The Silencing of a Lamb

It is said that nature abhors a vacuum. In few places is this more apparent than morning radio. There’s rarely silence on a morning radio show and when there is, it’s usually the result of a mistake.

Not that long ago, I used to equate the radio with music (much like I used to equate MTV and VH1 with music videos). But as I’ve grown older, my listening tastes have broadened. When I turn on the radio now, it’s generally because I want to hear conversation or discussion about topics of the day or political issues. I am fascinated with hearing others articulate their thoughts and positions, even when they run counter to my own.

Nevertheless, I’ve learned to like (and even look forward to) morning radio. Since I spend a lot of commute time in my car these days, I depend on radio for news, entertainment and diversion. Sometimes all three at once.

And it is fairly predictable; there’s a lot of talking. That used to annoy me in my teens and twenties, but no longer. You see, I’ve discovered the drama of radio. Every now and then, things get just a little unpredictable. Every now and then, a morning show will unexpectedly peel away its shiny, happy veneer of harmonious conversation and good-natured ribbing to reveal differences in personality and perspective. The moments- as rare as they might be- allow me to hear who the person(s) behind the microphone really is, what they’re made of, and even who they think I am.

One morning a couple of weeks ago, a strange thing happened. I was listening to the radio and the show host and his morning minions were recounting the events of the weekend: the latest in the Chris Brown-Rihanna saga, the upcoming awards show, Madonna’s latest reinvention/conversion to…whatever. Typical banter.

And then things took a turn. It might have started with the announcement that Bin Laden had- like Tupac from the grave- released a new album. Or perhaps something else I can no longer remember. What I do recall, however, was one of the minions randomly asking the group if they’d heard about the guy in Buffalo, the one who founded a Muslim TV station and-

“Don’t go there,” the host said abruptly.

If I’d been a dog, my ears would have perked up. I watch Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski each weekday on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. Consequently, I can smell morning show conflict coming a mile away.

“What? I was just-“

“I said don’t go there,” the host repeated, this time a little more sternly.

“But this guy cut-“

“No. We’re not going to talk about that. What we are going to do is take a quick commercial break and come right back.” There was a short pause- a silence if you will- and then an ad for a local community college started up, followed by a second spot, then a third.

What was that all about? I kept asking myself in the seconds that followed. I was both excited and stunned.

The morning show minion was referring to something that I, too, had seen on the news while getting dressed that morning. Muzzammil Hassan, the founder of a Muslim TV station in Buffalo, a station specifically launched to counter negative stereotypes about Muslims and the Muslim lifestyle had been arrested for killing his wife. Manner? Decapitation. With a sword. I think I can omit the ‘alleged’ stipulation here because Mr. Hassan personally visited a Buffalo police station to report his wife’s death.

It’s no wonder the morning show minion wanted to bring the story up; the possibilities for conversation were almost limitless and the irony of the scenario alone could easily fill a few segments.

Unfortunately, there was no further mention of the topic that day and to my knowledge, it hasn’t come up since. Perhaps the host thought the mere mention of the beheading- even as a news item- would plunge the show down the bleak road of generalizations and negative stereotypes about Muslim culture and beliefs. After all, how much intellectual discourse can you expect from those who listen to a radio station that plays Britney Spears, Beyonce, T.I., Lady Gaga and a handful of others ad infinitum (outside of the morning show, that is)? Or maybe the host was mentally picturing riots not unlike those that swept through Europe and the Middle East after the publication of a series of Danish cartoons lampooning the prophet Muhammad a few years back. Radio, much like the local newspaper, is a dying medium and such a scandal might just push the local station over the edge into the abyss.

I may never learn the real reason for what happened, but I do think an opportunity was lost in the station’s brief silence. And, in the long run, that might have been a mistake.

On the other hand, the morning show minion could have just been a moron.