Folks, we’re running down a slippery slope when it comes to free speech in this country.  It’s bad enough that radio personalities on “terrestrial” radio have been fired with an alarming frequency but now this has spilled into satellite radio.  Last week, Greg “Opie” Hughes and Anthony Cumia of the Opie and Anthony Show, were suspended by XM for comments made the previous week by a homeless man they had on the show.  Not only are they off the air for 30 days, the channel that’s dedicated to their broadcast and re-broadcasts (202) has removed all traces of their shows during this period and are airing the much inferior show (Ron and Fez) that is normally on from 12-3 and rerunning it nonstop.

In a nutshell, the homeless man fantasized about raping Condoleeza Rice and then punching her.  He then expanded his wish list to include Laura Bush and the Queen of England.  Now, I’m not arguing that the bit, while spontaneous, wasn’t tasteless.  It was.  But there is a difference in having an insane homeless man ramble on about rape and actually having someone lucid actually be able to carry out such an act.

Even on satellite radio there are certain lines that can’t be crossed.  You can’t state your intent to harm someone or murder them, you can’t state your intent of committing a felony, and you shouldn’t be able to threaten rape.  But you also have to take it in context in terms of the show.  A throwaway comment about violating the Secretary of State on a comedy channel shouldn’t be taken as seriously as the same comment on CNN or Fox News.  The channel Opie and Anthony are on is an explicit channel, no different than HBO or Showtime or Cinemax on TV.  The channel contains raunchy content and subscribers do have the ability to block that channel (among others).

Several issues are coming into play here that should not be a factor.  First, if a comic on XM Channel 150 (explicit comedy channel) does the same act, nothing comes of this.  There is no difference between the hijinks on Channel 202 and what is said on Channel 150 on a daily basis.  What is on satellite should not be monitored unless it’s a call to terror or murder or any other felony crime.  A homeless nutjob dreaming of violating a Bush administration official, while deplorable, is not fireable on non-terrestrial radio.

Second, XM and Sirius are kissing Congress’ ass right now to get their proposed merger approved (which it won’t anyway) and so any issue that could draw attention to them they feel the need to publicly nip this in the bud.  The first hint of “Hey, we might not approve your merger because of things like this” probably was hinted to XM and they capitulated.

Third, and you simply can’t convince me of any other explanation, but the fact that the comments were directed at the current administration’s staff and relatives was the deciding factor.  This administration has been proven in many ways of silencing not only its critics but also those who won’t play their game, so the mere mention of a high level Bush official in a derogatory fashion was enough for XM to roll over and offer up Opie and Anthony to the Administration of Vocal Suppression.

While you and I might not agree on what is appropriate subject material, the fact remains that I will support the right of blowhards in the talk industry to spew their thoughts.  From comedians on the left who used to be funny and lost “the funny” when broadcasting on Air America to our own delusional “Libertarian” blowhard here in Atlanta whose last name rhymes with “shorts”, everything we say needs to be taken In The Context of how it was said.

The same goes for the whole Don Imus fiasco.  His firing was a total sham and wouldn’t have happened to anyone but a white male.  First, the point he was making was that the BLACK players on Tennessee were so much better looking than the BLACK dogs on the Rutgers team.  I hate the double standard in this country where if a white guy pokes fun at any other race it’s considered racist yet it’s perfectly acceptable for all other races to shit on Whitey even in a non-comic scenario.  I call bullshit to this double standard since it simply perpetuates a vicious circle of racial divisiveness.  This isn’t the ramblings of someone who is a white supremacist or thinks minorities are the main cause of problems in society.  Those of you who know me know I lean to the left but when I see a double standard, I see red.  Part of this stems from growing up in a city where I was the minority and was picked on because I was a minority and so the double standard has left a lifelong sour taste in my mouth.

Here is the bottom line on the whole Opie and Anthony situation.  It doesn’t matter if you’re offended. It’s not hate radio.  It’s a PARODY.  It’s Subjective Comedy.  Whether YOU like it or not should have no bearing on what people say on the radio, especially on a channel that is pay-only, not accessible via regular radio and can be blocked.