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Kevin Lynn anti Irish comment

H

hanshuckbein

Hi,
At 7:30 am on Thursday, December 18 , WILK radio "personality" Kevin Lynn said
"The Irish deserve every joke at their expense".
Substitute any one of his darling groups and he would be screaming "bigot".
Why is he permitted to do this again and again? He should be removed or at least reprimanded.
This ranks with Don Imus and his hateful comments.
Huckbein
 
Oh Huckbein, don't get your kilt in a ruffle. Kevin is many things, rude, arrogant, and sarcastic come to mind first; but he is also an entertainer, and a damn fine one at that.

His comment is nothing more than an attempt at levity as he has done thousands of time in the past. In his attempt at humor he has chided ethnic groups, social groups, sexual minorities, and even the handicapped. This comment happened to rub you the wrong way because it infringed on your ethnic pride. Occasionally, Kevin has gone over the line with a passing comment, realized his mistake, and apologized for the off color passing comment. This was a passing comment. It was not even a valid argument with provided support.

Kevin is on the air three hours every day. Assuming 12 minutes of spots per hour, and two minutes per hour for news with Bud Brown, this means that Kevin is responsible for 11.5 hours of banter every week. For those of us who have been on the air talking up records or talking into a stopset, most of us have never had to fill this much time weekly. I figure that even with my airshifts and weekend play-by-play, I've never been responsible for more than 8 hours of so of "talk time" during any given point in my career. I'm surprised that with the lack of a dedicated producer that takes an active role keeping Kevin focused that furor over Kevin Lynn's commentary doesn't find its way onto these message boards more often.

As for a bigoted, hateful comment, I'm more concerned that a passing gaffe has upset you more than any of the more serious viewpoints and topics discussed on the program. This was his attempt at humor. Nothing more, nothing less. Accept it and move on, he has. It could have been worse. Look at it this way, at least you're not Polish. (A joke for which I have been granted immunity for by Dave McAndrews in the previous post - thanks Dave!)
 
He is many things, namely a bigot and hypocrit. By the way, I am not Irish at all. If he had made fun of blacks, I would have been just as upset-the only major difference is that so would the rest of you. I remember an episode of Star Trek TNG where the crew took in Irish peasants. The men were drunks, the women loose and they ate lots of potatoes. Why was that allowed? From what I understand, the local papers and advertisers have already been contacted about this. In my opinion, Kevin has been allowed to do far too much for far too long.
 
While to some this fervent passion is to be admired, broadcasters THRIVE on this.

1. Obviously, you must be listening in order to be so polarized from the comment.

2. Letters to the editor provide no cost publicity for the radio station/personality. Hence, free marketing!

3. Unless the advertiser uses an agency (from the sponsors that I recall, few local clients on the Morning News do. The national spots are barter for other elements on the station) the client already understands the product on which they are purchasing advertising. I trust that a few may be receptive to listener concerns and may appease the letter writer with a follow-up phone call filled with "I see" and "I understand". I also believe that once the handset is returned to the set, the discussion shall have ended right there.

Perhaps you would be more inclined to impact Kevin and any other radio station and personality in the only way that matters, turn the dial. You see, if you don't like the product, you do have a choice. And by going elsewhere, assuming that you are an Arbitron diary holder, you are taking your voice elsewhere. If you are not an Arbitron diary holder, your decision to change the station may impact the listening preference of a friend or co-worker who is a diary holder.

Good luck on your endeavor. However, I have the distinct feeling that this is an exercise of urinating in the wind.
 
Dave's right; Lynn gets a pass on this because he's Irish. Besides, my ancestory is Irish and I'm not at all offended. More importantly, I tend to agree with him. Looking for proof? Try Parade Day in Scranton next time around. How many arrests last year?
 
Some people are just so uptight these days over nothing. What some people might find to be entertaining, I might not. A perfect example is Family Guy. Some people think that is the funniest show on TV, while others think it's total crap. The bottom line is,...if you don't like the programming, then it's not for you. We have choices, and you can change the dial if you don't like what you see or hear. But don't be bitching to me about it, because I might love what you hate. And that is my choice.

An Irish guy telling an Irish joke? Big F'ing Deal!

That's my two cents. Same to you! Lol
 
When Stern was on terrestrial, he was trashing everybody ... and he was pulling $3k a read.
 
Being half-Irish myself, I thought I had the right to tell Irish jokes on St. Patrick's Day when I was doing mornings at the old WKXP.

We lost a sponsor over that, as she called me a racist. When I gave the "I'm allowed because I am in that ethnic group" excuse, she yelled even louder.

The station was young at the time, so I thought the owner would blow a gasket. Fortunately he was cool, especially since he gave me a few of the jokes that I used.
 
Kevin Lynn is no Howard Stern. He is the lowest rated of the entire WILK line up. He rarely is funny because he is just an unhappy person. Let him say what he wants, who cares, since Corbett's arrival he has been pretty much rendered irrelevant.
 
hanshuckbein said:
He is many things, namely a bigot and hypocrit. By the way, I am not Irish at all. If he had made fun of blacks, I would have been just as upset-the only major difference is that so would the rest of you.
Click to expand...

I agree that you are exactly right and there is a double standard here. Nobody cares because it was about the Irish but everyone gets up in arms when someone makes a comment about African Americans. Fortunately for me, however, I could care less what he said. I'm far too busy living my own life to care what he happens to ramble on about. Now, if he came on and said "that NT3 who occasionally posts on the Radio-Info discussion board is an idiot who deserves to get made fun of" then maybe I'd care...short of that, he's fine in my books.

I have respect for you for sticking up for your beliefs here. If you're offended you have a right to say something. However I also agree with everyone for saying that if you don't like what he said then you should just change the channel. I don't enjoy Kevin's program so I listen to something else, it's that simple (for me at least.)
 
What's racist about Irish jokes? Where's the racism? The Irish aren't a race, they're a nationality. If you want to slap a race label on them, I suppose Caucasian ought to cover things. If you really need to pigeon hole the Irish, then go for Celtic; the Irish are Celts. The Welsh are likewise Celts, as are the Scots. The Cornish, too.

I still say you get a pass on your own "nationality" if you feel like using it.
 
Why are there so many chomping at the bit to label this as an "ethnic slur" or "racism"?
Have you listened to Kevin's show? It's clearly a comedy/satire show.
No one could be that blindly liberal and be serious, right?
 
Being of Irish ancestry I would love to tell a great Irish joke that I know for a fact none of you have heard but I cant people who are upset at Kevin's comment that's there right I don't see a problem with it
 
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