A righteous and brilliant post.

Make the racists pay for their hatred.

Well said anna.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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? ;)

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!

Two wrongs don't make a right Chris Prabhu.

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

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

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?

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)

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.

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!

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 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.

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!

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Our soldiers are dying to protect our freedom and our values

??
That's news to me.

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

??
That's news to me.

Way to miss the point, special Ed.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

What do Indians have to do with eating rats ?

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?

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.

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.

The DJ's show is currently syndicated in two other towns besides Philly, namely Hartford CT and Augusta GA. His website is 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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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????

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

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!?!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

Allan-
Conan's skit didn't call anyone a bitch or use racial slurs. It was not motivated out of hate. This phone call was. I watched the Conan skit, and it seemed to make fun of the out of place white guy more than the Indian call center workers.

This is the reason so much outrage has been directed towards the radio show, but Conan got kudos. As someone pointed out in one thread or another about this - some ethnic humor IS funny! The kind that calls someone a rat-eating bitch and threatens physical violence, however, isn't.

Allan, u r really stupid trying to compare Conan's spoof with this bastard's degradingly racist language. Now that u have started it , let me tell u something: In my 8 years in this country I have never experienced serious White racism, while the only racism has been directed by people belonging to groups who complain the most about it!! And tell u what mine is not an isolated case. Just ask around while asking people to be honest. But this goes against the grain of the conventional notion of White racist and Colored victim. And lately Indians have been too happy to play up this notion.In movies, in theatre,e.t.c.

I don't imply that a certain group is surprisingly more racist than the ones you would usually think of. Of course and not just to be politically correct, there are several good hearted Blacks for every STAR. But just look at the odds.

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.

Al, I've been thinking about this, and your right Sami Al-Arian isn't the best case comparison, but what I was going for was the way in which people have been responding to issues; especially issues concerning American vs. Non-american, and the jokes that are often facades for racist rants. But here are some questions:

1) What was the context of the call? The mp3 talks about a call made earlier. Did he call on the air or off the air? Plus the difference that it's a public channel.
2) Star clearly knows that call is being placed outside the US, so he knows that it's someone from India and it doesn't feel like an impromptu bit.
3) Allan say:

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?

One interesting thing is that Clear Channel threw off Howard Stern because someone else said the N word on his show, but also because he was bad mouthing Bush. Similarly when the Dixie Chicks voiced their opinoins about Bush, the were also persecuted primarily by Clear Channel stations. Also, anyone see this:

In an appearance before Congress in February, when the controversy over Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl moment was at its height, Federal Communications Commission chairman Michael Powell laid some startling statistics on U.S. senators.
The number of indecency complaints had soared dramatically to more than 240,000 in the previous year, Powell said. The figure was up from roughly 14,000 in 2002, and from fewer than 350 in each of the two previous years. There was, Powell said, “a dramatic rise in public concern and outrage about what is being broadcast into their homes.”
What Powell did not reveal—apparently because he was unaware—was the source of the complaints. According to a new FCC estimate obtained by Mediaweek, nearly all indecency complaints in 2003—99.8 percent—were filed by the Parents Television Council, an activist group.
This year, the trend has continued, and perhaps intensified....the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau said it could find only 90 complaints from 23 individuals. (The smaller total was first reported by Internet-based TV writer Jeff Jarvis; Mediaweek independently obtained the Enforcement Bureau’s calculation.)

Makes you wonder where the bobblehead pundits get their info from...

I have to throw my 1000 yen in here before I go off to eat bad Japanese food. I`m going to back Allan up. Something ain`t right with me on this topic. I do think Star is guilty of Black on Indian racism. I also think the call was disgusting but I`m wondering if all of you wrote letters and protested the detention of desis and other Brown people in the post Sept 11 world. Maybe I`m turning into a white person (I`m a Black American woman) the more time I spend away from the USA. I do think if a white person would have made the statements all of you would be mad but the venom wouldn`t have been so hot. I do catch a hint of, `How dare one of those niggers go off on one of my people!` I enjoy reading this website. I get some relevant and interesting information from it but something has always sat funny with me about it. I always felt like it wasn`t a very inclusive web space for a non-white minority. I`m a Black American woman so I kind of understand the idea of people wanting their own space. I respect that but its a little sad for me because I was actually interested in being down with you all. I`m AUDI 5000 as Tevin Campbell said, a long time ago, in a song called Goodbye. PEACE!

ms. world-

i do not care if the perpetrator of this act were indian himself-- i'd be just as livid. disappointment see no colour in my world.

if this were a white person spewing hatred at a black person, if this were a chinese person abusing a white person, if this were a smurf threatening a carebear with violence...it would make no difference to me. i'd still be outraged.

i'm sick of the argument many of you think is made out of titanium, the "yeah, but where were you after sept 11, did you write letters then etc etc". i did that and more. please don't try and change the subject with this canard.

i'm also sick of stating the following; protesting injustice is not a zero-sum game. i can be angry and fight for more than one cause at a time.

i am so sorry that you perceive what you wrote about SM. one of your previous comments made me feel like you had already prejudged this site to be an unwelcoming space. two of our founding bloggers immediately tried to correct that assumption, and assure you of our intentions for this blog by responding to you with their own comments. unfortunately for all of us, their words apparently achieved very little and it seems i was right about my hunch.

in my humblest of opinions, you're wrong, at least about me, the diligent bloggers at SM and the people who commented here whom i know personally. we're not hypocrites, we're not insular and we're not perfect. we're just decent people who try and do the right thing. i can't speak for strangers i've never met and i don't claim to...

we were interested in being down with you, too, but as you probably would agree, it takes two open minds to do that. when you're done closing yours, please come back. there's a place for everyone at this virtual table, there always will be.

peace to YOU. may we hear your words again.

Ms. World,
I am afraid you'll have to be more specific. What is it that isn't sitting well with you? I feel that we are very inclusive as a site. The bloggers on this site pretty much span the political spectrum. We also immediately delete any offensive comments left by random commentators. We obviously can't control the opinions of every comment leaver. I think your belief that we wouldn't have been as mad if a white person had made these comments is incorrect. I for one would have been just as mad.

I sent an email to Richard Lewis and am awaiting a response. Here is what I wrote.

Richard,
I have read a few of your emails underlining how outraged you are and that the matter has been dealt with. However I think that you have not done enough. I propose the following.
1. Find out a way to contact that call center support analyst and tender an unconditional apology to her. If the slur would have been made against you, I am sure that you would have appreciated a similar gesture.
2. Acknowledge the mistake that your channel made at the same exact stage, meaning apologise on radio. Do that and the matter will be set to rest.

It takes a lot of integrity to apologize and I assume that you would rise to the demands.

Neeraj

MsWorld

I think your statement that we are being harder on this man because he is African American is unfair. I reckon if it was a white man we would be just as outraged and angry.

Please dont stop posting here, either.

hi..star knows he couldnt have done this trick with an american. theyd eat him alive. so hes gone on to show off how funny he can be by picking on some poor unsuspecting woman/girl in india.the lengths people would go for some publicity is disgusting.

Thanks to all you Desi bloggers for giving the issue enough visibility.

This was terrible action on part of the DJ - and all Desis must take appropriate action to show their outrage over it. ClearChannel and Power99 must show that they realize their mistake fully and take necessary action (sacking the show, IMO).

Kirkland WA

Aren't there laws to punish the reacist DJs. They seemed to be having fun with the caller.It is actually a case of harassment.

Ms. World, I think your comments are completely inappropriate here. You're not the only african american reading/posting on this site. We should always be outraged by this type of behavior and its not because anyone is making a distinction between black/brown/white/yellow/red. We're outraged because we are sick of this type of behavior... This is about a Human Being that was ridiculed and threatened to get a laugh. Anyone could have answered the phone that day--and we would still be angry.

The call was originally made during the Hartford Broadcast---sounded live to the listing audience. He made two calls regarding "Bead It"--the first woman hung up on him. You know the rest...

I think the fact that the racist remarks were made by an African American masquerading as a white person does make it worse than if a really white person was involved. You have a certain expectation of commiseration from other colored people. I think this a good case for complaining to the FCC.

This has caught on in the Indian media too. A related item is here:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/987643.cms

>I do think if a white person would have made the statements all of you would be mad but the venom wouldn`t have been so hot. I do catch a hint of, `How dare one of those niggers go off on one of my people!`

I got the following reply, but I still see Star & Buck wild on the website of power99.
----------------------
Dear Jimmy:

Sorry for the delay in my reply as I just came across your email while checking my inbox.
Please accept my apology for the use of the language you 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, the on-air hosts have apologized and been suspended, 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
RVP & Market Manager
Philadelphia, PA
--------------------------------------
Dear Mr Lewis,
....
....
Please clean this act by airing PSAs appropriately that speak out against the ignorance and hate that YOUR programming may potentially incite.

Please be informed that, we strongly feel about this issue and will consider complaining to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) about this with the audio clip, if meaningful steps are not taken. http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/obscene.html

I'm sure you are also compassionate about American values. Please do the right thing by making difference. I'm sure you care for the community by not promoting hatred.

Thank You so much

Jimmy

I asked my wife (shes white) on whether she had heard of Indians eating rats and she replied that she remembers her dad talking about watching a documentary on National Geographic in which they showed some Indians who ate rats. So maybe this view is more prevalent that we think.
I asked another friend of mine and he had also seen that same documentary (maybe they show it over and over again)
I have a feeling that this is where this idiot DJ got the idea of Indians being rat eaters.

Umm.. [editors note: The rest of this comment has been deleted, because I couldn't understand if it was a question out of ignorance or a purposely bigoted comment]

excellent. now let's rip on da muslims! :D

[Deleted by administrator]

QUIT IT. No more blanket racist talk in here. It's fucking stupid and it solves nothing. All it does is prove that you are no better a person than they are.

What we all need to remember is that only certain PEOPLE are racist, not an entire ethnic group. Star is racist. 'Indian' above (whose comment i hope will be deleted by the time this posts) is racist. but that doesn't mean that all black people or indians are racist. Just these particulars.

so QUIT GENERALIZING.

I see why Ms.World left. Please stop proving her right.

I think I speak for all Mutineers and rational humans when I ask for your civility here. We are ALL outraged. But we're trying to act constructively. Hate speech is NOT constructive, nor is it welcome on this site. That doesn't mean that we're censoring you, telling you to take it like a bitch or turn the other cheek.

We *do* appreciate irreverent, funny commentary.

But the RACISM and BIGOTRY is neither of those things, and it is not cool. If you have something to say, please feel FREE to say it. If, however, it's anti-muslim, anti-hindu, anti-branch davidian, anti-smurf, ANTI-BLACK, anti-Amreekan...please start your own blog and spew venom there.

You don't fight hate with hate; you fight it with righteous indignation, moral superiority and passionate activism.

We will delete hate speech.

This project was created for many noble reasons; the content of certain comments does not honour those beginnings, indeed it makes us sound like hypocrites who suck.

If we want respect, not only must we demand it, we must conduct ourselves with it as well.

Thank you.

why was jack's comment not deleted?

dear ":p",

please see my post here. i sincerely hope that unequivocal statement puts an end to this unproductive, insulting chatter.

can we PLEASE not get distracted? we've said it umpteen times; SM thinks hate speech sucks. also, every mutineer has a job AND other blogs, so kindly cut us some slack. we HAVE deleted the shittiest comments. we have NOT had TIME to parse all the others.

back to the fight!

A

it says right there in bold, "we will delete hate speech." now that you have had the time to read my comment and the comment i was referring to AND make a defensive comment in response to it, why have you not deleted it? do you not consider it hate speech?

Sometimes the comfort of a common opinion makes for a mob.

To all those who may have read the hate posts, as Andrea alluded to it in her post, mostly we are not like this only...:-)

Sometimes the comfort of a common opinion makes for a mob.

To all those who may have read the hate posts, as Andrea alluded to in her post, mostly we are not like this only...:-)

to :p

way to forget the point of all this. what's more important to you, your agenda or what this blog is trying to do? there's no malice here except yours.

I think why this call in the show was so popular with liseners was that it highlighted something every American can identify with. Perceived/real poor service from outsourcing. Just listen to how many times "Steena" calls the caller "maam", when the caller is a male. Such perceived incompetence among outsourced workers is what the Americans are laughing at. It is clear that "Steena" is reading from the script and is not interacting with the caller. This outsourcing business is what peaves Americans who have to put up with foreigners who know nothing about the caller's culture and cannot even speak in an accent that Americans can accept. I myself have gone through the horrors of dealing with outsourced operators. The lines are terrible most of the time. There is a lag between the conversation, and the operator on the other end does not even understand most of what I am saying half the time. And I am Indian. I now speak in Hindi or Tamil to these guys everytime I can identify that the operator is an Indian.

Like others, I got utterly disturbed by the racist comments of DJ.

I am a student and most of the US schools are flooded with Indian students. I would suggest all the "Indian Students Association" express their opinions to Federal Communications Commission and owners of Clearchannel to tackle this issue.
I would inform all those association I know and I request you to do the same
Please post this issue in all the local internet postings
Things like this should not happen to anyone again and we all have to make sure for that!!!

Sunil - I can understand your point about the "percieved/real poor service from outsourcing," but I'm not sure that is an issue with Indian ability as much as it is a wake up call to companies who outsource.

Everybody here knows that most educated and a lot of uneducated people in India can carry on a normal conversation in English with little difficulty. How many Americans do you know that could do the same in a non-native language? I was born in India, and sadly I can't even speak my native language.

The problem as I see it is that workers in Indian call centers are encouraged and even forced into incredibly fake and unnatural personalities while on the phone. Some even have to take accent classes and assume fake names so they can sound more "American." I once talked to this rep who received my call by saying, "Hello, thank you for calling Dish Network. I am Prabh...I mean I am Frank. How may I help you?" Ridiculous.

Outsourcing is to save money, obviously, but they feel that the changes they make in customer support should be transparent to their customers (naturally, people hate change). They want to have their cake and eat it too. And a lot fail miserably because they forget one of the cardinal fucking rules: Customers hate being deceived more than they hate change.

Companies that outsource love to preach on and repeat talking points like "the new global economy" when defending themselves against outsourcing critics, but don't seem to recognize that forcing people to change their fundamental cultures and personalities so they can appear more American is not, in any way, "global."

Obviously there's a lot of animosity about outsourcing in the U.S. because people are losing jobs, which a lot of assholes like Star will hijack to further their totally unrelated agendas, but the companies that outsource could add a lot less fuel to the fire if they'd just accept that cultures in foreign countries might not be like their own.

Why should the caller adapt to another culture. He/She is calling a toll free number advertised for a US company in the US. Its the operator who should adapt to the customer. As tough as that sounds, thats the fact. Americans have little tolerance for foreign accents in their day to day lives. Its one thing to call a toll free number and have a foreign sounding voice greet you. Its quite another to get an unsolicited call and that too from a foreigner with a "funny accent"
who has, in their eyes, taken away American jobs. Ofcourse the Indian operators are inviting abuse.

Most Indians dont understand customer service the way Americans do. The idea that the customer is king is an alien concept to Indians who have not lived in the US.

Just because someone on the other end speaks English does not mean that he/she is competent at his/her job. I had to call my insurance company to know the progress of my claim with them. It had been over 3 months and I needed the cash. I called them up and the call was routed to India. Those guys couldnt help me and finally they claimed that the check was sent out 2 months ago. I said I never received it and they just wasted my time for more than 3 weeks. I had to repeat my case to every new operator who took my call. Some of them even insisted that I send the check back so that they can send me another one! Thats how stupid the guys in India were. I finally got frustrated and insisted that I speak to an American operator in the US. I got my check about 2 months later. I pay through my nose for my health insurance and I have a right to competent service. I switched insurance companies when my policy expired and now insist that any troubleshooting hotline is in the US before I agree to buy the product.

Most of the time these guys just dont understand technical issues. Ofcourse the employers are to be blamed for hiring such imbecilles who dont know their heads from their asses.

I am not the only one who has gone through this. These incompetent fools in India are giving all of us Indians a very bad name. I think in time these jobs will come back to the US just as easily as they went to India.

Sunil: How is your experience unique to a call center in India vs. in Texas? I've had similar experiences with American customer service.

Sunil,
I have had worse experiences with call centers in the US. Indians are not incompetent. The Indian call center operators are more educated in general when compared to American call center operators. These are 'good' jobs in India and have mostly college educated Indians. In the US, these $8 an hour jobs are usually filled by people who have barely passed high school.

What I am trying to say is that these people are not familiar with American work culture. They do not understand the concept of customer service the way Americans do. An outsourced operator in India cannot relate to many situations the way an operator stateside can. Plus many people want the operator to understand a joke or two. The Indians certainly cant understand that. It is possible that it is a matter of giving them better training. All I know is that my heart sinks whenever I hear an Indian at the other end, knowing that my problem will not be solved in any way. And my blood boils knowing that this Indian will spoil our name in the US.

Just listen to the call placed to Steena. She addresses a male caller as "maam". She does not listen to him in any way. She's just repeating her lines flashed on her screen. Thats not customer service. The guy who called her never even ordered the quick bead machine....and like a moron she just says "I'll place the order". I want to tell you that just because the person on the other end speaks English does not mean anything if he/she does not understand the culture of the caller. It makes a big difference. I'd be saying the same thing if the call was outsourced to Mexico, Ireland, or Timbuktoo.

Sunil...

I have heard the same comments and reservations about foreign physicians. That they cannot understand how the culture works. That they possibly could not give the emotional comfort that the relatives would require. That the cultural chasm would be too large. This generalization, as is yours about the call center workers, is not completely accurate. There are cultural differences and it takes time to overcome them. Some are better at it than are others. Your ire would be better directed at Steena, if you must.

Outsourcing is not being done out of magnanimity. It is a pragmatic business concern. If the same business environment continues, callers are going to hear a lot of other accents and they are going to live with it. Foreign physicians are here because they fill an academic and service need that is not being filled by people here. People have learned to live with that too..

Apropos the cultural elements, these are a pleasant addition but are they absolute necessities? The absolute elements are a resolution of your problem and polite and pleasant behaviour. Is it really necessary that the person talk about baseball or the weather? If they dont solve your problem consistenly, your dissatisfaction is justifiable.

A friend of mine who works at a hospital in Boston talks about an opthalmolgist who borders on the abusive. The opthalmologist is an American who can trace back his lineage for a significant portion of the years Caucasians have inhabited this country. He is culturally inappropriate but I dont hear my friend regretting belonging to the same color because of his behaviour. He just puts it down to "him" being a jerk. The opthalmologist continues in business because he is very good at the narrow field he specializes in and therefore he fills a niche. I think Indians and Chinese and every other nation involved in outsourcing will continue to be a part as long as they fill a need.

Word...We are minorities in the US. The bad actions of 1 member of our community is enough to give us all a bad name. I represent my country of origin and behave as well as I can in the US. If I engage in anti-social behavior or am a general pain in the ass, other Americans view me as that and the next Indian who walks in the door after me will be dismissed as an anti-social lunatic and general pain in the ass before being given a chance to prove himself. In India I wouldnt give a crap because everyones Indian. I am an individual there. Here I am an Indian and my actions reflect on my Indian brothers and sisters and vice versa.

This really is the last time you will hear from me on this topic. Happy M.L.K. Day! I love Dr. King because the civil rights movement has changed my life. I'm digressing, so please bare with me.

I went to a shrine to say a prayer commemorating this holiday and it hit me that I needed to get some things straight with you all because I can't give my thanks for Dr. King and the civil rights movement without saying a prayer of gratitude for Gandhi's and his brethren who used a non-violent philosophy to get the British out of India.

Basically, sometime last week I wrote a post noting my frustration with the hate spewed towards African-Americans regarding the actions of one of us (the Power99 incident). I also let it be known that I didn't feel this was a very inclusive space for someone who wasn't South Asian or white.

I want to clarify that I wasn't pointing figures at the founders of SepiaMutiny. I also didn't reach my conclusions based on snap judgements. I've been reading SepiaMutiny for awhile, long before I ever posted any comments. Lately, I found some of the commentary to be filled with hatred regarding various ethnic and religious groups, instead of the humorous, sometimes thoughtful and irreverent dialogue that I've grown to enjoy reading here.

I don't consider myself some oversensitive African American who can't stomach criticism about my people but I am a very isolated person of color living in rural Japan who probably spends too much time reading on the internet which leads to a distorted perspective. I completely understand that Sepia Mutiny wasn't created for me in mine (really ;) I'm not your demographic and that's ok since I usually don't care about these things and always seem to show up to the party uninvited and make myself comfortable. I've digressed again.

I wish you great victory in fighting your battles and feel free to count me in because as Dr. King Jr. noted, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly." He was speaking from a jail cell in Birmingham but I think his words are just as salient in today's globalized world.

Peace!
Ms. World

Dear Ms. World -

please don't let the haters get you down. Unfortunately we do have comments from people who are not very inclusive in their thinking, but believe me, those of us who created this space created it for anybody who was interested in South Asian culture, not just those with brown skin.

Peace

That woman better get fired. Oooooh! That makes me so mad.

are you trying to say rats aren't eaten anywhere in India? yeah right!

i don't condole what Star said, however, i think a big fuss is being made out of this small issue.

firstly, he threatened to choke Steena. How was he going to choke her? through the telephone? come on, be real.

secondly, he call her a "rat eater." that was a stereotype that he was naively subscribing to. Steena herself may have never eaten a rat, but that doesn't me no indians eat rats. actually, a sizable amount of Indians eat rats, on the other hand, a sizable amount of indians consider rats sacred.
you nor i, nor Star, don't know whether Steena is someone who sees the rat as something to be palated or praise.

lastly, Star and Buc Wild should be understood for what they are- two bighead, weedsmoking, ignorant, ratings-loving, idiotic assholes, who call themselves RJs. don't waste time discussing them, they don't worth it.

they don't worth it.

...

ah, forget it. too easy. ;)