Thursday, February 3, 2011

Listen . . . or else!

Shannon Burke is back in the news. Thankfully, nobody was shot.

Many domestic violence advocates are dismayed at the tasteless imagery that he has chosen to use in order to attract listeners (and presumably, more advertisers & money). I am also astonished that a Christian radio station would endorse such imagery, particularly with Burke's history of domestic violence, animal cruelty, and firearm charges.



Why would someone who professed to be a changed man (see earlier blogs on Burke's repentance) want to perpetuate this "bad boy" image? In his interview with WKMG, Burke reports that his has been sober 21 months. I applaud his efforts in that battle.

A domestic violence advocate contacted Carl Como, owner of the radio station, with her complaint. He told her:
  • She must be one of those women who'd had a bad experience with a man.
  • That before Shannon shot his wife and her dog, it had been over two years since he'd beaten a woman and he deserved another chance.
I encourage you to let Carl know what you think of his stance on the subject. Email him here. Or you can call him at 407-774-8810.

As Chief Judge Belvin Perry once said at a sentencing hearing I monitored, "I often hear from defendants who find Jesus when they're in jail. It's too bad that when they get out, they leave Him there."

UPDATE 2/3/11: Shannon Burke billboard comes down

UPDATE 2/11/11: New "billboard" on Burke's facebook page

4 comments:

  1. This is an awesome article, you are right on!!!

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  2. This is an awesome article if the reader doesn't mind the innaccuracies and the silly horse apples...

    WEUS is not and has not been a "Christian" station for about a year now...a fact easily determined not only by there web site but via any number of radio-related web sites. Not only that, where are the citations to the claims made regarding Carl Como? I guess it's your word against his, eh? Some reportage....

    On top of that, how anyone can claim, with a straight face, that this image (smoking microphone, hot talk, hot subjects) condones domestic abuse is beyond me. You obviously cannot see beyond your own hype and petty prejudices, and your vindictive nature is showing. Kinda taints everything else you're trying to accomplish.

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  3. Hank,
    If you re-read the blog, you'll notice that I never implied that the imagery condones domestic violence. I said that "domestic violence advocates are dismayed at the tasteless imagery that he has chosen to use in order to attract listeners" and that I was "astonished that a Christian radio station would endorse such imagery, particularly with Burke's history of domestic violence, animal cruelty, and firearm charges."

    A DV advocate told me of her conversation with Carl. She quoted his comments to me (as I noted in the blog).

    I do concede that WEUS is no longer a Christian station. I was not aware, until now, that their format had officially changed. Thank you for setting the record straight on that point.

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  4. Well said Hank. Seems as though Ms Williams goal isn't in justice or truth but more so in promoting her website.

    When I requested Ms Williams to discuss what she's written on her website and that of her 'client', the supposed "DV victim" she refuses.

    She doesn't seem to want to know the truth nor hear the criminal past of her client (as I call her). She doesn't want to know about her client's past domestic violence incidents and other arrests.

    Since Ms Williams refuses to discuss things with me, I'll add it here. Not all men arrested for DV are guilty. Some women use it as a tool to gain an advantage in court.

    For me, I'm guilty of one thing. saying I want a divorce. Once my ex- realized divorce was imminent the DV game was played. As I understand from her second husband, she did it to him also.

    Why is it Ms Williams doesn't want to hear that kind of information??? I guess it is because she only wants to be aware of things that bring attention to her website.

    ReplyDelete