Radiohead

Oh, here we go again.

Just when it appeared that the controversy surrounding Boston talk radio star Jay Severin would finally die down, along comes Bay Stater James Kirchick, assistant editor at the New Republic, to revive it. Kirchick writes, “…Jay Severin makes Mark Levin look like Diane Rehm. So it was with great displeasure that I heard about his return to the airwaves last week after a month long indefinite suspension.”

After recounting some of Severin’s more incendiary comments and past controversies, Kirchick notes that Severin’s apology was “…the sort of insincere expression of regret that politicians and celebrity abusers of the law and/or basic standards of propriety seem to offer on a weekly basis in response to popular outrage over their misbehavior. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, who has a monthly radio show on WTKK, weighed in on the controversy, saying that while he ‘read and appreciated [Severin’s] apology,’ ‘we have got to figure out a way on this station and in our broader civic life to engage even on difficult issues without demeaning people who differ from us in background or point of view.’ Those are wise words from the Governor. A first step would be to start ignoring Severin and other blowhards, whatever their political leanings.”

If Severin has in fact cleaned up his act, why should his words be ignored in the future? Yes, his remarks were over-the-top, irresponsible, hurtful. But should he be shunned forever?

Kirchick should give the new and improved Severin a try. He just might like what he hears.