the facts
The song entitled "Kill All the White Man" by the punk band NOFX was broadcast
on CJKR-FM (Power 97, Winnipeg) during its Punk-O-Rama program at approximately 11:15 pm on November 19, 2004.
The first part of the song has a reggae beat, while the latter part
has a more hard-rock/punk style. The lyrics to the song are as follows:
Oh yeah, oh yeah
Kill all the white man
Oh yeah, oh yeah
Kill all the white man
The white man call himself civilized
'Cause he know how to take over
The white man come to pillage
my village
Now he tell me I have to bend
over
Oh yeah, oh yeah
Kill all the white man
Oh, oh, oh, oh yeah, oh yeah
Kill all the white man
No I do not l like the white
man up in me
He rape all my people as he rape
my country
Everything I love and cherish,
he try to take away
We will be rid of him, soon come
the day
Oh yeah, oh yeah
Kill all the white man
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh yeah, oh yeah
Kill all the white man
Kill all the white man
Kill all the white man
Kill all the white man
Kill all the white man
Kill all the white man
Kill all the white man
Kill all the white man
Kill all the white man
Kill all the white man
Kill all the white man
Kill all the white man
Kill all the white man
Kill all the white man
Kill all the white man
Kill all the white man
Kill all the white man
Kill all the white man
On November 20, a listener complained to the Canadian Radio-television
and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), which forwarded the complaint to
the CBSC in due course. The listener
noted the date and time of the broadcast, provided a copy of the lyrics, and
described his concerns as follows (the full text of all correspondence can
be found in the Appendix):
I'm usually a fan and frequent listener of Power 97 but I've heard this
song before and I find it needlessly offensive, racist and sexist. I do not think it is ever appropriate to play
this particular song in a public setting, at any hour of the day, especially
on a public radio station.
I am a Caucasian male or "white man" if you like and I'm offended
by the notion that racism is ok as long as it's directed at Caucasian males.
I'm fully aware that the members of the band NOFX are all "white
men" and the song is still not funny in the least to me. (The word Vaudevillian
springs to mind.).
I should not have to endure this kind of behaviour just as no one in this
country should have to endure it.
Power 97's Program Director replied to the complainant on December 2 and
explained the station's decision to air the song in question:
As
you know, Punk-O-Rama, like many
other music radio shows, can sometimes be controversial in nature. It attracts listeners, in particular adults
in the 18-34 age category, from a wide variety of listener backgrounds including
young professionals, blue and white collar workers and university and college
students, looking for something different musically. Punk-O-Rama
draws from the mainstream and underground scene, and wouldn't garner acceptance
from fans of that style of music in Winnipeg if it didn't.
More
specifically, you suggested that "Kill All The White Man" from NOFX was discriminatory.
That song was played on the show because it is one of NOFX's more popular
songs. The show in question was dedicated to the release
of NOFX's greatest hits release, and this song can be found on that album. It was the understanding of the host of the
show that the song was satirical in nature.
We
regret that the song in question offended you or that you felt that it was
discriminatory. Please be assured that
at Power 97, it has never been our policy to discriminate against any group
or segment. Moreover, the CBSC has
acknowledged that a program "will not be everyone's 'cup of tea' and it assumes
that some members of society would be offended [.] That is not, however, the criterion by which the program must
be judged." In previous decisions,
the CBSC has clarified that "it is not any
reference to 'race, national or ethnic origin, religion, age, sex, marital
status or physical or mental handicap'" but rather those which contain "abusive
or discriminatory material or comment" based on the foregoing which will
be sanctioned." The CBSC has noted,
"to exceed that norm, there will need to be evidence of harsh language or
imagery, nastiness (even if thoughtless or inadvertent), utter insensitivity
or the like."
Notwithstanding
the foregoing, we deeply regret that the Program offended you, for that was
certainly not the intent. We have reviewed
your concerns internally and, since receiving your letter, we have had discussions
with the Program hosts about appropriate on-air content and will continue
to exercise diligence on such matters. Please
be assured that we take our responsibilities as a broadcaster seriously.
Our producers and hosts are sensitive to the substance of the various
topics presented on Power 97 and we work to ensure all our programming complies
with the Broadcasting Act, the Radio Regulations and the Code
and standards required of us as a member of the CBSC.
The complainant submitted his Ruling Request on December 6 with the following
note:
I was not offended by the program
Punk-O-Rama (It is in fact "my
cup of tea"). I was offended by
the song entitled "Kill All the White Man" which I found racist
(not merely discriminatory). I would
be completely happy with a promise not to play that particular song any more.
That is all I really want. Not fines, not penalties, not firing anyone.
Just don't play that one song. It's an obscure song from a non-mainstream band
and it wouldn't hurt the station in the least if it were not aired anymore.
Thank you.
the decision
The Prairie Regional Panel examined the complaint under the following provisions
of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters' (CAB) Code of Ethics:
CAB Code of Ethics, Clause 2 - Human Rights
Recognizing
that every person has the right to full and equal recognition and to enjoy
certain fundamental rights and freedoms, broadcasters shall ensure that their
programming contains no abusive or unduly discriminatory material or comment
which is based on matters of race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion,
age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status or physical or mental disability.
CAB Code
of Ethics, Clause 9 - Radio
Broadcasting
Recognizing that radio is a
local medium and, consequently, reflective of local community standards, programming
broadcast on a local radio station shall take into consideration the generally
recognized access to programming content available in the market, the demographic
composition of the station's audience, and the station's format. Within this context, particular care shall be
taken by radio broadcasters to ensure that programming on their stations does
not contain:
(a)
Gratuitous violence in any form, or otherwise sanction,
promote or glamorize violence.
The Prairie Panel concludes that CJKR-FM did not violate Clause 2 but did
violate Clause 9 (a) in its broadcast of the song in question.
Abusive or Unduly Discriminatory
Comment vs. Political Commentary
With respect to the Human Rights issue, the Panel does not read the lyrics
of "Kill All the White Man" as unduly discriminatory at all; rather, it understands
them as political commentary, essentially a criticism of the imperialist attitude
of the Caucasian race, alleged by the songwriter and, presumably, the performers.
Expressions such as "he
know how to take over", "come to pillage my village", "he tell me I have to
bend over", "He rape all my people as he rape my country", and "Everything
I love and cherish, he try to take away" are all examples of such commentary. And the CBSC has consistently defended commentary
on political matters as opposed to identifiable groups as falling squarely
within the protected area of speech. Examples
of such decisions follow.
Although, in CHOM-FM
and CILQ-FM re the Howard Stern Show (CBSC Decision 97/98-0001+, October
17-18, 1997), the Quebec and Ontario Regional Panels jointly concluded that
the September 1997 broadcasts of The
Howard Stern Show contravened the CAB
Code of Ethics and CAB Sex-Role
Portrayal Code, they did distinguish between Stern's comments about
identifiable groups and his comments about political issues. They did not conclude, for example, that the
comments relating to the state of radio in Canada, the use of English in Quebec,
the value of French culture, the role of the vanquished French in Vichy France
and Quebec separatism were in violation of any Code provisions. When, in CFRA-AM
and CHRO-TV re The Lowell Green Show (CBSC Decisions 98/99-0157, -0158
and -0177, June 17, 1999), the Ontario Regional Panel dealt with a talk-show
host's comments on a third party issue, namely, controversial sentencing decision
by an Ontario judge which ordered no jail-time to a woman who had killed her
husband while he was sleeping, it concluded:
[T]here is no doubt that Green
is attacking the criminal court in question, if not the justice system as
a whole, for making the controversial decision and, in at least equal measure,
the feminist political activists, to whom he refers as "femi-Nazis", for having
lobbied for it. There can be no doubt
that he is critical of that political position of certain feminists, not on
the grounds that they are women, but on the grounds of the political view
which they hold. The former would not
be fair game. The latter is.
In CJOB
re the "Adler on Line" and "Afternoons with Larry Updike" Talk Shows
(CBSC Decision 99/00-0092, May 5, 2000), the hosts and callers to the show
commented on the role of First Nations Chiefs in a demonstration at the Manitoba
Legislature, as well as on other general issues relating to the First Nations.
In a detailed letter of complaint, the Grand Chief of the Assembly
of Manitoba Chiefs alleged that certain statements made by the hosts and the
callers promoted hatred against aboriginals.
The Prairie Regional Panel drew the distinction between the issue of
political commentary and that relating to the identifiable group itself and
found no Code breach, stating that "those who choose to govern the reserves
are not, on account of their racial or national origin, thereby removed from
the critical optics of the media":
Those who occupy positions of
power on the reserves may legitimately be described, on account of the decisions
which they make, as "boneheads" or "intellectually moribund" by opinion-holders
in the media. As Charles Adler was
quoted as saying in the News and Program Director's letter, "I have never
said the ordinary native is intellectually moribund." Had he taken that position, the attitude
of this Council would likely have been different. In the circumstances of these criticisms, the
Council can only consider them fair political commentary, which is unrelated
to anyone by reason of his membership in any of the identifiable minorities
entitled to protection under Clause 2 of the CAB Code of Ethics.
In a more controversial program (on the subject of the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict), dealt with in CKTB-AM re the John
Michael Show (Middle East Commentary) (CBSC Decision 01/02-0651, June
7, 2002), the Ontario Regional Panel explained the difference between the
range of acceptable and unacceptable points of discussion in the following
language:
There is a fine but essential
line to be drawn between comments which are unduly discriminatory and those
which simply constitute political commentary or the discussion of controversial
public issues. The former are in violation
of the private broadcasters' codified standards. The latter are not. Moreover, it is of the essence of statements
that are political that the point of view expressed need not be popular. While democracy is a numbers game in the election
of lawmakers, it is not that in the marketplace of ideas. The freedom of expression which flows from the
nature of a stable and mature democracy protects the enunciation of minority,
even unpopular, ideas.
In the matter at hand, the issue is similar to
the above-cited precedents. Moreover,
neither the fact that the comments are made by white entertainers about
white imperialists nor their self-critical nature either justifies or exacerbates
the comments. The creators' racially
self-critical comments are fair enough. No breach of any Code provision would occur
on that account. Nor does any Code-related
predicament arise from the speculative prediction that "We will be rid of
him, soon come the day." The Panel
finds no breach of the Human Rights clause in the words of the song.
Promotion of Violence
While the Panel finds no Code breach in the words cited above, it concludes
very differently with respect to the exhortation "Kill all the white man"
for purposes of the radio broadcast of the challenged song.
The Panel's observations are made with respect to the broadcast
of the song and not in any way with respect to its availability for sale elsewhere. The Panel's concerns relate solely to the standards
it is responsible to apply pursuant to the various Codes it administers on
behalf of private broadcasters. In
this connection, it relies in particular on the language contained in Clause
9(a) of the CAB Code of Ethics, which provides that "particular care
shall be taken by radio broadcasters to ensure that programming on their stations
does not [.] sanction, promote or glamorize violence." The "solution" to the ills described above is
"Kill all the white man." Moreover,
if the sentence is not in and of itself sufficiently unequivocal, the line
is repeated no less than 23 times. It
is, in a sense, a material magnification of the language that was the subject
of the adjudication in CIOX-FM re a song
entitled "Boyz in the Hood" (CBSC Decision 99/00-0619, October 12,
2000). In that case, which dealt with
issues relating to violence against women that are not pertinent here, the
Ontario Regional Panel made an important point regarding the issue of the
song creators' intention, which the Prairie Panel considers applicable by
analogy in the matter at hand.
Whether the intention of the song is serious or satirical,
the Council finds that the lyrics, in their sanctioning, promotion or glamorizing
of violence against women, constitute abusive commentary on the basis of gender
and are insensitive to the dangers of stereotyping generally and to the exploitative
linking of sexual and violent elements in dealing with women.
The Panel concludes that, although the underlying political message of
the song is in keeping with the goals of the principle of freedom of expression,
its proposed solution is in breach of Clause 9(a) of the CAB Code of Ethics.
Broadcaster Responsiveness
In all CBSC decisions, the Council's Panels
assess the broadcaster's responsiveness to the complainant. Although the broadcaster need not agree with
the complainant, it is expected that its representatives charged with replying
to complaints will address the complainant's concerns in a thorough and respectful
manner. In the matter at hand, the
broadcaster's reply was generic but fulsome and it did touch on the issue
of discrimination, which was a principal concern of the complainant. As this decision makes clear, the Prairie Regional
Panel does not find the discriminatory aspect of the song to be problematic
but rather the violent component of the song. In any event, the Panel considers that the broadcaster
has fulfilled its obligation of responsiveness in this instance.
announcement
of the decision
CJKR-FM is required to: 1) announce
the decision, in the following terms, once during peak listening hours within
three days following the release of this decision and once more within seven
days following the release of this decision during the time period in which
the song "Kill All the White Man" by NOFX was broadcast; 2) within the fourteen
days following the broadcast of the announcements, to provide written confirmation
of the airing of the statement to the complainant who filed the Ruling Request;
and 3) at that time, to provide the CBSC with that written confirmation and
with air check copies of the broadcasts of the two announcements which must
be made by CJKR-FM.
The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council has found
that CJKR-FM has breached the Canadian Association of Broadcasters' Code of Ethics in its broadcast of the
song "Kill All the White Man" by NOFX on November 19, 2004. The CBSC found that the repetition of the title
lyric constituted the promotion or sanctioning of violence contrary to Clause
9(a) of the Code.
This decision
is a public document upon its release by the Canadian Broadcast Standards
Council.