NJ teachers threats get same deference as Islamic terror threats

• A radio music dj who enjoys doing charity events for kids was forced to cancel an unpaid children's music awards event due to a NJ teachers mob threat. Teachers didn't object to the dj per se, but thought his employers sympathized with "republicans" so threatened to protest the event. The radio station caved in and removed the dj from the appearance just to save trouble.
  

A case of self-censorship as took place on Comedy Central and CNN covering certain Islamic-related images for fear of violent reaction.

• 5/25: "An awards show in Red Bank for student achievement in the performing arts

Wednesday won't include New Jersey 101.5 radio

• personality Big Joe Henry, the scheduled, unpaid host until teachers threatened

a protest over political views aired on the station."...

• CNN and Comedy Central recently censored themselves regarding Islamic words or images for fear of retaliation. America is creating a world safe for bullies and mobs and no one else. As Mark Steyn described in Comedy Central's recent action:
  

4/24: "Imperceptibly, incrementally,

• remorselessly, the free world is sending the message

that it is happy to trade core liberties for the

• transitory security of a quiet life.

That is a dangerous signal to give freedom's enemies. So the "South Park" episode is an

• important cultural pushback."...

New Jersey radio station is caving in to threats of violence as Comedy Central did, restricting the life of an employee who has made no known political speech, but merely works for a company some NJ teachers perceive as in agreement with "republicans." The republican party does not even exist in New Jersey. Chris Christie ran on the republican line, but many democrats and independent voters supported him. That's why he won.

Management of the radio station: ""We agreed there was an increasing likelihood there would be some sort of protest, and so Joe offered to step aside if that would help defuse the situation," Saisselin said. "Our position is that this event is a completely inappropriate place for a protest. If someone has an issue with a radio station, they should take it up with that radio station.""...

• 5/25: AP: "A New Jersey radio personality stepped aside as host of a student awards event amid a
  
• threatened protest by teachers.

• Teachers said other personalities (NOT JOE HIMSELF) on Big Joe Henry's station New Jersey 101.5 have supported Gov. Chris Christie's efforts to get educators to accept wage freezes and pay a portion of their benefits.

Freehold Regional High School music teacher Regina McAllen said the station has a

• "Republican agenda" that's "a unified vision that demeans public education and educators.""...

Backing down merely helps the mobs, silences innocent, honest people. It happens all the time and it's got to stop. Hint-just say no.

The mere idea that NJ teachers might protest a radio station caused the station to change a business decision. This accomplishes the same thing as similar moves like the recent change of programming made by Comedy Central for fear of Islamic backlash:

(Mark Steyn, 4/24): "So, in the end, Comedy Central has incentivized Islamic violence and nothing much else.

• Nevertheless, we should be grateful to its jelly-spined executives for reminding us that the cardboard heroes of the American media are your go-to guys for standing up to

• entirely fictitious threats.

• But for real ones? Not so much....

...The obvious lesson from the kid gloves with which Comedy Central strokes Islam. ...

• Let's just threaten to decapitate someone (or hold a protest, ed.).

• You get more respect that way....

All he (the Islamic blogger) was doing, he added, was "raising awareness" – ...

• Faced with this explicit threat of violence, what did Comedy Central do?

Why, they folded like a Bedouin tent. They censored "South Park," not only cutting all the references to Mohammed but, in an exquisitely post-modern touch,

• also removing the final speech about the need
  
• to stand up to intimidation.

Stone & Parker get what was at stake in the Danish cartoons crisis, and many other ostensibly footling concessions: Imperceptibly, incrementally,

• remorselessly, the free world is sending the message

that it is happy to trade core liberties for the

• transitory security of a quiet life.

That is a dangerous signal to give freedom's enemies. So the "South Park" episode is an

• important cultural pushback."

Radio station caves at fear of "protest." How different is this from Comedy Central's changing their program content for fear of reprisal.

5/25/10 "An awards show in Red Bank for student achievement in the performing arts Wednesday won't include New Jersey 101.5 radio personality Big Joe Henry, the scheduled, unpaid host until teachers threatened a protest over political views aired on the station.

Henry hasn't spoken out on the air against the New Jersey Education Association. But other station hosts have — enough of a connection to warrant bouncing Henry from the show, according to Regina McAllen, a music teacher in the Freehold Regional High School District.

• "The company that signs Big Joe Henry's paycheck has a very clear agenda, which is evident from their choice of hosts and the topics that they discuss on a daily basis," McAllen said in a letter to theater officials. "To even suggest that NJ 101.5 is a fair and balanced source of media is ludicrous. Its Republican agenda is consistent and unwavering, with a unified vision that demeans public education and educators."

McAllen works at Howell High School. She could not be reached Monday to elaborate on her comments.

The awards, at Count Basie Theatre, honor Monmouth County high school theater company members. Numa C. Saisselin, chief executive officer of the theater, said the change "wasn't due to pressure" from McAllen and other teachers. Rather, Saisselin said, he and Henry were

• concerned it could distract attention from the purpose of the evening.

"Joe and I mutually decided that the show will be done without a host. We agreed there was an increasing likelihood there would be some sort of protest, and so Joe offered to step aside if that would help defuse the situation,"

• Saisselin said. "Our position is that this event is a completely inappropriate place for a protest. If someone has an issue with a radio station, they should take it up with that radio station."

Eric Johnson, program director at the station, WKXW-FM in Trenton, said, "The station doesn't pick an opinion, though we do hire hosts who have opinions.

• Except Big Joe doesn't get into any of that. He plays music, tells jokes, introduces the traffic report, and he does a countless amount of charity work, going to events where he shakes hands and kisses babies. So it seems to be a stretch to connect him with a position on the teachers union."

Henry could not be reached for comment but in a message posted on the station's nj1015.com website, he wrote: "I offered to step down as host to preserve the integrity of the event. It's about the kids (and) not the political forum that some of these teachers want to make it.

"This is one of the most disheartening, maddening events of my professional career. The narrow-minded, bullying tactics of some teachers disgusts me."

• The radio station on the website also has a "Big Joe Support Page," which includes links to two Facebook groups: "Reinstate Big Joe As Host Of The 2010 Basie Awards" and "Big Joe Henry cares more about kids than the NJEA." The pages combined have more than 580 members.

Former Red Bank Councilwoman Grace Cangemi, who wrote about Henry's departure from the show on the political blog More Monmouth Musings, said in an interview on Monday: "The fact is Big Joe has done so much for children in charity work, and it's disappointing children have to miss out on him being at the awards show. All from what I see as a pretty misguided attempt to politicize this show."

• The awards show begins at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Tickets at $15 each are available from the Count Basie Theatre at 732-842-9000. A list of nominees is available at countbasietheatre.org."

"NJ radio personality steps down from student awards after teacher protest" by Bob Jordan, Daily Record

via radio daily news

AP, "NJ radio personality backs out of school event after teacher protests" 5/25/10

• Reference: 5/12/10, Re: CNN, "Embracing Dhimmitude," American Thinker by Thomas Lifson:

"What is at stake is nothing less than our liberty. Americans are giving up free speech when the subject is Islam."

Or the NJ teachers union. ed.