# I pit the racist radio jockeys of Power 99 FM **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 12, 2005, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-racist-radio-jockeys-of-power-99-fm/284364 "2005-01-12T08:44:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2005, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-racist-radio-jockeys-of-power-99-fm/284364/81 "2005-01-16T20:53:27Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Actually, you’ve side-stepped a bit from His Heinyness. Who? What? Hunh? > [@Liberal](#): > > His assertion was that “rac_ism_” and “rac_ist_” have fundamentally different root meanings. Erunh? Can we please keep this to what I’m talking about? > [@Liberal](#): > > What you are asking now is No… [This is what I said then](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=5719852&postcount=69). And I’ve not changed what I’m saying. > [@Liberal](#): > > whether an adjective describing an instance — “instances of racist actions/thoughts” — and an adjective describing a person — “being a racist” — must have the same scope. They obviously do not have the same scope, as one defines a tranasction in space/time and another attempts to designate the identity of a human being who is most certainly not dead yet. > [@Liberal](#): > > And I would say that that is a subjective judgment. Some people are more tolerant than others. Some might allow only one instance of racist thought, and another might allow two or three a week. Just because people are subjective does not mean some of them aren’t wrong. No matter what any book of prescriptive grammar says, or how many people agree… Now, finally, would you like to discuss how people can have racist actions and not be racists, or should I just give up? I understand some guy who wrote a book thinks one thing, and that varius Yahoos think another thing, but I’m trying to talk with you about this. Care to comment? ---
**Author:** ![lucyetc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19b73/32.png) [@lucyetc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lucyetc)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2005, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-racist-radio-jockeys-of-power-99-fm/284364/82 "2005-01-16T22:35:56Z")
> [@Happy Scrappy Hero Pup](#): > > Ummmmm… lucyetc, you may not be reading your own posts, but others are. > > We’re also reading this one: > > And now we’re supposed to believe this? > > When come back, bring consistency. I’m sorry. I don’t recognise the inconsistency. They associate Indians with poverty. They know she’s Indian from her accent. They call her a filthy rat eater. > [@](#): > > uld you reasonably expect a radio announcer to assume about a person with an English accent, or a Canadian (“what’s this aboot”) accent based on a phone conversation? Even if that Englishman was Lennox Lewis or the Canadian was Anson Carter? You’d never rush to condemn “anti-white” bigotry inherent in the common perception of all English or Canadians as white in the same manner that you are so quick to condemn anti-brown bigotry because of the common perception that all Indians are brown. I don’t know why you’re bringing skin colour into this. Race is not just based on skin colour. I think you’re nitpicking; no-one is really a member of only one “race” anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2005, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-racist-radio-jockeys-of-power-99-fm/284364/83 "2005-01-16T22:53:56Z")
You know if you all are concerned that a person’s off-the-cuff two sentence post is hijacking the thread, maybe you shouldn’t post lengthy multi-paragraph analyses and denuciations of the off-the-cuff two sentence post. Just a thought. 🙂 Sorry about your thread **maleinblack**. Yeah, those guys are assholes. ---
**Author:** ![The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_King_of_Soup)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-racist-radio-jockeys-of-power-99-fm/284364/84 "2005-01-17T10:12:34Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Why did you lie about your alleged dictionary… “Alleged dictionary”? Well, that’s what the cover says, but I admit I never considered the possibility that it could be just a clever disguise. Tell you what,\*\* Liberal\*\*: if there’s anybody who thinks you have enough credibility left to warrant taking the trouble, they can read my posts (#61 and #64) and decide for themselves if anybody’s lying about anything. > [@Liberal](#): > > …not Caucasian, because you’ve already exempted them from the possibility of experiencing racism. This is wrong twice: I didn’t say that, and it wouldn’t be true if I had. Since any Caucasian has skin, a nationality, language, etc., it’s certainly possible for them to experience racism on one or more grounds. The most troubling thing about this, actually, is not the fact that it’s doubly untrue – I’m becoming used to that. The troubling thing is that with no justification you’ve dragged in a stock accusation that is an absolute favorite of the National Association for the Advancement of White People and certain other groups, who like its implication that efforts to protect people from racist acts somehow discriminate against\* them\*. Some of these groups contain some fairly nasty people. I think you should drop this line (it’s untrue anyhow), if only to avoid the taint of association with them. Regarding differences in defining racist(adj.) vs. racist(noun), I’d think you had seen enough counter-examples by now to question your interpretation. I’ll try one more: “doctor” as a verb means to try to cure, fix, or tamper with, or adulterate something; “doctor” as a noun means someone with an M.D., Ph.D., or the equivalent. You see how the word we apply to people is much more restrictive than the one applied to actions. Aronoff is not a grammarian, exactly: his field is morphology, a process by which new words are formed. As such, he has little to say about how the _meanings_ of words may evolve once they are born. If he (or anyone else)\* did \* try to prescribe rules like that, I doubt he’d have much luck. And there are still all the non-lexical reasons to restrict the use of the label as much as possible. The issue of the things people do vs. the labels we give them reminds me of a joke: A bartender says to his customer, “You look down in the dumps. What’s wrong?” His customer replies:“You know, once I wrote a book, but does anyone call me Joe the Novelist? No. Once I gave a speech; does anyone call me Joe the Orator? No. Once I won a chess tournament; does anyone call me Joe the Chess Champion? No…BUT…fuck JUST ONE goat…” A respectful nod to **Larry Borgia** : You’re absolutely right. I tried to address something I thought was a problem and only ended up becoming a part of it. I know better now. Anyway, I’ve said my piece. Someone else can have the last word. ---
**Author:** ![brickbacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-racist-radio-jockeys-of-power-99-fm/284364/85 "2005-01-17T11:55:22Z")
> [@cricetus](#): > > I take it as black guys making fun of white guys – pretending to be dumbasses with the outrage over jobs being outsourced and references to “my little white girl.” > > If they weren’t actually abusing someone, I would think it was kind of funny the way Crank Yankers is kind of funny, but they got a little mean for it to be funny. The fact that they are black has nothing to do with it. > [@holmes](#): > > What nitpick? **casdave** posed a question based on events that did not happen the way he laid it out. Was it wrong to point that out? If you’re going to start painting, then get the base coat right first. > > Secondly, assume that they didn’t randomly get an Indian, but an American from the South. Do you think they wouldn’t have mocked her accent? Or asked her some other stupid ass question? If they ask her if she lives in a trailer or call her “white” trash, is that any less racist, than calling an Indian a “rat-eater”? Would people be up in arms over that? What if they called her a “road-kill” eater? > > These guys are arseholes, i agree. The question is are they **equal opportunity** arseholes? If I treat everyone I speak to badly, regardless of their ‘race’, am I a racist or just an arsehole? > > I don’t know these guys, I’ve never heard their show; perhaps someone who has can answer that. Yes they are equal opportunity assholes. I know many of you have no idea who these guys are, but they live to offend people. Complaining that they are racist is like complaining that water is wet. They do anything to demean, insult, and piss people off. They used to be on Hot 97, the biggest rap station in NY. They were/are very popular with the types of people that listen to Howard Stern, and Opie & Anthony. The reason why they aren’t on Hot 97 anymore is because they were fired for making fun of Aaliyah’s (the dead R&B singer’s) plane crash. On the days following the crash, they played noises of a plane crashing and a women screaming. These guys are scum and are not worth getting mad over. The thing that is sad is that their show has an audience that rivals Howard Stern. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-racist-radio-jockeys-of-power-99-fm/284364/86 "2005-01-17T12:04:35Z")
King of Soup What race was the woman from India? ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-racist-radio-jockeys-of-power-99-fm/284364/87 "2005-01-17T12:36:21Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > King of Soup > > What race was the woman from India? Must’ve missed my post. Hmm, maybe I should type in purple. Seemed to work for the grapist. 😛 Let’s see if we can find a clue somewhere. > [@maleinblack](#): > > This rant may be influenced in part because of me being an Indian but it was a disgusting act of racism nonetheless from the linked cite > [@](#): > > MONDAY, JANUARY 17, 2005 > THE TIMES OF INDIA INDIA BUSINESS: BPO WAVE POWERED BY > INDIATIMES or the dj… > [@](#): > > Star:(In fake Indian accent) Yeah, I called and I just got hung up on. I’m calling from America about the quick beads for my daughter’s, uh, hair. Quick beads > > Star: Okay. So my call is being outsourced to India… Hm, I have no idea. Could somebody give me a hint please? Yes yes, I know the nit you’re picking is of an anthropological bent, but somehow I’m doubting that the djs in question are trained anthropologists. If you are still looking for a more qualified answer, I suggest you email maleinblack or The Times of India. They could probably answer you better than we could. I’d still like to know where the left fits in… ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-racist-radio-jockeys-of-power-99-fm/284364/88 "2005-01-17T13:36:48Z")
> [@Harborwolf](#): > > Hm, I have no idea. Could somebody give me a hint please? No one can give you a hint because no one knows what the race of the woman in India was. It is like Kramer saying someone is an antidentite without knowing the occupation of the person they’ve ridiculed. > [@](#): > > I’d still like to know where the left fits in… As I’ve already said, this is something you’ve done to yourselves. Of all the things you could be fighting for (as you did many many years ago) — individual liberty, civil disobedience, property rights, etc. — you have taken up causes formerly championed by the right — minding other people’s business, controlling people’s speech, seizing their property by force, etc. And as I said before, you’ve done to words like “racism” what the right is doing to words like “freedom”. ---
**Author:** ![holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e95f7d/32.png) [@holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/holmes)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-racist-radio-jockeys-of-power-99-fm/284364/89 "2005-01-17T14:38:47Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > No one can give you a hint because no one knows what the race of the woman in India was. It is like Kramer saying someone is an antidentite without knowing the occupation of the person they’ve ridiculed. No it’s not Liberal. The DJ had an image or tried to project an image whether right or wrong of the what the ‘race’ of a person of india looks like and it wasn’t white. If it was white, they wouldn’t have asked if they knew anything about “white” girls hair. They’re the ones who created the perception of difference between the whiteness of their American girl and the non-whiteness, whether real or not of the Indian caller. You’re right, no one knows what the “race” of the operator was, I say it’s irrevelant because the DJ’s created the preception that she wasn’t a member of the white race and that’s enough. The DJ’s “humor” is based on the lowest demoniator, who I doubt understand or even care whether or not the “left” believes in race or not or whether the term racism has been weakened. India for the them is a country full of poor brown people, not Asian and certainly not a member of the “white” race. So to answer your question as to what was she was, she wasn’t considered white; at least not by the DJs. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-racist-radio-jockeys-of-power-99-fm/284364/90 "2005-01-17T14:54:25Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > As I’ve already said, this is something you’ve done to yourselves. Of all the things you could be fighting for (as you did many many years ago) — individual liberty, civil disobedience, property rights, etc. — you have taken up causes formerly championed by the right — minding other people’s business, controlling people’s speech, seizing their property by force, etc. And as I said before, you’ve done to words like “racism” what the right is doing to words like “freedom”. I’m flattered that you think I’ve lead such an interesting life, but you’re mistaken. I’m as left as Brutus and as right as Reeder. You sir, are a weenie of the highest order. :mad: Though I’m not sure if that’s Oscar Meyer or Ball Park. Don’t suppose your name is Frank? Allow me to advance a theory on the point that you are trying to make **Liberal**. This incedent is more bigoted than racist, and is only being called racist because the left has watered the term down to a near meaningless state. Am I correct, and if I am, do I get a cookie? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-racist-radio-jockeys-of-power-99-fm/284364.md?page=4)