Immigrant rights activists protest Clear Channel hate radio

Over 200 hundred immigrant families and their supporters protested in front of Clear Channel KNEW AM radio on Sept. 22 in San Francisco. Demonstrators called for an end to the racist xenophobic tirades of right-wing “shock jock” Michael Savage. The Hispanic/Latinos Anti-Defamation Coalition SF organized the protest, with many progressive and immigrant rights organizations joining in.

Photo: Bill Hackwell

Practically the entire focus of Savage’s nationally syndicated radio show “The Savage Nation” is bashing immigrants as the source of all of the problems in the U.S. Savage calls for the National Guard to be on the streets to “protect us from the scourge of illegal immigrants who run rampant across America.”

Savage, who maintains that he is just exercising his free speech, is a leading voice in promoting anti-immigrant violence. An essay by Michael Savage entitled “Liberalism is a Mental Disorder” was found inside the house of Jim David Adkisson, who killed two and wounded six at a children’s play at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Church in Knoxville, Tenn. Adkisson said he targeted the church because of its liberal teachings on issues such as immigration.

In times of economic crisis the ruling class relies on racist voices such as Savage’s to whip up hysteria against immigrants, who are turned into scapegoats for the hardships that afflict working people. The slanderous demonization of immigrants takes attention away from the real culprits—the banks and corporations like Clear Channel.