Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Right Wing Radio

Right wing radio has gotten pretty heinous, but tonight I heard something on the radio that took it to a new low.

I was going to the store and heard Lars Larson -- who thinks he's Portland's answer to Rush Limbaugh -- comment on the radio that the tomato salmonella crisis might be because the Mexicans who pick our vegetables don't wash their hand, or because (and I couldn't really get this) something like these Mexican workers shared a low-flush toilet when they returned to Mexico.

This is just terrible racism. I know that right-wing talk show hosts gather their audience by saying audacious things, outrageous things, even, whether they truly believe them or not. They say the thing most calculated to outrage people and get their goat, which, unfortunately, people somehow love and it gets them to listen even more. And they get so deep in this web that they lose track of what they are exaggerating and what they think they are about and end up being the dumbest idiot's out there.

It is really sad when you break it down, what Lars Larson is willing to do just to make $140K/yr. I wonder if he ever wanted to do better.

2 comments:

Dano said...

Why on earth would you tune in to that cr*p? You know what to expect - do you need it confirmed every once in a while? Here: I confirm for you the intended audience isn't the educated. Now stop. You'll never get that time back.

Best,

D

Anonymous said...

Sometime in the 90's, a group of these farmworkers, marched from San Antonio TX to the state capital in Austin TX. A 60 or so mile walk. Their demands:

Outhouses in the fields and a place to wash their hands before going back to pick our vegetables! The legislators were embarrassed enough to pass a law meeting their demands. Its good to know someone is watching out for our health!
Nosmo