The 'turban man' smear is all too familiar in the Age of Trump

Charles Stile | NorthJersey

Show Caption Hide Caption Radio hosts call N.J. AG 'turban man" Conservative radio hosts Dennis Malloy and Judi Franco have been suspended for calling New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal "turban man."

In the Age of Donald Trump, boorish, xenophobic and bigoted speech is making a comeback.

And that includes here in New Jersey, a diverse and allegedly tolerant state.

It is now a state where a Republican nominee for Congress, Seth Grossman of Atlantic County, openly trashes diversity as a "bunch of crap" and posted an article on his Facebook page that said blacks represent “a threat to all who cross their paths.”

In Palisades Park, a candidate for mayor has openly made anti-Korean sentiment the signature theme of his campaign.

And it's a state where one of Trump's top loyalists, state Sen. Mike Doherty, R-Warren, openly expresses his opposition to increased immigration from “non-European” nations that are not part of a "Judeo-Christian culture."

Into this moment step Dennis Malloy and Judi Franco, longtime radio show hosts on 101.5 FM in Ewing Township, who have been mixing saucy satire with frivolous banter about news and pop culture for the better part of 20 years during the afternoon.

On their Wednesday show, the duo mocked New Jersey's Sikh Attorney General Gurbir Grewal as "turban man." Malloy took offense to Grewal's order to suspend municipal prosecutions of marijuana charges until September — and presumably until a law legalizing recreational marijuana is enacted.

Malloy and Franco pondered the possibility that "turban man" might be an offensive term.

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It was a rare pro-con debate that erupted from the internal musings of the mind into the public sphere. And Malloy went full throttle, even suggesting that it was the fault of Grewal, the nation's first Sikh attorney general.

"Listen, and if that offends you, then don't wear the turban and maybe I'll remember your name," Malloy said.

The remarks ignited a wave of outrage and condemnation from public officials ranging from Gov. Phil Murphy to U.S. Sen. Cory Booker.

Outraged by the abhorrent and xenophobic comments mocking @NewJerseyOAG on The @DennisandJudi Show on @nj1015.



Hate speech has no place in NJ, and does not belong on our airwaves.



Station management must hold the hosts accountable for these intolerant and racist comments. — Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) July 26, 2018

Grewal, who was first elevated to the upper ranks of state law enforcement when former Gov. Chris Christie named him Bergen County prosecutor, said he told his three daughters to turn off the radio.

The station quickly suspended the duo and announced Thursday that the suspension will remain in effect until Aug. 6. The duo posted on the 101.5 website an apology to Grewal and the Sikh community for their "insensitive remarks."

"For 21 years, the Dennis and Judi show has been unscripted and free form. We use humor and sarcasm to make a point and add color to the broadcast; in this instance, we were off the mark,'' they wrote. "It was a mistake we both deeply regret. We respect all cultures and beliefs and are deeply sorry for the pain caused to the Sikh community, our co-workers and our beloved listeners.”

Hours earlier, loyal listeners rushed to their defense, depicting the hosts as casualties of political correctness.

"This doesn't call for outrage,'' said one caller. "It's a joke. Officials should get a thick skin when they come into public office."

It comes with the territory, said another. Still more threatened to stop listening to the station if Malloy and Franco were taken off the air for good.

But Malloy wasn't just making a joke of the equal-opportunity offender variety.

He was singling out Grewal as an "other" as if his turban — a symbol of honor, respect and piety in Sikh culture — disqualified him from being taken seriously. He was not judging Grewal on the content of his character or the merit of his legal rationale, but on the content of his cultural headdress.

.@nj1015: My name, for the record, is Gurbir Grewal. I’m the 61st Attorney General of NJ. I’m a Sikh American. I have 3 daughters. And yesterday, I told them to turn off the radio. — Gurbir S. Grewal (@GurbirGrewalNJ) July 26, 2018

Those crude comments didn't occur in a vacuum.

This is a time when the leader of the free world has smeared Mexicans as rapists, mocks primarily black refugees as being from "shithole countries,'' and is determined to close the nation's borders to Muslim immigrants and refugees.

So far, Trump has yet to face any political consequence for his divisive and inflammatory rhetoric. If anything, his conservative base has rallied behind him.

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Finally, they have a leader, who in their eyes, is speaking uncomfortable truths and standing up for an America eroded by the politically correct ethos of liberals. So, then, why should radio hosts playing to a mostly conservative audience in the south and central Jersey heartland be any different?

We've seen xenophobic and racist remarks bubble up on the Jersey landscape in the past — who could forget New York radio shock jock Don Imus' racist slurring of the Rutgers women's basketball team in 2007. He lost his job.

His defenders also argued that he was making a crude joke and it should be taken in the context of comedy.

Imus' slur still stood out as an outlier. In the Age of Trump, it has become all too familiar.