Nathaniel
Shockey
Read Nathaniel's bio and previous columns
here
January 21, 2008
How is Michael Savage
On the Air? Oh, That’s How
Michael Savage, the occasionally loud, usually offensive radio
personality who is deliberately ignored by every major media outlet in
America, is the sort of person you’d be better off knowing about.
Originally Michael Alan Weiner, he grew up in the Bronx. He currently
lives in San Francisco, or as he sometimes refers to it, “San FranFreako.”
But his thick, Italian New York accent, coupled with his love of Italian
food and his certainty about everything he sets his mind to, make his
roots as evident as ever.
He
has a master’s degree in medical botany, a
master’s in medical anthropology and a PhD in nutritional ethnomedicine.
He published about 20 books before taking on the name “Savage,” and has
since written four books directly concerning politics, all of which were
bestsellers.
It
would seem a bit strange that he is not more prominently mentioned in
the media. But when you listen to him speak, the mystery all but
vanishes. One might say he’s a bit rash.
He
is fiercely critical of practically everyone and everything outside his
radio booth (including his producer when he messes anything up). Bill
O’Reilly is “the leprechaun,” Sean Hannity is “Pawn Vanity” and Rush
Limbaugh is “Hush Bimbo.” He has a love/hate relationship with President
Bush, usually leaning towards hate. But compared to his utter loathing
for anything and everything he deems liberal, his feelings towards Bush
could almost be described as lukewarm.
If
you listen to his show, you’ll soon realize that he yells a lot. And the
question beckons, is he really that angry, or is he just aiming for
shock value? His show is the self-proclaimed “most exciting radio show”
in America, so it wouldn’t be crazy to allege that he occasionally goes
out of his way to make sure his show lives up to its advertising.
He
actually had a show on MSNBC for a while (weird, huh?), which lasted an
impressive four months, until he respectfully told one of his callers, “Oh, so you're one of those sodomites. You should only get AIDS and die,
you pig; how's that?. . . Go eat a sausage, and choke on it. Get
trichinosis. OK, got another nice caller here who's busy because he
didn't have a nice night in the bathhouse who's angry at me today? Put
another sodomite on . . . I don't care about these bums; they mean
nothing to me. They're all sausages.”
I
still can’t believe they fired him.
So
now he’s strictly on the radio. The thing is, he is not simply going for
shock value. I think his heart rate actually doubles when he gets
excited about certain issues, and I think he probably does lose sleep
over his utter incredulousness with society in general. I’ve heard him
say things, very recently, as offensive as or worse than the above
quote. The man cares passionately about America, and perhaps even more
passionately about exposing everyone and anyone he believes to be
harming it.
He
complains repeatedly about racism toward whites, homosexuals in general,
and please, please, don’t get him started on “tahhh-lerance” (his
pronunciation of the word, “tolerance”). So how is he still on the air?
I
guess the problem is that he has the
third-largest nationwide audience in radio, with about 8 million to 10
million listeners a week.
Evidently, not everyone automatically yells “unclean” upon hearing
someone speaking against homosexuality, the massive increase in
Spanish-speaking in America or sympathizing with the white male.
Michael Savage has found an incredibly unlikely and probably impermanent
niche in American political discussion.
For one, the mainstream media completely ignores him. Even Fox News
wants nothing to do with Savage or his paltry
10-million-listeners-per-week radio show. Hannity, O’Reilly and Limbaugh
all leave him alone because they’re afraid to mess with their shared
audience. In a way, Savage is like a poisonous snake who will strike
fiercely at anyone who gets too close.
Without any mention from the mainstream media, the majority of
Americans have never even heard of him. And so Michael Savage carries on
with his incessant mantra, “borders, language, culture,” quoting great
poets and authors and actively teaching the relevance of all history,
yelling at liberals (and even most conservatives) and frequently telling
stories about his pet dog, Teddy.
I
think that, a long time ago, Michael Weiner realized something that
perhaps the rest of us are beginning to learn. What the media teaches us
about all things “taboo” is absolute bunk.
The official book of all things socially or morally acceptable has yet
to be accepted by everyone. Considering Savage’s enormous following,
there actually seem to be quite a number of dissenters.
A
lot of what Michael Savage has to say ought never to be said. Most of
the time he comes across as incredibly arrogant and self-absorbed. He
seems to think most people are really quite unintelligent, and when you
listen to his show, you have to wonder if it is possible to speak with
him on-air without getting yelled at, whether one thought they agreed
with him or not.
But the truth is that Michael Savage is a rebellious voice worth
noticing. Listen to his show and ask yourself, how can this man possibly
be on the air?
Then keep listening. Chances are, you’ll be able to answer that question
before too long.
© 2008
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