Racism In The Morning

Image via WikipediaKDWB (FM 101.3) is one of the most listened-to radio stations in the Twin Cities, with a contemporary hits format that's been around since the AM days at 630.  Recently, though, they did something that hasn't been a hit with some members of its audience.

The "Dave Ryan In The Morning" show broadcast a song parody titled "30 Hmongs In a House", sung to the tune of Eric Clapton's "Tears In Heaven".  It makes fun of various Hmong stereotypes, including a line about teenaged girls who got pregnant early and often.

("Tears In Heaven" was Clapton's 1993 tribute to his four year old son, who died after falling out of a window in his Manhattan apartment.)

The result of all this were protests outside the KDWB studios, companies like AT&T and Blue Cross of Minnesota pulling their advertising, and numerous apologies from the station's staff and management.

This isn't the first time Ryan and company crossed the line in getting laughs out of minority groups.  In 2006, they aired a parody of "Jeopardy!" that made fun of Muslim stereotypes.

The Hmong people came to America in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, fleeing from the Communist takeover of their native Laos.  Like every other ethnic group that came here to escape war and oppression, most of the Hmong have managed to make a better life for themselves in spite of adjusting to a new country, and the resentment of others who believe that they're getting a free ride thanks to Uncle Sam.

The U.S. Census tells us that 171,000 Hmong currently live here, mostly residing in California, Wisconsin and Minnesota.  The two largest Hmong communities are in Minneapolis-St. Paul and Fresno, CA.

Will Dave Ryan, who has hosted the morning show on KDWB for 15 years, end up like Tom Barnard or Don Imus?  Barnard kept his morning job at KQRS even though he's mocked ethnic groups in the past.  Imus lost his job at New York's WFAN-AM for making jokes at the expense of a (mostly black) women's college basketball team, but has since turned up at rival station WABC-AM.

No one that we know of has been fined or disciplined in this matter.  But given the fact that KDWB's owner Clear Channel has been known to clear-cut its staff due to its financial problems, they might use that as an excuse to let go of the people responsible.

Broadcasters ought to realize the power they wield every time they speak into a microphone.  They are being heard daily by people of different races, ages, genders and nationalities.  Stations like to talk about how they serve the community through their broadcasts.  Song parodies denigrating a certain group of people isn't "serving the community".