PMSimon.com

Let's see... "what kind of creep are you to be married to..."

Oh, my.

"You are completely clueless... There is no doubt that your level of maturity is equal to that of Opie and Anthony. You're probably the Beavis and Butthead of your office, snickering when you say damn or Hell, like you're getting away with something. Grow up, junior.... I've evidently been wasting my time trying to communicate with either a moron, a simpleton, an immature and clueless clodhead or just someone who has their head so far up radio's butt that they've lost all possibilities of reasoning and comprehension...."

So what you're saying is that you respectfully disagree?

This stuff doesn't bother me, because I've been called far worse, but when I received this individual's diatribe- one of several increasingly abusive missives- it reminded me of discussions I've had about what people perceive as the disappearance of civility in society, and talk radio's role in the coarsening of America. Are we in radio responsible in part for people's inability to disagree with each other without screaming invective?

First, let's be honest- not only has talk radio always involved some measure of confrontation, it's been worse in the past. Remember Joe Pyne ("go gargle with razor blades!")? Bob Grant ("Get off my phone, you creep!")? When was the last time you heard a major talk host scream at callers? Hang up on them, maybe, but screaming? Not lately.

And I don't think talk radio is the sole, or even largest, contributor to today's tendency for people to, um, yell a lot and hit below the belt. You get more of that on the Net, where it's anonymous (like calling in on a talk radio show) and mostly unmoderated (unlike talk radio). I think the political parties encourage it, too, and the mainstream news media's "gotcha" habit feeds the baser instincts of the True Believers. It's coarser out there, for sure.

But while I don't think talk radio is the reason for that condition, commercial talk radio has never been a place for sober, even-handed discourse on current events. That's because it's an entertainment medium more than anything else, and sober, even-handed discourse just ain't all that entertaining. If you find yourself saying something in the manner of "some people think this, others think that... what do YOU think?," you're doing it wrong. You SHOULD come out with your own opinion and let callers challenge you. In fact, you should HOPE they come after you with flames coming out of their mouths. Disagreement- conflict- makes better radio. There's nothing less interesting than a host without an opinion.

So have an opinion. Forcefully and entertainingly let listeners know what you think. And while it's a nice ego massage when everyone agrees, remember that when you get someone who thinks you're... what were those words? Oh, yeah, "a moron, a simpleton, an immature and clueless clodhead"... well, that's entertainment.

But leave it on the air. In real life, argue like that and you're arguing like a second grader. Name-calling and ad hominem attacks never work.

Unless you're a candidate for elective office, in which case it's the only way to go.

All right, now, before we go to the plugs, I do want to thank you once again for your support of the Revlon Run/Walk for Women. Fran and I did the walk on Saturday, and it was pretty spectacular. (You can see pictures, including cameo appearances by Jessica Alba, Eva Mendes, Michael Chiklis, Sheryl Crow, Fran Drescher, and Felix the Cat, at http://www.pmsimon.com/archives/week_2007_05_06.html#001791) And there's still time to make a tax-deductible donation, too- just go to https://www.revlonrunwalk.com/la/secure/MyWebPage.cfm?pID=365992 to donate by credit card or send a check payable to "Revlon Run/Walk for Women" to Perry Michael Simon, P.O. Box 3904, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90274. And once again, thank you for your generosity.

Okay, now, the plug: For all your show prep needs, go to All Access News-Talk-Sports' Talk Topics column, where you'll find much material for your talking and arguing and screaming pleasure, such as the relative wealth of the presidential contenders (hint: they're considerably richer than you), the luxurious way to rob a bank, why rabid bats don't make the best school pets, why people are upset over a (Spider-Man's girlfriend) Mary Jane doll, how not to teach a toddler to bite, a creative use of Vegemite, new hope for baldness (just as baldness reaches new heights of fashionability), evidence that changing all those stores' names to "Macy's" may not have been such a good idea after all, the World's Oldest League Bowler, more R. Kelly delusions, a refreshing drink of hand sanitizer, the return of the naked people to Brattleboro, Vermont, a French Fry Taste Test, TWO stories involving sponges left inside surgery patients, a $107 steak, a blind guy who wants a gun permit, David Faustino in crisis, and a woman achieving worldwide fame and success by burping on YouTube. Don't forget to check out "10 Questions With..." WLS/Chicago afternoon superstar Roe Conn and then head on over to the rest of All Access where you'll find the latest industry news- first, fastest, most accurate- at Net News, message boards, the amazing searchable Industry Directory, Mediabase charts, and much more, all free and updated pretty much all the time, so come back several times every day and you'll always find something new.