National Hispanic Media Considers Boycott of LA Radio Shadow Inciting Hate & Crimes Against Latinos

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Several representatives of leading Los Angeles Latino civil-rights groups met this morning at the National Hispanic Media Coalition, NHMC, headquarters in Pasadena, California, to discuss the John and Ken Show and its troubling pattern of broadcasting hate and misinformation over the public airwaves. The John and Ken Show airs on KFI AM 640, one of eight Clear Channel-owned stations in the Los Angeles area. The National Hispanic Media Coalition, the National Latino Media Council, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles,
The Mexican American Opportunity Foundation, the Central American Resources Center, and others attended the meeting. As members of the Los Angeles community, these groups will demand that Clear Channel remove John and Ken from the air.
“For years John and Ken have terrorized Los Angeles’ Latino, Asian American and African American communities, creating an atmosphere of hate and intolerance and legitimizing violence and discrimination against members of these groups. John and Ken habitually use unsubstantiated claims, divisive language, flawed argumentation and dehumanizing metaphors to shock and anger their audience. All too often this sparks violent behavior from John and Ken’s listeners,” said Alex Nogales, President and CEO of the National Hispanic Media Coalition.
If necessary, the National Hispanic Media Coalition will call for a boycott of the companies that continue to support John and Ken Show’s racist and derogatory discourse.
The most recent example of the John and Ken Show targeting Latinos are the attacks on CHIRLA and its representative, Jorge-Mario Cabrera. On September 1st John and Ken began ranting about CHIRLA’s support for the California DREAM Act.

The duo provided Mr. Cabrera’s office and personal cell phone numbers and encouraged their listeners to call and harass him. Mr. Cabrera proceeded to receive over 430 abusive and threatening calls. Many of the callers repeated John and Ken’s exact words, and then wished death upon Mr. Cabrera and/or threatened his life and his physical safety. And indeed, many callers directly referenced John and Ken in their nasty messages.

Hate crimes against people of color are on the rise, as are the number of hate groups. Last year hate crimes against Latinos in California increased by nearly 50%.  According to statistics from the Southern Poverty Law Center, hate groups are increasing at alarming rates in the country. A shocking sixty eight hate groups reside in California alone, many of which are in KFI AM’s listening area.
Here is a sampling of transcripts from the John and Ken Show:

“They (Mexican immigrants) bring their third-world habits and foul our life.”
“One of the biggest struggles that the average middle class family has, it’s to save enough money and get their kid admitted into a half decent school. And then, to have your seat taken away by an illegal, and the funding taken away by an illegal. You know, if that doesn’t get people screaming bloody murder, then you deserve this rotten State, you really do.”