Guest Columnist

Shock jock mimics sexual assault on Isabel Garcia

by Joyce Li

It’s been a hop, skip, and a second since our last hate-jockey radio scandal, but Jon Justice of Arizona’s 104.1FM (misnomered “the Truth” radio) wanted to change that. Don’t get me wrong; denizens of all the media congloms are struggling to find new relevance in the shifting paradigms of responsible journalism, but last week, the nativist Mr. Justice found a better way to firmly ensconce himself in the Ignorance Hall of Fame. The DJ and his cronies pasted a picture of Arizona public defender and activist Isabel Garcia onto a pinata, and proceeded to mock and fondle the object. The resulting video is nauseating. La Chola over at Brownfemipower says it better than I do:

I want people to see this for what it is–a white man feeling like he can control, humiliate, and imply sexual violence against a brown woman–all while be recorded for public broadcast. It’s about a white man controlling a woman who pissed him off, by mocking her race, by implying sexual control over her through the use of racist imagery and language.

American Humanity offers some level-headed commentary of the whole incident, and points out the ironic inconsistencies in Justice’s attempt at self-defense:

he says he was doing a radio show at the recruiters office “supporting our military” when he received the doll. This recruitment center more than likely takes in many Hispanic youth from Arizona for deployment to Iraq. There are many documented and undocumented Latinos in our military so I suppose his way of supporting them is taking a well known and respected Latina activist and fondling her.

The video was apparently a response to the creation of a pinata in the likeness of Sheriff Joseph Arpaio, who has been traveling about Tuscon promoting his new book (which blames “all of society’s ills on illegals”).

- Joyce Choi Won Li

Posted at 11:50 AM, Jul 28, 2008 in Permalink | View Comments