|
|
|
 
 
 
 
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
| ||||
| ||||
| ||||
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
American Radio’s shocking blatant racial and filthy abuses of an Indian call center girl live on air – India’s Commerce Minister to face outrage from expatriates over India’s lack of action
Mr. Kamalnath, India’s commerce minister is planning to visit America during the next few months. He plans to meet Indian expatriate businesses to promote commerce and trade. But according to sources within the Indian expatriate community, he will face a total outrage over a recent incident in Philadelphia. The Government of India has failed to take the matter with the US state department especially with Dr. Rice.
Two acerbic FM radio jockeys of Philadelphia who berated an Indian call center girl with filthy abuses have been suspended — only for a day, though.
The otherwise popular ‘Power 99 FM’ station has also issued an apology for the sexist and racist outbursts that went on air — all in the name of a “comedy segment”, purportedly poking fun at outsourcing.
“The Star & Buc Wild show prides itself on walking on the edge. On December 15th, we crossed it. We know the pain racial slurs cause and apologies that this comedy segment went too far,” the radio station said on its website. The African-American duo, styling itself as “The Original Haters”, had played a taped conversation with the Indian call centre employee in the course of which ‘Star’ (whose real name is Troi Torain) turned aggressive, calling her a “bitch” and “filthy rat eater”.
The conversation was a supposed follow-up of an order for hair beads worn by girls. When the Indian employee told him she will hang up if he continued in that offensive vein, Star threatened he will go to India and choke her. Star capped it all by derisive laughter. For three weeks, few outside Philadelphia knew what had happened.
Then, on January 6, the segment was posted on the station’s website, and the storm broke. Several blogs (including the DesiBlog) took over and the station was flooded with protest emails. Some Indian activists had threatened to approach the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). This may have prompted the station to come up with its belated apology on Tuesday evening. Clear Channel, which owns many radio stations including the Philadelphia one, has had a taste of FCC. Last year, another foul-mouthed jockey made it fork out $ 1.75 million in fines. It was not immediately clear if the duo's suspension merely for a day will satisfy the Indian community.
While India is eager to do business with America, the Government has the responsibility to rise up above norms and protest such behavior and outrage and ask for appropriate penalty under the US Laws of Civil Rights and civilized behavior. What made the matter conspicuous is the audacity for this radio media under the FCC to openly boast about what they have done. On top of that they made the matter worse by just apologizing for the fact with a slap on the wrist with one-day suspension of the culprits.
OUTSOURCING ARTICLES
|
|
| Click here to get ad specs and place your ad or Click here to contact the advertisement department |
Send Letters to the Editor
|
Add RSS headlines