    • Phone: Toll Free: 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322) voice, 1-888-TELL- FCC (1-888-835-5322) TTY. Our Consumer and Mediation Specialists are available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET

    • Fax: Toll-Free: 1-866-418-0232

45. Why not call Star on his show and verbalize our feelings on the “Star & Buc” show??

    Call them 6AM to 10AM weekdays on:

    1-800-585-1051

    Heck, its a 1-800 number, why not!?!

46. Thanks for giving us the FCC website and address. I am sending a letter of complaint now along with a copy of the skit. We should send complaints to all of the advertisers as well. The only way to get at this idiot is through his wallet.

47. Indians are Aryan and the ‘Indo’ in the phrase “Indo-European peoples and languages”.

    The swastika and laltika are holy symbols and hindi/sanskrit words. When you say ‘aryan’, you are speaking hindi.

    Even the Nazis spoke Sanskrit (the german word for swastika is ‘hakenkreuz’).

    It’s very simple. “tina” in the converstation should simply have pointed out that she was aryan and hung up the phone.

48. foo- are you unclear on the concept?

    1) she was at WORK. no witty retorts allowed.

    2) reacting to racism with some misguided jingoism doesn’t accomplish a damned thing.

    if you’re angry, write a letter. don’t just leave a comment like…that.

49. EOFIA,: if you’re angry, write a letter. don’t just leave a comment like…that.

    Feel free to point out any inaccuracies in my comment. You are probably either non-indian or alternatively – for some bizarre – reason hate indian culture.

50. This is not to downplay the statements, or give you the impression that I don’t believe that said statements were blatently disgusting and violent, but it is interesting that Turbanhead has a clip for Conan O’brian which they say did a “great job” on the matter of outsourcing. See it at http://www.turbanhead.com/conan_indian_callcenter.wmv

    This is interesting because the protagonist (Andy) goes to India to find the outsourcing person he had contacted about a computer question. While there the camera picks up various “native” looking scenery and people who just don’t seem to understand Andy and don’t get a chance to really say anything either. At the end Andy contorts his mouth while a “funny” song with “funny” (yet degrading) lyrics flash as subtitles at the bottom of the screen. Andy even does a dance that the “natives” are doing, but of course it’s funny because he is not native, he is a white tourist. In the end the Conan segment ends up degrading the native people, the culture and the land, through words, images and actions.

    Why is this more acceptable than the Star & Buc Wild program? Is there a deeper level of anti-Black racism going on here? Let us not forget that Star & Buc Wild took on the persona of white people who were appropriating Black culture (the hair bead machine) and took on sentiments of anti-asian & anti-outsourcing that the majority of white folks regularly practice. This is a critical question to the API folks that are outraged pertaining to the aforementioned examples: is it not okay for Black folks to practice white supremecy but okay for white folks to practice white supremecy? Let’s put it another way, would we be this outraged if an API person from the U.S. said the same statements toward, or made the same “comedy” type segment, in Africa?