How much lower can we go? Each and everyone of of us must take action now. It's almost as if life has become disposable in Iraq so we can drive our cars and if you don't support that war for oil by not driving that your un-Americanism warrants death here as well. Who can reply with email addresses to WRKO and WNNX so we can bury them with our reaction? This is horrific:
TALK RADIO HOSTS TARGETING BICYCLISTS--AGAIN
Radio talk show hosts are targeting bicyclists again. Stations in three cities in the last two weeks have made disparaging, incorrect, and at times dangerous remarks about bicyclists and encouraged listeners to call in and share their views about bicyclists. On April 16, Howie Carr on Boston's WRKO-AM said, "They [bicyclists] are the biggest pain...if there is a sidewalk, I don't care what the law is, ride on the damn sidewalk, OK? You don't belong on the road. You don't. That's all there is to it. You belong on the sidewalk." Later on, he said, "I don't want to share the road."
On April 23, DJs on the Don Miller show on Atlanta's WNNX-FM (99X) repeatedly ridiculed bicyclists. One host said, "I can't stand them," and referred to cyclists as "bastards." Of the law giving cyclists the right to use the roads, they said it's a "horrible law" and that bicyclists should "get on the sidewalk where they belong." When a caller wanted to let the hosts know about Atlanta area cyclists who'd been killed in traffic crashes, the response was, "...and I wanna let you know how many people care about those cyclists." Most alarmingly, one DJ said he would "nudge them [bicyclists] right off the road into a tree." When challenged by a colleague that he hadn't done that, he said, "You've never done that? It's so much fun. Smoke a little weed, get behind the wheel...wheee!"
To hear the heinous 99X broadcast segments, for more details and to take action to stop this onslaught of broadcast harassment, visit http://www.bikeleague.org. None of the stations involved are owned by Clear Channel Communications. Last year, following a string of similar incidents, Clear Channel made it clear it would not tolerate such behavior on its stations. Visit http://www.bikemonth.org to hear radio PSA recorded by Clear Channel to promote bicycling and sharing the road.
To hear these broadcasts again: http://www.bikeleague.org/mediacenter/quickresponse.htm