Is This Really What The Majority of Members Want?

A blog post by local activist Don Macleay

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I know it has been said here before, but I want to repeat the point.

We have spent this week in Oakland seeing helicopters over head with protests every day to demand that black lives matter.

As these things went on, tuning into KPFA was to listen to a radio station that could not be bothered to interrupt their regular programing to cover the protests in our community, one of which literally went past their doors.

Most of the time we had one talking head selling some guys book, an investigative reporter talking to his friends and some guys dishing out music that people stopped listening to a long time ago.

Today the Emergency Alert System has turned on twice to talk about the rain storm that has closed the local school because there are flash flood warnings and we are being asked not to drive anywhere for a few hours.

So do you think we could interrupt Amy Goodman in Peru hanging out with the NGO road show being ignored by the national governments of the world to provide local news? NO WAY. But we did get Brian Edwards-Tiekert to cut in to talk about how we in the “soggy” bay area are privileged to get a different take on his fund drive. They are going to interrupt only a few moments at a time instead of a 20 minute rant. He is calling Democracy Now the critical breaking news and leading edge that we will get right back to as we help him make his $800 matching fund.

So this is two ways in one week that our community radio station has shown that the community is not their priority. Not only will my wife not contribute to it, she won’t even listen to it any more.

So we have book interviews and political tourism instead of putting our local protests and well being first?

Is this really what the majority of members want?