GUEST COMMENTARY BY MARK HENRY
I must be an audio/video masochist. I watch and listen to TV and radio broadcasts that drive me insane with the inherent stupidity and phonyishness. (Yes, I made that word up, and yes, you can use it.)
On my drive home from work, I like to listen to local talk radio. Not because it’s good, but because it’s something to do and often times can be more amusing than music or the sound of air rushing past my car windows. Actually, the latter is akin to local talk radio personalities, especially when it’s hot outside.
Look, we all have opinions on every facet of life. This isn’t an attack on personal views, but rather on something egregious I heard yesterday on the Sandy Beach Show.
At some point yesterday, WBEN posted a web poll concerning the recent decision made by the Boy Scouts of America to allow gays to participate in scouting. To paraphrase the question “Do you agree with the BSA’s decision to overturn their stance on admitting gays into the program” – it’s a yes, no or no opinion question.
The results by 5 p.m.? 72 percent of responders said they didn’t agree.
What’s the big problem with that? Nothing, everyone has their right to their opinion no matter how messed up others think it is. My issue is that Beach began to speculate on how people may have misinterpreted the question and went so far as to offer up an example of said speculation (again, paraphrasing) “Do you agree with the BSA’s decision to overturn their stance on admitting gays into the program because they were under pressure and were forced to?”
Really? Holy shit. That’s not how the question read at all, and if anyone answering the poll question thought that, well, damn. I guess people are a lot dumber than I’ve ever imagined. Wait, I take that back. They’re not dumb. They’re blatantly honest in their dislike of gays. At least I know where they are coming from via a web poll. I doubt they would openly admit their thoughts to anyone’s face because most people filled with that sort of hate are typically chicken-shits that would rather spout off in an anonymous fashion.
What troubles me is that Beach borders on refusing to admit that in this instance, 72 percent of the people listening to WBEN who felt inclined to answer the question are just bigots. Yep. They’re bigots, plain and simple. There’s no way around it, there’s no “Oh, well, maybe they didn’t understand the question” cop-out. They are bigots and that’s all there is to it. Get used to it. If Beach doesn’t care, that’s his privilege. But he certainly shouldn’t sugar coat it or try to bullshit around the issue.
Beach also went on to refer to the listening audience’s profile as being ‘highly educated’ and ‘smart’. Sure, but bigotry doesn’t bypass college. I know lots of people who went to college and look down on gays. That doesn’t make them any less educated; it just makes them morons.
One can have dozens of degrees from dozens of prestigious universities but still be a dumbass.
I say, embrace your listenership Sandy and WBEN! It’s who your audience is – don’t deny them their opinion and their true colors.
Red, white and bigot.
