I've written many times here about how important AM radio was to me as a kid growing up in the 1960s, how fun it was, how magical it seemed to be able to listen to all that amazing pop music and the cool DJs from near and far. My radio was my favorite toy, my constant companion, my closest friend. The DJs of the time, the men of the rapid-fire slang-swingin' platter patter, made everything seem so exciting. It was a huge loss to me when radio changed to formulaic bland AOR rock, and the personalities of the radio were drowned in robo-DJs and dull and/or creepy radio talk show pundits.
How grateful I have been for SIRIUS XM radio! I've been a subscriber since 2005 to the satellite radio service, and for a modest fee have access to so much great radio programming. As important as hearing music I love, SIRIUS XM has worked very hard to hire top-of-the-line DJs and personalities, and this really adds to the listening experience for me. I want to hear what they have to say. But as I was heading out today to pick up my son from school, one of those DJs lost me for good.
The "Douchebag of the Day" Award goes to "'60s On 6" SIRIUS XM DJ Terry "Motormouth" Young. At somewhere between 3:05PM and 3:15PM PST today, Young was in the middle of some song lead-in and started talking about the band Heart. In the midst of it all he mentioned that the band had two sisters in it, and then said,
"...which one was the fat one?"I was instantly taken aback at the crude reference to vocalist Ann Wilson's long public struggle with obesity. What the hell? What a nasty, needless thing to throw in there on a radio channel that is upbeat and family-oriented -- '60s On 6 is not a haven for shock jocks to say the least. It's meant to be a throwback to the old AM radio days, and my kids can enjoy it while we are driving around in the car without having to navigate more adult-oriented language and humor that just isn't what they need to hear at this point in their lives.
This isn't the first time I've heard Mr. Young refer to women in demeaning, belittling terms. A red flag went up each time, and I figured, well, he's some old dude who must've gone through a bitter divorce and thinks he's being funny. But enough already. His comment about Ms. Wilson is pathetic and ugly. Am I a humor prude? HARDLY. Am I a huge fan of Heart? No, not really. Am I a fat-acceptance activist or a BBW fan? Nope; I believe that there is nothing to celebrate about being overweight, as it leads to all kinds of serious health complications. But there is no excuse for bullying or shaming anyone who is overweight. Mr Young revealed himself to be what I have suspected for quite some time: a thoughtless diarrheal buffoon. One hopes that senile dementia or substance abuse hasn't caused him to lose the social filters he should have as a representative of SIRIUS XM.
His stupid words were over in probably less than a second, but they were heard. I won't be tuning into his show again.
© Copyright 2008- Marianne Spellman