Letter to the Editor: Alex Jones and Infowars deserve censorship?
My dad was named after Ronald Reagan. I remember being 7 years old and being sat down in front of a television back when Rush Limbaugh used to have a show because I guess they thought 7 was a good age to start learning political rhetoric. Once I hit 16 I started working in the construction trades for over 20 years and even though I never considered myself a Republican or Democrat I still to this day listen to right-wing radio during the day and a variety of reporting during the evening.
Over the years, Fox news has become what it is, kneejerk and antagonizing, and the corporate media such as CNN have gotten more addicted to sensationalism and laziness. But still I listen to both filtered sides and compare them to actual facts and context.
Driving around St. George, I continue listening to right-wing radio, and then I stumbled upon the midday programming for KZNU 1450 AM and was very surprised to hear Alex Jones. Again, I’ve listened to Rush, Hannity, Beck for decades, I get what they are and why it’s easy for people just to nod their heads instead of research. But Alex Jones is a madman and a joke.
That’s why I was surprised that a radio station here carried this conspiracy peddler. Who harasses families of mass shootings, telling them their child actually didn’t die. His speeches on how the government turns frogs gay. That trans citizens are Satanists. Threat upon threat of violence, murder, terrorism. To the point a court took his children away and he’s currently being sued by the families of victims he’s harassed to the point of suicide. All the while making millions of dollars selling fake diet supplements to his nodding heads.
You’re never going to convince a fan of Jones or Infowars that it’s trash. But I do hope St. George is better than this. He’s been banned from YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc. for hate speech and harassment, but lo and behold, in family-friendly southern Utah, he has an audience.
If you don’t want the citizens of this region to become dumber, meaner, and more lost to fake news, maybe you’ll consider calling the radio station, maybe you’ll consider contacting their sponsors. Republicans have thoughtful and intelligent representatives of their ideas, Jones isn’t one of them, and he has no place here.
—Michael Johnstone
The viewpoints expressed above are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Independent.
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Your father was named after Ronald Reagan? Certainly not President Reagan or Governor Reagan. Your grandparents named your father after a B or C level actor?
When was your dad born? This just doesn’t seem correct