I walked into the WMPG studio in Portland on Oct. 3, ready to host my Chinese music show, “Ba Yin Box.” I had prepared a collection of Great Wall-themed music of various genres, performed by multiple generations of Chinese artists.

Soon after the show started, the studio phone flashed and I picked it up. It was a male voice: “What kind of garbage are you playing? You’ve been playing this garbage for weeks and I’m sick of it!”

This caught me off guard. It was the first time that I had received such an angry call. Ever since the show was launched in June, listeners had mostly expressed delight, curiosity and encouragement.

“Nobody listens to this garbage!” the caller went on. “We’re all trying to get back to work here Monday morning and you put on this garbage? I support WMPG, but I don’t support you!”

Well, it was quite all right that he didn’t support my show. I understand that listeners have preferences. But overall, WMPG supporters appreciate it being an open and inclusive station.

And what did the caller mean when he stressed “we” and “you”? “We” are the real folks who are trying to work, and “you” are obviously not one of “us.” “You” are putting on this unfathomable alien music to disrupt “our” lives. Was that what he meant to say?

I could only explain to the caller that my show was part of WMPG’s midmorning global music lineup, and that there was a Chinese community in southern Maine.

“They contribute?” he cut in.

Well, if he meant contributing to WMPG, the station does not collect racial or ethnic data on its donors. Besides, a community radio station serves the community, regardless of who donates or how much they donate.

As it happens, there is support from the Chinese community. The Chinese & American Friendship Association of Maine has pledged sponsorship for “Ba Yin Box” to increase exposure to Chinese culture and to expand its outreach in Maine.

I have also invited community members into the studio to share their knowledge and experience of China, such as a Chinese language teacher, a former business executive, a local historian and the owner of a new restaurant. I guess if the caller had listened to my show long enough, he would have known that people who are supporting the program live here in the community; they work, and they contribute.

Finally, I advised the caller to call the station manager or the program director about his complaint, but he declined. “No. I’m not going to talk to them. There is no use talking to them. I’m just telling you to stop playing this garbage!”

So ended the phone call, and I rushed back to my show. Only later did I wonder why the caller refused to talk to the manager. If he supports WMPG like he said, shouldn’t he want to engage actual decision makers to help improve its programming?

Why should he feel powerless in front of station management while lashing out at me? Is it because he identifies me as a weak target, toward whom he can unleash his verbal abuse and feel a sense of superiority? Is that not bullying? Does that not make him a coward?

The phone call has turned out to be both alarming and enlightening. It reminds us what community radio is and what community means. It is not about shutting down voices but about sharing space with different voices. A community can thrive from different points of view, but a community cannot survive when disagreement turns into bullying.

Unfortunately, we have witnessed this type of behavior, first in our state politics and now on the national stage. Politicians can openly insult and intimidate people they dislike and get away with it. Do we want to continue to condone such behavior? Do we want to continue to indulge such leaders?

As one of the growing number of immigrants in Maine, I hope that we will not lose sight of the democratic ideal that America champions in this election season. And I hope that Maine will continue to be more open and inclusive. It should not have anything to do with the color of one’s skin, the accent of one’s speech or the music one plays, but the civil and democratic spirit that we can all share as we build the community that Maine deserves.

 

Copy the Story Link