pattrice jones, writing at the Eastern Shore Sanctuary Blog, alerts us of an alarming stunt that a team of San Francisco radio hosts have planned for Barack Obama’s Inauguration Day.

MON: The Woody Show is off for MLK Day . . . or as Woody & Ravey call it…the day after the Steelers beat the Ravens to go to the Superbowl.

TUES: Tony (in a chicken suit) will try to catch chickens in the studio! Plus The Woody Show wants to find out if chickens will eat….chicken.

THURS: Comic Doug Benson will stop by during SF Sketchfest!

pattrice notes,

Without doubt, being carted to and then chased around a radio station will be extremely distressing to the birds in question. Moreover, mockery is a means by which people distance themselves from animals, in order to make their abuse less ethically troubling. Thus, this event, if allowed to go forward, will not only harm the two birds but also contribute to the callous disregard for animals that facilitates both everyday and extreme abuses of animals. [...]

There is, of course, one more cause for concern about this particular event. Why, on the day that our nation’s first African American president will be inaugurated, will radio hosts be making jokes about eating chicken?

The answer is obvious, but allow me to state it anyway. Clearly, by introducing chickens into their Inauguration Day “joke,” the hosts of “The Woody Show” are invoking an age-old stereotype involving African Americans and chicken:

This section of the Authentic History Center’s “Teaching Diversity With Multimedia” collection focuses on stereotypes of people of African descent from the end of the American Civil War in images of blacks with themes of chicken and watermelon. Analysis of a large collection of artifacts with racist African American imagery reveals several common themes. One is the linking of Black people in a negative way to chicken and watermelon. The origins of these stereotypes are unclear. They may have begun as Southern stereotypes and then evolved into Black stereotypes. It’s also possible that these evolved out of American slavery. Numerous primary sources chronicle Black resistance to slavery through “silent sabotage,” or, day-to-day acts of resistance. Stealing from the master was one example. It seems logical that, given that food would be among the most desirable of items a slave would pilfer, and chickens and watermelons would have been commonly available. [...] The connecting of Blacks to chicken and watermelon was done in a way to dehumanize Blacks and subject them to ridicule. This process helped contribute to prejudice and discrimination. Surprisingly, many young people are unaware of the long history of these stereotypes, while some older Black people refuse to eat watermelon because of that history. And yet the stereotype still exists. In 1989, while stationed at a Marine Air Station in Yuma, Arizona, I was standing in line at the chow hall and noticed a particular theme in the day’s cuisine. The main offerings that day were fried chicken, black-eyed peas, and watermelon. I soon realized, to my horror, that it was Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. I do not know if this gesture was intended as a racist joke, or if the head cook really thought that offering such food was a way of honoring Dr. King.

Here, the “The Woody Show” staff is using animal abuse borne of speciesism in order to make a racist “joke” at the expense of African Americans. To add insult to injury, they’ve specifically chosen to do so on a day which is especially historic for people of color – indeed, all of America – that is, the day of President Barack Obama’s inauguration.

Real, live animals will be harmed during this “skit” – and possibly even forced to cannibalize their own. Meanwhile, the racial aspect of this “joke” will contribute to the casual/”softcore” (and overt) racism which is all too common in this country. Indeed, Obama’s candidacy and subsequent victory seems to have triggered a retrogressive racist backlash, in no small order. Racism and speciesism collide in one ugly spectacle.

pattrice suggests,

Don’t wait to protest after the fact. Stop this event before it happens. Call the producers of LIVE 105 at (415) 478-548 and insist that in-studio animal abuse is not funny, on Inauguration Day or any other day.

There’s additional contact for “The Woody Show” here, though I’m not sure calling in live will do much good. Probably your righteous indignation will only elicit additional racist (sexist, homophobic, sizeist, etc.) slurs, along with more than one cry of “I’m no racist!” I’m sure at least one host will even claim to be a “liberal,” “progressive,” or otherwise “tolerant” guy (or gal). And I think it’s a given that every last one of ‘em will crack a defensive joke about enjoying tortured and tormented chicken dishes.

(Crossposted from.)

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Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare action alerts pattrice jones the woody show san francisco Barack Obama Inauguration Day animal abuse animal cruelty cruelty to animals intersections parallel oppressions racism speciesism chicken meat stereotypes kits live 105 radio radio stunt

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 18th, 2009 at 11:22 pm and is filed under action alerts, animal liberation, intersections, race & ethnicity. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.