Clapping Back (Or, "A Word or Two About Howard Stern")

It looks like Mr. "King of All Media" himself, that paragon (see definitions) of paragons known as Howard Stern, is running his mouth again. 

This past Monday, the broadcasting personality bragged about being "woke", saying, 

"I am woke, motherf-----, and I love it. I want to be awake. I’m not for stupidity, you know. I went over (to CVS Pharmacy) at nine AM and got myself that new vaccine for Covid. Fu----- science. This fu---- country is so great" (1).   

I find this to be an interesting comment, seeing as it's coming from a man who's been pushing filth toward the "lowest common denominator" for years. Let's take a brief look at his life and career. 

Howard Stern was born to a family of Jewish immigrants on January 12, 1954. Becoming interested in radio and radio shows from a very young age, he developed his own entertainment at the age of nine, using marionettes to perform "explicit" shows for friends (2). 

After high school, Stern enrolled at Boston University.  While there, he hosted comedy shows on the college's radio station, one of which was suspended for a time due to the airing of a racially-charged skit. 

Upon graduation from BU in 1976, Stern promptly hit the professional media market, landing a job at Hartford's WCCC. About a year later, he left for "greener" pastures, quitting the station after being denied a raise. 

Stern's next stops were in Detroit and Washington, after which he would land on New York's WNBC-AM working afternoons. Within a month of starting in "the Big Apple", Stern would again find himself suspended, this time for airing an off-color skit about the Virgin Mary.

In September of 1985, station management decided they had heard enough, and fired Stern for what they called "conceptual differences" regarding the content of his show (3).

Stern would not be unemployed for long, as in October of that same year, then-rival New York station WXRK picked him up for mornings. 

As at WNBC, his show was filled with indecent material, including the promotion of pornography and prostitution. The broadcast ended in 2005, as Stern moved the show to satellite radio.  

Here are a few choice quotes from "the man who would be king":

(sound effects of gunfire) 

"This music does absolutely nothing for me. Spanish people have the worst taste in music. They have no depth"  - April 3, 1995; three days after the shooting death of Hispanic musician Selena

"Did (the shooters) try to have sex with any of the good looking girls?" - April 20, 1999; a day after the Columbine High School Massacre (4)

"When are we going to stop putting up with the idiots in this country and just say it’s mandatory to get vaccinated? F— them. F— their freedom" - September 6, 2021 (5)

Add to this incidents such as what occurred in October of 2001, when Stern showed up at the 9/11 memorial "The Concert For New York City" dressed in a...shall we say, quite exposing...hazmat outfit. 

Very funny, Howard.  You're a regular riot; "eat any good books lately" ? (6) 

Anywho, on a personal note to Mr. Stern, I say this. 

I've never liked you, except for the brief time when you actually tried to be a decent person (9/11). In that case, perhaps I'm a bit biased. Nevertheless, I find you to be a purveyor (see definitions) of obscenity, profanity, and overall smut that frankly has no place on the airwaves. 

You can go ahead and celebrate "wokeness" all you want; I don't have too much of a problem with that. 

Just keep in mind that your crowd consists mostly of assholes.  Apparently, that includes you. 

Definitions - 

Paragon: Noun, "a model of excellence or perfection" (7).

Purveyor: Noun, "one who supplies something, usually as a matter of business" (8).

Sources:

1. Panreck, Hanna. “Howard Stern Hits Back at Critics Calling Him ‘woke,’ Says He Takes It as a Compliment.” Fox News, 20 Sept. 2023, www.foxnews.com/media/howard-stern-hits-back-critics-calling-him-woke-i-think-thats-compliment. Accessed 21 Sept. 2023.

2. "Howard Stern." Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Stern. Accessed 21 Sept. 2023.

3. “WNBC New York the Day Howard Was Fired 9 30 85.” YouTube, uploaded by RadioRewinder, 13 Jan. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PckGw-mvEU. Accessed 21 Sept. 2023.

4. “The Howard Stern Show.” Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Howard_Stern_Show. Accessed 21 Sept. 2023.

5. Kurtz, Judy. “Howard Stern Rips Vaccine Opponents: ‘F— Their Freedom, I Want My Freedom to Live.’” The Hill, 8 Sept. 2021, thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/571322-howard-stern-rips-vaccine-opponents-f-k-their-freedom-i-want-my. Accessed 21 Sept. 2023.

6. “Eat Any Good Books Lately?” YouTube, uploaded by Steve Clark, 27 Sept. 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDeC5ifgTM4&t=12s&ab_channel=SteveClark. 

Accessed 21 Sept. 2023.

7. “Paragon.” Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paragon. Accessed 21 Sept. 2023.

8. "Purveys." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/purveys. Accessed 21 Sept. 2023.