Howard Stern, King or Scoundrel?

Picture by: Casspixx

There is no doubt that Howard Stern is a provocative ,and often divisive figure in popular culture. Howard has millions of fans, many who have listened to his show for decades. But, with every fan you count, you can find an opponent who thinks Stern is just an attention starved pervert .It's no secret that, the great shock jock has stirred up much controversy during the decades he has been in radio.

There are two clear, distinct and prevalent schools of thought on Howard, and the radio show he has created. The first school of thought, which seems to be the most pervasive, is that Howard is an exploiter of vulnerable people: young, confused women are brought into the show to prance around topless, people desperate for money and attention are asked to participate in disgusting and demeaning games to win prizes. There are examples galore that may in fact, demonstrate that Howard is taking advantage of the less fortunate, and using them as entertainment on the show, and doing so ,all the while, pushing aside any moral implications.

The second school of thought argues that Howard is not exploiting people ,but in fact, just bringing forward, and to our attention, people that we ,the general population, are often just too uncomfortable seeing in their own living rooms. They may elicit some uncomfortable and confusing emotions within ourselves. We wouldn't want that! Furthermore, the second school of thought purports that Stern is, in fact ,a champion of free speech, and a courageous entertainer who compels us to listen to, and to pay attention to people who we may otherwise ignore.

So which opinion is the truest? Where does the truth really lie?And, most importantly, what questions can we ask to begin to get a sense of what really may be going on on the show? Simply, where can we look to find some clues? I would say that there is a definite place to look. When attempting to ask the question of exploitation on the Stern show, we should look at the group that seems to elicit the greatest feelings of exploitation every time they're on the show. They are the quintessential under dogs. They are often the butt of a joke when they are on the show. These folks are scoundrels, and misfits. They are delusional. They are smelly, and are just about as different from "us" as you can get. And Howard loves them. They are called the Wack Pack.

The Wack Pack as it it affectionately called, is filled with "characters" who have a vast array of physical and mental dysfunctions. They are dwarfs, the mentally retarded, drug addicts, alcoholics,and transgendered people.They also include people like "Debbie the Pet Lady" who has obvious emotional problems, screaming at the top of her lungs about every seemingly innocuous detail in her life. Howard loves her. The fact that Debbie cannot control her behavior, makes her an excellent guest. Another example is "John the Stutterer" who has such difficulty getting words out, that most people just laugh while they wait. Howard,actually seems to get frustrated with John's inability to "spit it out," but, the very fact that it is so frustrating to listen to John, is what makes it great,at least in Howard's world.

Ahhh, the beloved Wack Packers of the Howard Stern show. Fans know them all, and just like Howard, either love them or just love to hate them. The love/hate relationship that the audience has with the Wack Packers makes for great radio. People love to call in to explain their often visceral reactions to these people. And, this makes The Wack Packers, radio gold! When they are there, so are the listeners. Now, is this exploitation on Howard Stern's part? Maybe. Maybe not. Let's look at a couple of points that may, in fact, point out that the Wack Packers may receive something good in return for their appearances on the show.

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Firstly, and in a very real sense, the Howard Stern show has become a catalyst for the individual Wack Packers to talk about themselves and their lives.Remember,these are folks who would probably otherwise go unnoticed, and because of that, they are often very lonely. While on the show, they have a place to speak about their opinions, and participate in conversations and debates with people, that they may not have otherwise been able to socialize with. That seems to be a great thing for them.Wouldn't you agree? Secondly, most of the time,whenever Wack Packer appears on the show, they really do look like they are having an amazing time ! And, you have to admit, that's pretty cool. Now please don't get me wrong, I realize that these sensational characters are put on the show to be provocative, stupid and silly , but the fact remains that, they are there and they are noticed.

But there is a second point that needs to be explored, I believe, in order to fully answer the question of exploitation. That is... Do the Wack Packers come on the show completely of their own free will? Do they freely choose to return when the opportunity presents itself? Or, are people like Beetlejuice, and Gary The Retard somehow being coaxed into unknowingly being the punch line of a joke? Many people definitely think so, I'm sure. That is , of course, another real and obvious point of contention for opponents of the show! I suppose I can't really blame them. It's a question that has no clear answers because each individual is different in so many ways. Who is to say?

So, will there ever be an answer for all? Whose right? Whose wrong? I don't know. In Howard's defense he is definitely allowing people, that may otherwise be silent, to be heard, and on national t.v! Also, believe it or not, Howard definitely seems to be interested and compassionate towards his loyal guests. He is more interested in his Wack Packers than he is on any pop culture flavor of the month, that's for sure. He would much rather interview Crackhead Bob, the drug addict who caused himself permanent brain damage due to smoking crack than interviewing a socialite. He loves to hear from Eric The Midget, the wheelchair ridden, obnoxious little person, who has delusions of grandeur and is obsessed with American Idol. I'm sure he would be less excited to hear from any teenage pop idol. Howard couldn't care less about that. I can say that for sure.

So, I realize that Howard pokes fun at the Wack Packers. But,truly, he makes fun of a lot of his guests, and even his staff for that matter. It is true that most of the time the Wack Packers are not "in" on the joke, but again, jokes are often played on staff as well.Everyone is game on the show. No one is immune.No one is safe. So, in the end, I don't think that the Wack Packers are being exploited. I think Howard is just treating them as badly and as awesome as he treats everyone else. There is no special treatment. He goofs on all people alike. Is that exploitation or is that the ultimate way to make all people feel normal? I guess, if we are a listener of the show, that's a question we must all ultimately answer for ourselves.