The only way to know where to go in case your child is ever raped, molested, or otherwise victimized is through community notification of resources. Beyond the police and courts there is a network of dedicated individuals who devote their lives to helping people who need their help. Would you know where to go if your child needed help? What would you do if your child was accused of victimizing someone else? It all happens in nice, normal families like ours you know.
Not too many places are willing to broadcast PSAs for the places that are there for people in need. Luckily Comcast is not one of those places. Did everyone in the Philadelphia area see the spot for JJPI? I work with them, and I know that there was a good number of calls in to the cable company to stop running that spot because of uncomfortable words like "sex", but they continued to run it and it worked. There was an influx of calls to the agency from people in need. Some people will tell you that sex crimes are down, but the people in the know are pretty sure that it's reporting that is down, not incidences.
So what's the point? I got this in my email today:
For Immediate Release
May 25, 2010
(HARRISBURG) The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape is urging Pennsylvanians to contact WBEB 101.1FM in Philadelphia and express their displeasure with the station’s decision to deny PCAR radio advertising space for its HERO Project campaign.
The station denied PCAR space because the 30-second public service announcement, urging adults to report child sexual abuse, contained the words ‘rape’ and ‘sexual.’
WBEB’s General Manager Blaise Howard offered PCAR space only if it altered the wording to remove the word “rape” from the organization’s name and say “child abuse” instead of “child sexual abuse”, citing that the station’s listeners would be upset by the words that are currently used.
Howard stated to PCAR’s executive director that WBEB doesn’t take “explicit ads” because they are a “straight laced” company. However, the station does play sexually suggestive music by artists such as Prince, Madonna, Lady GaGa and George Michael.
“Child sexual abuse is not about sexuality.” PCAR Executive Director Delilah Rumburg said “It’s about violence to our children. If the station doesn’t believe its listeners could handle hearing words about abuse, imagine what child victims of sexual abuse are experiencing,”.
“We believe that our message is important to Pennsylvanians. All we are trying to do is get information out to the public that there is help and healing for survivors and their families. We don’t feel that modifying the language is an acceptable compromise. The station is asking us to censor information that could actually help their listeners. Their decision is appalling and perpetuates the veil of silence that continues to hurt victims in need of help.”
PCAR is urging residents to call the station at 610-667-8400 and voice their displeasure with the soft rock radio station and to ask the station to make a substantial donation to their local rape crisis centers.
To listen to the HERO Project public service announcements visit http://www.heroproject.org/.
If you are a member of the media and would like to run the HERO PSAs or print advertisements, please contact PCAR at 800-692-7445 x154.
If you aren't able, please leave a comment here, as I will be forwarding this post and all comments to the station. I've opened the blog up to anonymous comments for this post because I understand you might not want your name tied with what you may share
It upsets me to hear the words child sexual abuse and rape. It makes me want to throw up. But what's worse? Knowing that there are so many little ones out there who aren't getting help because their parents don't know where to go or that feel that they can make it go away by ignoring the offense and hoping the kid will just forget.
I have a child, and we have gone over Okay Touch/ Not Okay Touch (Good Touch/Bad Touch is out, btw. The research has shown that children feel that they are bad for letting it happen, not that the offender is bad for doing it) for years now. We talk about it two or three times per week, at length. I feel it is that important. Sure my view is skewed because I've seen so many victimized children, but I'm sure you have too. You just don't see them in a clinical setting so you don't know they are victims.
Jacob doesn't use the words "sex" or "rape", but he's heard them. On PSAs. And when he asked me what "rape" meant, I told him that it is when someone touches someone else's penis or vagina without permission, and no one ever has permission to touch a child's penis or vagina except for doctors, moms and dads, and anyone that mom and dad allows to bathe a child or change a diaper. And he wasn't traumatized or shocked by my answer. He hears the word sex on television and the radio all the time. It's everywhere. He's heard it so often that he never asked me what it meant.
If we were listening to the radio and we heard this PSA he may or may not ask what it is about. But I would know what it was about, and that could make a world of difference if someone raped my baby tomorrow.
59 degrees {comments}:
Shame on you, you idiot radio station. Is the problem that the word "sex" in the phrase "child sexual abuse" isn't sexy? Are you so overwhelmed with your own glamour that you are unable to take responsibility for the fact that, at ROOTS, radio is about communication and connection. This thirty second ad could, quite literally, save someone's life.
And you are too embarrassed and immature and ignorant to see that. For shame.
What you look like right now, Blaise Howard, is someone who could use a healthy intervention with a therapist. I'm sorry that sex is icky and uncomfortable for you unless spewing forth from the mouths of starlets you willingly pour on to the airways, but if you are not adult enough to see your stance on this issue makes you complicit in the problem, then you are not adult enough to run a radio station.
Grow up. Save a child. And get over yourself.
So i guess what they are saying, is its ok for them to play it as long its got a catchy tune behind it?
Right... And they wonder why there is so much shame and guilt on the victims.
I really hope this post and all the comments you will get will make a difference. If it helps one person feels that they are ok, because they know where to turn, then thats what needs to happen.
Ridiculous. How ridiculous. Having worked with children who have been sexually abused, I can only imagine what a help this type of information would have been for their parents when it happened (when they were not the abusers, obviously) and for the older children after the fact. I agree, sex is all over the radio when it comes to music. No offense, JT, but "bringing sexy back" is OK? Whereas the importance of enlightening adults and children to the risk of sexual abuse is not? Hogwash. For lack of a better non-PG-13 word. Seriously? People were complaining? WTH? Complaining that their kids were exposed to this commercial? What? I can't even imagine. My 3-yo daughter will learn what is right and wrong, she will learn what is OK and Not OK, and she will understand to trust me with whatever she needs to discuss. Some people don't have that. They NEED a number to call. They need someone to turn to. And you're going to take that away from them all because of a 3- and 4-letter word? Shame on you.
Thank you for this.
I have worked with the child offender (I don't like the word juvenile offender or juvenile delinquent) as well as survivors of rape and sexual abuse. Painful. But a reality. A painful reality.
I am so over people trying to hide the subject of child sexual abuse and rape in the corner, trying to make as if it is happening sporadically. And I am so over people being uncomfortable to say it by its name and treat it for what it is. IT IS A HARSH REALITY.
And I am so over people trying to be so political correct. Hiding behind fancy words are not helping our children.
The more it is being pushed into a corner, the more tragic it is becoming. Victims are becoming younger and younger, and the offenders are also becoming younger and younger. And it is only going to get worse unless all the children, victims and offenders, can get the help they so desperately need.
Shame on the radio station. Double shame.
I am constantly amazed at the way our society vilanizes certain words. Words are nothing more abstract representations of ideas, emotions, objects, etc. It's all about context.
In Baltimore, it's also kids who commit the majority of violent crimes. Jack was just bit and hit by one of his second grade students and the kid suffered no reprocussions. Is it any wonder that so many innercity school kids see violence as a solution?
Our society is doomed.
I almost wish I lived in Philadelphia so I could NOT listen to WBEB 101.1 FM. Any reasonable person would want to stay educated on how to defend/heal children from sexual abuse. WBEB 101.1 FM is giving way too much credibility to insensitive fringe listeners.
Communication and a fearless effort toward helping these children, arming their parents with a path to healing, is a worthy cause.
There is a lot of shame surrounding the issue. The victims feel shame, the parents feel shame, the offenders feel shame. In order to free these people of this distructive emotional strain, we need to be honest and open in our communications.
An opportunity to help, such as this air space, would be a shameful thing to bury in the frivolous effort to uphold some type of false reputation.
I think opening up the dialogue on this subject is so important. Using the words, "rape" and "sexual abuse" is not vulgar...it is happening to our small children and needs to be discussed openly!!!
Shame on you...a radio station is supposed to be open for public education!!
Shame on you!!
SueAnn
Ridiculous. Who cares what the words are just get the message out there so people can get help! No one is going to be scarred for life if they hear "rape" or "sex"... but they will be scarred for life if those words happen to them. People are so stupid.
I cannot believe this!
The message needs to be out there!
I bet there are worse words in the lyrics of the songs that they play.
It IS touchy, but it's important too. I've told my kids (ages 3 and almost 5) that their "parts" are special, and private, and that they're the only ones who get to touch them. By now I even have them wash themselves there so they kind of get used to being the only ones who touch them. I tell my daughter all the time that if anybody ever wants to touch her she's supposed to say no, and tell Mommy, even if she's told not to.
I don't want to scare her, or steal her innocence or whatever, and I try to do it as gently as possible.
On the news here last night there was a story about a 6 year old girl who was lured away from a playground and raped. It breaks my heart. I don't think we should hold back the education that is available, because we're uncomfortable with words like "rape" and "sex". I'd rather my kids heard the words than fall victim to them.
Downplaying words only makes the act seem less serious/threatning (child abuse instead of child sexual abuse, sexual assault instead of rape etc.). I used to do a lot of outreach at my old job and I had to be careful which words I used when speaking at schools or with parents. I found this to be ridiculous because people need to hear the truth. They need to hear these so-called scary words that describe acts that yes they are uncomfortable with but just because someone is uncomfortable with hearing these words does not make it go away. This is what happens when we choose less threatening words. The question that needs to be addressed is why does such and such word bother someone so much?
Way to go, lame-ass radio station. Let's totally sugar-coat things and alienate victims even more than they already are. Child sexual abuse is a grievous, disgusting, horrible thing. And statistically speaking, Mr. Howard, you know a child who has suffered sexual abuse. Maybe it's your own child, your niece or nephew, maybe a grandbaby, or your neighbor's kid. And perhaps that child is getting raped daily. And that? IS A TRAVESTY. Broadcasting the S-E-X word is not such a crisis, if you think about it. Man up and be a hero in the lives of babies who can't do it for themselves.
Periodically, I remind my children who is allowed to touch them and what they should do. In Cambridge, I've never seen a PSA on TV or heard a PSA on the radio.
I'm with you, having it out there starts the conversations and lets people know what to do, where to turn to.
That is just disgusting... How dare they attempt to demand a "sugar coating" of an issue by altering the actual definition of the crime.
Political correctness is in favor of the offender, not the child that was brutally raped.
Luv you Lora for bring child molestation and rape to the forefront where it damn well should be!
Let me get this straight, a radio station is censoring speech??? Pathetic. Oh, and they are covering this censoring up by claiming it is 'advertising' that would offend their listeners. Wow!
I have heard some advertising that is pretty offensive right down to radio promotions but I think it is sad when a Radio executive cannot differentiate between risque advertising and crucial Public Service announcements. Obviously, the Radio executives need some training in rape and child sex abuse.
Wow. What year is this supposed to be???
I think I'd much rather listen to an intelligent and helpful PSA and explain rape and sexual abuse to my child than try and explain what Lady Gaga means when she says "I wanna take a ride on your disco stick."
WBEB 101.1FM either needs to start airing the PSA immediately or make an enormous donation and a public apology.
To the radio station who refuses to provide a necessary public service announcement:
It's time we stop sugar-coating the crimes of child rape and molestation to make them sound 'more palatable' to the masses.
It's time we stop pretending they exist so that we don't have to do anything about them.
It's time to realize that if you aren't part of the solution, YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM!!!!
The crimes of child rape and molestation have never been anything short of heinous!
It's time everyone takes their heads out of the sand and rises up TOGETHER to protect our children from having their safety, security, and physical/mental/emotional well-being ROBBED from them.
It's time we reach out to the ever growing numbers of victims and families of victims of these unspeakable crimes with ALL OF the help and support they need.
No one should have to wonder about where, or search for where, to seek help and find it, particularly when it comes to people frantic with grief, fear and guilt; people who want to do EVERYTHING to make it better for their victimize child RIGHT NOW.
Are you really willing to let your legacy concerning this issue be one of remaining PART OF THE PROBLEM because a word or two may upset a viewer or two?
This, this is why I have an issue with all the political correctness in the world. People then use it as a platform to sugar coat everything. Some things just need said in plain speak. What has happened to people where advocating for victims of a crime isn't something they want to help with if they can?
That's so terrible that they won't air it. It's REAL and it needs to be put out there to HELP PEOPLE! If it happened to them or someone close to them, they'd be singing a different tune. And it's no different then what I hear on the radio on a daily basis...only most of what I hear is useless crap and this is for a good cause that could help someone.
This is absolutely absurd and borders on a censorship that I thought this country was far above.
I HIGHLY doubt that young children are tuned in enough to a station like B101 to even register words like "rape," and if they did, then it is a valuable teaching time for parents to ensure that their children know what you've worked so hard to teach Jake.
If parents are worried about truamatizing their children, you'd think they'd be supportive of these messages. A few minutes of potentially difficult conversation could save them their child from experiencing something that could harm them emotionally for the rest of their lives. It simply doesn't make sense.
Frankly, I don't understand how these executives don't see that.
This isn't shielding children from harmful words, it's putting a censored dome of silence over an opportunity for famillies to have discussions that could save lives.
in response to the radio station's email response to you:
the radio station that refuses to air the ad is proving that we (as a society) not only have the responsibility to protect and educate our children, but also the added responsibility to eliminate ignorance as a viable option for adults when it comes to such real and relevant issues as child sexual abuse.
anything that spurs a coversation between a child and a parent about "sex" and "rape" should be encouraged as an integral part of that child's growing sense of awareness and propriety. avoiding such topics only teaches children to repress their feelings and to associate shame with a normal curiosity that can easily be sated with a conversation.
furthermore, a child who is comfortable asking questions of a parent without being made to feel as if they are doing something bad will develop a stronger sense of independence and a capacity to make wise choices more independently. and isn't that what we really want, a child that knows right from wrong and is able to speak up for himself against another person (child or adult) abusing them?
The station manager is INSANE!
Does he think because you use the words "sexual" or "rape" people will turn the station to another channel?
Ya know, this type of abuse is horrible and if a person listens to the message JUST ONCE ,they will remember it, and that's the point. To remember, to tell others, to have a resource in case they need it.
Education is the point of a PSA and it isn't always pretty.
Child rape is a form of child abuse, but the resources can be different for those that need the help.
Mr. Station Manager, stop living in deNile and come home from Egypt to Harrisburg, PA.
Take a chance your listeners will know this is an important issue -- an issue that needs a voice for those that can't speak up.
Basically fluff or sugar coat the subject and then they will play the message. Defeats the purpose of the message. They are knuckleheads ( that is the sugar fluff version of what I would like to say).
This is angering. Child abuse of any form is unacceptable and the fact that the radio station isn't willing to air the psa is mind boggling.
Keep fighting this, Lora!! This is an important message that needs to be heard. Sure it's a touchy subject, but not talking about it won't make it go away.
Citing "sexual" and "rape" as bad words that are going to offend people is just ludicrous. This is a serious topic that need not be watered down in an effort to avoid offending people. It doesn't even sound as if it's deliberately inflammatory based on what I've read. Just run it as-is and get the word out there.
Knowledge is power! Deliver the messages that the community needs to hear! Help protect our children!
It's sad, that in our society, it is okay to say sex, to watch sex, to talk about tampons, to put condom ads, or KY ads on television and radio's, but it's not okay, to talk about things such as child sexual abuse.
We can swear on t.v. and radio. We can talk about movies that contain killing. We can talk about situations that involve masterbation and we can laugh at the fopahs of such things, but when it comes down to the seriousness of things such as sexual abuse, people are put off. Uncomfortable. Why?
We can talk about drugs.
We can talk about drinking.
We can teach our kids in Health classes to have safe sex and even show them how to properly use a condom.
But we can't put a 30 second ad on a radio station about sexual abuse? Maybe the one who is refusing the ad should be checked out. Maybe their own past or present is clouding their judgment because of their own guilt. Maybe they should be put up on stage and have all their problems ripped to pieces, raped by society in words, to give them a tiny glimmer of what some of these kids or people are going through.
I'm disgusted by a society in which would put acceptance to these other things, but feel uncomfortable and sugar coat things that are real and need attention.
I absolutely support running the PSA with its original wording. The idea that a listener might be offended by the correct names of the crimes, and therefore must be coddled with euphemisms, is itself offensive.
The radio station well knows that no matter WHAT they do SOME listeners will be offended, and that it's not possible to please all of them. I wonder what their motivation is to please this particular group of potentially-offended citizens? I can't believe they're considering the protection of those sensitive ears more important than the protection of children who are being raped and sexually abused.
I share your view and your opinions. How ridiculous is that? Playing music that is suggestive of a certain behavior and in matters of serious issues it is a problem with them to air a message that would reach out to the genreal audience and raise awareness?
My company provides media services to newscasts and other media outlets and I have forwarded this to someone in the broadcast group that coupld possibly distribute this message as well.
Considering the airwaves both radio and television/cable are filled with images and talk of sex and rape and assult and abuse, why would the words when used for GOOD to prevent such events from happening or to give information to those who have experienced such horrific acts a place to call or go...why would that be denied?
It makes no logical sense to me. I belive that the station manager should look again. Or ask someone above him to make the proper decision if he is afraid to do the right thing.
Child abuse and child sexual abuse are not the same thing. Being specific makes a difference in the kind of help they are offering and the kind of help people need. If they change their wording, won't that affect the main substance of their message? Ridiculous.
I would think most parents would have already had the "good" touch vs. "bad" touch conversation by the time their kids are listening to the radio with them. If they haven't? A nice conversation on the way to work will do them good. This is something that should be talked about. Hiding it doesn't make it go away and making the people going through these situations feel shamed isn't going to help anyone.
This is disturbing indeed and I seriously hope that the radio station reconsiders. Maybe they need to be educated on the issue, so that they can realize that abuse has nothing to do with sex. Maybe someone should shine some light into their hearts so that they can think of the little ones in their lives and wonder how they would feel if they were the ones being abused right now, but too scared and/or confused to report the issue.
I don't understand why things like this happen. This shouldn't be an issue. People need to step out of their comfort zone and recognize that the taboo-infested feelings of the entire world aren't as important as the possibility of making ONE life whole again. How can they live with themselves!? How can they look at their own children and not think about those who are not as lucky?
I'm lighting a candle. I hope the light touches the hearts that need to be touched and gives them some courage and decency.
I only have a few moments so I can't read through what everyone else wrote at this time. But I'll add my two cents.
I would implore B101 not to take this add off the air. Yes, words like sex, sexual abuse, and rape are not words I really want to define for my three year old but I would so much rather he hear them in a PSA that might help those that need it than in the thousands of other ways he can and probably will hear it in the media. I'd rather have a conversation with my child about appropriate and inappriate touching after he hears this ad than to have a conversation about sex because he heard some rapper talk about nailing his latest "*itch" , or whatever the latest slang is for how sex and women are slandered in the name of so called free speech entertainment.
I find it annoying that our society fights to use expletives, sexually suggestive language and innuendos in music and entertainment solely for low class, gratuitous reasons but people are demanding a PSA that could help people who really need it offends to the point of B101 removing it.
Let's keep the PSA and stop playing the other offensive material on our airwaves. This way if we are forced to explain sex to our young children before we are ready we're at least doing it for a reason that matters and might even do even our own children more good than harm.
OMG, What year is this supposed to be??? I think they must need educating to understand the subject matter, I can't believe they want it 'sugar coasting' some people make me so mad!
If you are running the ad at all, then censoring it can't happen. People need to understand that we are all adults here; we can all take hearing the word sexual. Everyone, everyday hears that word in different context. The ad itself will have it's meaning lost if not said in it's original form. This is 2010 people, we're not naive to the words of the world.
I'm ready to rally and asked how I can join ya!!
It's things like this that perpetuate the idea the abuse can never be discussed, that the victims have to keep it bottled up inside until they die. I'm not from Philly. I don't listen to WBEB 101.1FM. I don't even have kids myself, but I have nephews and a niece and I want them to grow up in a world where they know if someone should ever do something as horrible as rape them, they are allowed to tell someone. I want them to know that they aren't the ones who've done something wrong, and they aren't the ones who should feel guilty or ashamed over it.
When people do things like this, shove words like "rape" and "sex" and "sexual abuse" into a sack and shake them up until people think they're the same thing and shove the sack under the bed or into the back corner of some dark, forgotten closet, it makes kids think they have to stay silent about whatever they're going through and that's the exact opposite of what they should think.
Yes, it made me uncomfortable to postulate that my nephews or niece might get raped or sexually abused in another way. But I'm willing to be uncomfortable for as long as I have to be if it means they know that I'm there for them if they need me.
I understand the radio station anticipating the squeamishness and the discomfort of some of the listeners, but that is where they could assert and hold fast to integrity. And dedication to helping kids and families in need.
There IS an answer to those irate phone calls from parents who don't feel ready to explain the words rape and sex to their kids.
It's called a PUBLIC SERVICE announcement, after all.
Oh this is terrible and just makes me sick. The grounds for not running that psa are ridiculous.
Ran into similar issues with running clever PSAs locally for Planned Parenthood - the television station that refused ended up getting tons of bad press...
Hiding from the word doesn't make it less comfortable. Teaching our children what it means is a responsibility, not something shusshed around in the kitchen while they play in the back yard.
C'mon. Grow up. Be responsible and air the ads.
It's frustrating how backward our society is. It's okay for stations to play "Birthday Sex" but not okay to us the words "sex" and "rape" to educate and to help. That simply doesn't make sense to me.
Until you posed the question about who to call if your child has been abused or was the abuser I honestly didn't know who I would call or turn to. We need to get information out there.
The only thing more disturbing than child sexual abuse, is denying that child sexual abuse exists.
By refusing to air this vital PSA, your station is turning its back on thousands of victims in your listening area who need help and don't know where to turn.
Be part of the solution and not part of the problem.
your post today made me think about this: http://abcnews.go.com/2020/TheLaw/aaron-vargas-alleged-sexual-abuse-case-revenge-vigilante/story?id=10670370
that young man is from my very small hometown. there was another story today on that same site about how he regrets killing the guy who abused him. obviously, it's complicated.
but the part that really got to me was this:
In the months prior to the shooting, the family said, Vargas claimed McNeill had been stalking him, calling him up to 30 times a day, even offering to babysit for his baby girl. The Vargas family said that all of it, on top of years of abuse, sent Vargas over the edge.
"What Darrell lived to do is to rape these kids," Vargas' sister, Mindy Galliani, said. "And Aaron knew it. Aaron has spent the last 20 years around Darrell and he knows exactly how Darrell works and he knows what a threat he is. And Aaron knew what was going through Darrell's mind when he watched Darrell look at his daughter."
vargas's dad asked him "who is going to take care of your daughter?" - and there's a part of my mind that can't help thinking that maybe this was the only way he *could* take care of his daughter. not in reality, but in that part of his mind that was trapped.
Their line of thinking only serves to perpetuate the guilt and shame that victims face- so incredibly ignorant and small minded of B101. Shame on them!
Lora, thank you for doing this.
The reason so many incidents aren't reported is because of people that have problems hearing the words "rape" or "sexual." The vicitim is often too embarrassed to report the crime. It took everything I had to tell my mother that I had been touched-and that didn't come out til I saw my little brother being touched by that same person. Had I been raised to tell my parents when something inappropriate happened, or even what was classified as inappropriate, I may not have gone through 4 years of abuse. That is 4 years of bad memories, 4 years where I was confused and hurt, and 4 years where my innocence was stolen from me. And by a juvenile. Education is key to prevention and if radio stations, or closed minded people don't understand that, then I would be happy to go over detail by horrible detail what I went through and the horror of watching it happen to someone I loved and was supposed to protect. Or they can talk to my mother, who struggled with it almost as much as I did. This is an aread that needs to be addressed, not shoved aside because it is "uncomfortable" to hear. Think of how uncomfortable it was for me.
Talk about your BS!!!! So I can expect that House, CSI, Family Guy, the Simpson’s, Family Feud, and a host of other shows will be taken off the air...oh better yet, I betta never see/hear a commercial for Viagra or Yaz!!! Really come on!! We can "talk sex", "show sex", "hear sex" all day and night long as long as it about entertainment, but the minute it becomes about REAL LIFE it becomes censor-able information. This of course is because once we "allow" or openly discuss a subject such as child victimization then SOMEONE MUST be held accountable. That "someone" is what scares folks. Who will the finger eventually point to for not protecting these children? Who will be called to answer the question about why this happened or why did it CONTINUE to happen. I get more and more convinced that people rather avoid issues than to confront them in hopes of trying to correct them.. What a "wonderful" message we are sending to our children...hide from your fears, don't talk about your troubles, ignore all the signs....REALLY...GREAT JOB GROWN UPS!!
Thanks B101 for botching yet another chance to reach someone who has had a sexual crime committed to them.
The wonderful thing about the radio is that it can be such a personal medium AND when people find a station they like, they usually stick to it. So think of the person who has been raped or suspects someone they love has been abused or raped, sitting in their car or taking a shower or doing work around their house, and they hear this PSA. First time, "eh". Second time, "hmm". Third time, "gee." Fourth time, tears. Fifth time, reaching for the phone. B101, you've removed that opportunity.
While I haven't heard the spot, I'm sure the PCAR made it very tasteful. And yes, it's probably still going to offend a few, but they are probably the ones that get offended by everylittlething and will continue to listen anyway. Harm a few for the greater good, B101.
"Explicit" is right. But something like this NEEDS to be discussed in an explicit way. No one benefits by dancing around the issue and using wishy washy language.
It makes absolutely no sense to deprive people of something that would HELP them in a crisis. The station's rationale is immature, at best. For shame.
L, I work with a group called MOSAVE (www.mosave.org) which is the Missouri Sexual Assault Violence Education group ~ we do a presenation for the 15-25 year old crowd about sexual predators and one of the segments we start playing Jamie Foxx's song, Blame It On The Alcohol. This song advocates date rape via the #1 date rape drug on the market: alcohol. See if this station plays this song and if they do, they are hippocrits (sp?) of the nth degree. Even if they don't play it....get it together folks! It's a PSA...it's there to help the community! Play the PSA...show some courage and respect to those who endure violence in the home and sexual violence. if we're afraid to say the word Rape, what does that say about our ability to teach and protect our children from it.
I have a variety of F-words and MF-words I would like to spout, but instead I shall meditate for a second and just say....nameste!
The importance of the message is often reflected in the strength of the words used: you wouldn't warn a small child to leave the fire alone because it's "warm". I would much rather have the opportunity to discuss sex and rape and sexual abuse with my child in the (relatively) controlled and unemotional environment of my car/home than have to figure out a way to explain it in the emotional aftermath of him or one of his friends becoming a victim.
I strongly believe that kids will ask questions when they are ready to learn the answers. If my child picks up on the word "sex" or "rape" or "murder" in his environment and asks me about it, he is ready for my explanation. That is not to suggest that I wait for his lead on all subjects nor do I go into detail that is beyond his scope of understanding during our discussions. It is my responsibility to initiate conversation, then follow his questions to help him fill in the gaps. But what if I didn't know what conversations to initiate?
I work on a volunteer basis with fourth graders who casually toss around words like "fuck" and "booty call" and "whore" at recess. These are the same kids who were devastated earlier this year when another student was found raped, beaten, and had to be rushed to the hospital after an "incident" with her (high-school) "boyfriend". Apparently "everyone knew they were doing it" and that "he liked it rough". Really? A ten-year old is old enough to know a phrase like "liked it rough", but we must shelter their innocent ears from (so-called) explicit words like "rape" and "sexual abuse"?
Perhaps it's time that responsibility to victims and potential victims outweighed responsibility to those who would like to pretend that the evil in this world will go away if we will all just bury our heads deep enough in the sand.
I think it's absolutely ridiculous to get upset about mere words in the case of a message that is this important. Especially, when the same words (or pictures containing the same) are used to sell about everything - from cars to makeup to TV sets to... You are literally beaten over the head with... uhm, "grown up" messages, and in this one special case where it is important to get the message through clear, the words alone should upset people? I don't think that's true...
Ugh, popular radios stations are purveyors of bad taste and questionable humor, so the stand they are taking here is speaks more to their concern about losing ad revenue than anything else.
It's words not images. And important words. There are some subjects were cute and coy aren't appropriate and facts need to be called what they are.
Do you work with ATA at all? They are just like JJPI. I have some concerns about their childrens programming.
let me know
Sorry it took me so long to comment. Please know I support you, and support the airing of a message that has its very roots in reducing the number of victims of rape and sexual abuse. It kills me that children suffer, anywhere.
How awful - this isn't something that can be swept under the carpet because it's not nice. We should be protecting our children by whatever means possible. Shame on them.
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