We were helping.
Waaay back in the day....well ok 3 years ago I was working as a DJ on the number one radio station in a pretty big city in New Zealand. (Pretty big for a New Zealand city anyways!)

We used to do all sorts of crazy things like "World Wide Wednesday" where for the entire afternoon, my co-host and me would choose a country and attempt to do the accent of that country for the whole show. It was fabulous and hilarous and we got a lot of listeners and everything was just dandy.

We did countries like India, England (I would be a cockney and my co-host would pretend to be a posh git), Australia, South Africa, France America, Italy, Iceland, Mexico, China etc

We always used to get guests in the studio from the country we were looking at and get them to comment on our terrible accents. They'd usually bring in food from their country and the whole thing was done very innocently but with a HUGE grin on our faces. It was after all a "family station"

(The time we did India and the guys from a local curry joint brought in the hottest curry they could make...my arse never forgave me for that one!!)

But I'm getting off track. Because where we lived there was a HUGE amount of racial violence...especially towards Asians.

Now in New Zealand we refer to Asians as people from China/Japan/Korea etc.
Being the family station we decided to write a song about this disgusting behavour going on in our town this so we wrote the song: "Asian in Christchurch"...done to the tune of Englishman in New York by Sting....(subsequently covered by Shine head "Jamican in New York"...and recently covered again by Omar Djalali)

I can't remember all the lyrics but it went along the lines of:

You drink our bubble tea and like sushi
And you think Lucy Liu great
You like Bruce Lee movies you think they're cool
You why you have to treat me this way...
Oh oh I'm an Asian, I a legal Asian I'm an Asian in Christchurch...

And we had heaps of other versus and hearing it sung by 2 DJs in Chinese accents made it very funny (if I do say so myself)

We got lots of letters of support from our Asian listeners saying "thanks for standing up for us" and "saying what needed to be said".
"You've taken a tough issue and handled it in a funny amusing way ...thanks"
The response was really overwhelming. And we got some really heartfelt letters from kid who had been bullied at school who found "strength in the words" ...brilliant!

But we also got complaints. TWO complaints to be precise. (Quite a small number compared to the amount of praise we got)

The TWO people were white old locals. And why did they complain?
"Because the Asians might find that song offensive!"
That was their excuse. They MIGHT find it offensive.

But they didn't, in fact the opposite was happenning.
But these letters made their way to the bosses office and we were forbidden to play that song ever again...or else we'd be fired.
We argued and argued but to no avail.
So we went on air and told the city that we were not allowed to play that song. ANd everyone who LIKED it should send in emails demanding it be added to the playlist.

Yes we got a huge response but the bosses decision was final. The best we could do was play "Englishman in New York" and encourage people to sing THEIR version over it.

I work in advertising now and the thing that really bugs me is that 99% of all complaints made people in the UK (and NZ) are done by the same tiny percent of the population.

It's a set group of old farts who have nothing better to do with their time than complain.
You can't do anything anymore...anything that sparks interest and gets people talking!!

And thats what we did. We got people talking...in a good way about an issue that no one wanted to talk about.

I have fond memories of those good old days on air...and I have the song at home on a CD somewhere. I should track it down and post it somewhere.

Anyway...sorry about the length...but I hate racism...but I hate old people who complain about nothing even more...

chairs
mg x
(Markygee Surname: "Balls". First name: "Lick-mah", Wed 28 Nov 2007, 18:07, 4 replies)

Ive heard of you...
Well...sort of... several months ago while doing my time in Christchurch on the way down here, some people in the bog referred to that very song in passing in some conversation..it makes a lot more sense now...
(I_Live_In_Antarctica No...really...I do.www.travbuddy.com/mtfd528/blogs, Wed 28 Nov 2007, 19:29, closed)

France America?
What does THAT accent sound like? I imagine people that live in that country are likely to start wars and then immediately surrender?

:)

Cheers!
( Citadel Because the world needs less morons, Wed 28 Nov 2007, 20:53, closed)

Let us hear it
Post it on Legless' thing.
(TDub Nunc id vides, nunc ne vides on, Wed 28 Nov 2007, 23:05, closed)

This only strengthens my argument....
...that all old people are empty shells of bitterness, filled only with the aroma of mothballs and cheap talcumn powder.

If PC is justified then fair enough; in that case surely as there were only 2 complaints about it it would've made common sense to contact the two and explain the positive feedback you'd received. There again, I did use the word common sense.

Tis always the fuckwits who ruin the fun for others...
( Jeccius Steam Borderlands 2 junkie, Thu 29 Nov 2007, 8:09, closed)