Two weeks after WSMN fired Dianna Ploss, a conservative New Hampshire talk radio personality for yelling at and questioning landscapers for not speaking English, a Nashua man wants to start his own show at the station focused on the experience of first-generation Americans.
“Let’s give minorities a voice by hosting a radio show to discuss topics relevant to today’s current events and shed light on stories of diverse populations in the greater Nashua area,” writes Oscar Villacis on his Facebook fundraiser. Villacis needs about six-thousand dollars for airtime and production costs to host “First Gen America,” a show focused on the experiences of first-generation Americans.
“We have so much more to offer and I think that we have to remind people again of who we are, and where we came from and what we’re about,” Villacis told nhpr.
Villacis’ philosophy is a complete contrast to Ploss who appeared on her own show “The Dianna Ploss Show” on WSMN 1590 on Monday and Wednesday afternoons.
Employees for Hollis-based Morin’s Landscaping were working on the side of the road in downtown Nashua when Ploss confronted them. “It is America, you should be speaking English,” Ploss said. “You should be speaking English. They work for the state, you should be speaking English. Is anybody here illegal? Are these guys illegal?”
SUGGESTION: “It’s America. You should be speaking English”
Villacis, a first-generation Latino-American, says having a space to talk about the nuances, trials, and tribulations of that experience is missing in New Hampshire.
“This is not about being Hispanic, black, African, Cambodian. It is not about the ethnicity — it is about human to human interaction,” stressed Villacis in an interview with Union Leader. “This is about making our country greater, and in order to do that, we have to do better.”
“This show will replace airtime that was formerly polarized in nature and full racism,” Villacis said.
The proposed show would air in English on Tuesdays and then in Spanish over the weekend.