Death and victimhood: mike webb's cryptic messages

Recently fired KIRO talk host Mike Webb, fired Monday by Entercom Communications after he was charged and booked for felony insurance fraud has been leaving cryptic messages on his website including the audio and lyrics to Bob Dylan's Who Killed Davey Moore? the ballad of a prizefighter killed in the ring while everyone involved- the ref, the angry crowd, his manager, the boxing writer, and his opponent, all deny blame for the boxer's demise.

"I hit him, yes, it's true,
But that's what I am paid to do.
Don't say 'murder,' don't say 'kill.'
It was destiny, it was God's will."

The songs wails out the tragedy in plaintive Dylanesque- a victim killed by the system.

Everyone was in on the killing, but no one cops to it.

Sounds like that's how Mike Webb sees himself- not surprising, he's always gone for victimhood like a rat to cheese.

He's left other crypticisms. His original blog entry from the night he was fired, first titled, "I said "Hello". They said "Goodbye." now reads, WHO KILLED DAVEY MOORE? It's reportedly been re-titled several times, one today being "You ain't seen nothing yet."

There have been other not-so-subtle hints at the death of a victim. That original letter left Monday night, had the wistful feel of a suicide note:

Several news and music stations later and a trip to Seattle where I fell in love, enjoyed the management jobs but quite honestly, I felt more at home on the air than in my own house. There's just such a beautiful intimacy to it all, different than any other medium. I've been fortunate.
I could go on, but suffice it to say, that people come into our lives on time and they leave on time as well.
So Long, Mike

His chat room, always a lonely place, has only a few messages from the past few days, but they're political- messages having to do with Webb's troubles( and you'd think there'd be a bunch) have been deleted.

Comments

[sparky]

this is not good...unless my "concern" is being taken for a ride. As someone else said on another thread,,the best thing would be to stand up to it, take responsibility for it and take the punishment, and then move on. We would have more respect.
All signs point to a person who has more problems than perhaps he is aware of.
Sad.

[chris]

But are we waiting for something to happen or trying to enable it to happen? I feel like a bystander waiting around for someone to jump off a building. Entercom and it's ability in a few short years to step in the bucket of paint and not untangle itself with it's Seattle programming seems to be the bigger story

[nikki]

does this blog have a death wish for mike webb? why such blood for him here when there are others that are far worse. rush has his troubles, why is he still on a entercom station? and if one hates mike for his rants, why not go after michael savage for the very same thing? savage is another nut that should not be allowed to spew his hate over the airways.

[sara]

This blog has been on Savages case and Rush's too. Nobody ever holds these men accountable, talk radio just goes on yakking away exploiting listeners with lies and spreading anger and distrust. Mike Webb has made his own bed, he was one of the worse. Somebody finally exzposed him.

[sarkos]

lots of people have a "death wish" for Webb. Maybe not so much of a "death wish" as a fall-down-and-skin-your-knee wish.

[Andrew]

Unlike normal recently fired people, Webb is getting emotional, nostalgic, sentimental and musical. This is because at the time of his firing he also suffered the loss of a loved one, his ego. The volume of grief he expresses is proportionate to the size of the deceased monster that was his self image.

[Andrew]

It's interesting that he has been altering his old posts in his own blog as if to change history and/or his perception of what had happened. Revising documents and changing history seems to be a reccuring theme with him.

I'm begining to think he might be mentaly ill in the diagnosable sense. In the alleged insurance fraud case you could attribute the deception to financial motive, but then he said "It would take an absolute idiot to try to defraud someone like that" which, if the allegation is true, would mean he doesn't actualy realize he changed anything. In his head he would have to believe that it always was the way he now claims that it is.

Now by altering his blog posts it shows that he's not content with the way he has done something in the past, but rather than amend the posts he changes them so that it seems as if they always were they way they now apear.

[audioslave]

Like I said yesterday, Mike is in serious need of professional help. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that he suffers from several personality disorders, most evidently narcissism, along with a bullying mentality. One definition states:

A behavior or a fantasy of grandiosity, a lack of empathy, a need to be admired by others, an inability to see the viewpoints of others, and hypersensitive to the opinions of others. Behaves arrogantly and haughtily. He feels superior, omnipotent, invincible, immune, "above the law", and omnipresent. He rages when frustrated, contradicted, or confronted by people he considers inferior to him and unworthy.

A main defense mechanism of the narcissist: Blame shifting. "It's not my fault that this happened to me".

This disorder is not easily treated, because the individual first has to be willing to admit that he has a problem, (duh) and he must also agree to years of counseling and therapy.

Good Luck Mike

[Miranda]

This is sick. If anyone is mentally ill, here, it's those posting such unprovoked vitriol against a man who's down and hasn't done any harm to anyone, let alone YOU. If any of you hasn't been fired, you OUGHT to be. Nothing like first hand experience to induce some empathy, except in those of you who are psychopaths.

Mike Webb is a passionate person and he's thoughtful and he's had the courage to live OPENLY as a homosexual in this gay-bashing "christian" society and lived to tell about it. And he's not perfect. Big f-ing surprise! You ought to have some yellow ribbon magnets on your SUVs in honor of people like THAT.

I think he ought to move to Canada (or maybe Denmark or Switzerland or Norway or Australlia or anyplace but this hell hole theocracy) where they might be more appreciative of his quirks and talents.

[audioslave]

Miranda,

You really should do a little homework before venting such nonsense. "Engage thy brain before thy mouth" If you hate this country so much, what in the Hell are you doing here then? Get your head out of the sand and open your eyes and ears. It is attitudes and narrow viewpoints like yours that hurt the progressive movement in this country. WAKE UP

[miranda]

Oh, and, Geico? I am planning to change insurance, but I sure as hell won't consider your company. Perfect driving record. No claims, ever. Kiss this cash cow bye bye, Geico.

[K]

Hmmmm - I think I'll change my insurance to the Gecko - maybe they are cheaper because they catch people trying to rip them off. So Miranda if I go with the little green guy then its a wash!

That narcissism def sounds eerily right on. I don't think there are any meds for it though, just serious couch time and a culminating event that is supposed to give them some perspective of reality!

[miranda]

Audoioidiot, if you find me a first world nation that will take immigrants as easily as the USA, I will most definitely GO THERE. I'm already looking into Canada and have the points to get in but it takes 2 years just to get the application processed. The trouble is, as an American, I will face discrimination since the rest of the world is so fed up with the haughty know-it-all violent domination of the good -ol' USA. I already have plenty of prejudice to deal with here. I don't blame them for not wanting Americans. Most Americans are uneducated bible banging morons. How do I know that? If they weren't, good ol' Dubya would not be prez.

Oh, and did you know that Pious little wifey, Laura Bush actually KILLED someone long ago? Oh, but no one persecuted her. She got off scott free, as I recall. Not a day in prison. Don't know what I am talking about? Look it up.

Oh and her hubby, Dubya, is directly responsible for many more needless deaths. But he won't ever go to trial, let alone be arrested for it.

You see, SOME people can make a mistake that MURDERS someone else, and they don't pay at all. Others who aren't so pure and christian get accused of a little property crime and lose their livelihoods.

What a great country.

"You really should do a little homework before venting such nonsense. "Engage thy brain before thy mouth" If you hate this country so much, what in the Hell are you doing here then? Get your head out of the sand and open your eyes and ears. It is attitudes and narrow viewpoints like yours that hurt the progressive movement in this country. WAKE UP"

[miranda]

K, K, you're a nutcase. Pot, Kettle, Black.

And my decision to not use Geico is one of the last freedoms I have left in this idiotic country. For now. Not that Geico would be on the list anyway. But it's just nice to feel even better about having them crossed off the list.

Don't bother writing to me, I won't be reading this forum and I hope Webb isn't, either.

You're the usual socially retarded cyber idiots.

The internet is for reading the NEWS (from reputable sources) and that's ALL.

[miranda]

""Engage thy brain before thy mouth" Get your head out of the sand and open your eyes and ears."

Good advice. You should take it.

[audioslave]

Miranda,

Calm down....maybe go down to Fremont.....stand in front of the statue of Lenin...and think what could have been for this terrible country we live in.

I'll say it one more time...do a little homework before you vent. You'll feel better, and people might even listen to what you have to say.

[K]

Miranda - you need to relax honey.

You want to leave America because "most" voted for Bush, therefore "most" must be morons.

If you call 50% "most" and currently only about 38% approve of the guy, then you need some perspective. If you choose your homeland based on whether you like the current ruler, you will be moving a lot.

[miranda]

You people are sick twisted individuals. You worry about what some insignificant person says about not liking the USA, but you post and have no trouble reading posts designed to goad a man into suicide. The USA will survive my insults and it doesn't care one whit that I'd like to leave it. Mike Webb is a human being. He CAN be damaged by the sick posts I read here.

Disgusting. Not surprising. The only reason I came to this site was the news story on seattlepi about Webb. I'll leave you creepy web cretins to your usual mindless babble.

I feel dirty even posting among such filth.

[audioslave]

Maybe there's enough room on the couch for both Mike and Miranda.

I'll say this again: Good Luck Mike

[umo]

It is all over Mike Webb. Your faults, defects and shortcomings destroyed your career and your reputation. Put the bullet in the chamber. Put the gun to your head. Pull the trigger. Do it Mike. Do it Mike. Come to the light.

[FREMONT]

Ohmygod! Reading these posts during Hanukkah and an incipient new year, when our souls and our egos are being searched, is oh-so-inspiring....Remember to get your anti-depressants refilled before your insurance ends....

[middleground]

Wow...how did comments about a radio talk show host who screwed himself over turn into a massive pre-pubescent row about how the country sucks?

Feel free to leave but quite honestly, if you had true committment and really believed in a different country than the "Bushites" believe in you would stay here and fight. Complaining about "morons" on the internet does not constitute an effort, it just makes you look like a snob. I would submit that such posters have done nothing to move their agenda for the country forward and are more happy throwing an eTantrum.

[sparky]

ok..everyone put away the caffeine and go for a walk in the rain.

[sparky]

oh.. eTantrum..I like that word!
Ghandi said " Be the change you want.."

[Andrew]

Miranda, I agree that Blathering Michael's remark that Webb's post resemble a suicide note is imaginative, but as for everything else here, we're just calling a "Pot, Kettle, Black."

If objective observation qualifies as goading someone into commiting suicide then I guess you had better put me on suicide watch to.

I don't think he is suicidal at all, he's just suffering from a bloated sense of self worth. If he said something like "this world doesn't fit me anymore" I'd be worried but he hasn't said anything like that.

The reference of death in the lyrics could be incidental. The point of the song was that someone nobody takes blame and it means that Mike Webb thinks he's 100% victim and not responsible for anything that happens to him.

I hope that Mike Webb has friends or family that are paying attention to these things also incase he does need help.

[Andrew]

umo that's pretty god damned low.

[sarkos]

Andrew's description of narcissism also describes the symptoms of untreated alcoholism, the so-called "dry drunk." Mike doesn't use or drink anymore, says he's former alcoholic- but has he taken the steps to bring himself into real recovery? Doesn't sound like it. Could Miranda be Mike? Good question.

[Fremont]

Yeah, Umo....think of the guilt you'd suffer...
BTW, Sara, et.al...in case you don't know, you can differentiate between posters with the same name by putting your cursor on the name...the email address appears at the bottom of your screen. Try it with Bogus Miranda at Bogus.net....Why don't you troll other waters now, Miranda?

[Fremont]

Dr. Weems, where are you? We need a medical professional here....there's some serious diagnosing going on!

[Andrew]

(audioslave dropped the narcisism info)

[Fremont]

(Dual diagnoses, Dr. Weems...)

[audioslave]

No diagnosis from me, just an observation from having first hand experience with friends and family.

It's a tough nut to crack, but an instance of harsh reality can sometimes bring a person to come around. And I'm not talking about the reality of the felony charges either.....he has just lost control of his two most powerful tools, his michrophone and his dump button, the one he hit constantly whenever he was challenged.

[joanie]

I liked you, Mike! I'm sorry you lost your brother; I'm sorry you lost your job; Time helps. From your not-so-perfect-either-but-passionate-always pal-who misses you on the radio, Joanie.

(Geez, guys, nobody's perfect!)

[ExDem]

He did know a lot about music, and actually could be entertaining when he spent time talking about it. Otherwise, politically and socially, he was not entertaining or coherent or reasonable. This is addition by subtraction for KIRO - anyone else would probably be an improvement for the listening audience.

[joanie]

Hey, ExDen, welcome back!

But . . .
That's our opine; not mine! :)

[Andrew]

I swear Frank Shiers is wants to be Dori Monson. He copies his style detail for detail.

Frank Sheirs: you will never be Dori Monson; you aren't good enough. Go home.

[joanie]

(A redo and I'll try to get it right this time!)

Hey, ExDem, welcome back!

But. . .
That's your opine; not mine? :)

[cointelpro]

"K" and "Audioslave" need to relax and ease up on the hysterics. And get a degree before making psychiatric diagnoses. It's one thing to hold a personal analysis, it's another entirely to broadcast as if you were the patient's personal psychiatrist.

Oh, and don't tell me "How do you know I don't have a PhD in Psychiatry?" If you do, and you're posting stuff like this, you're violating multiple codes of ethics such as diagnosing patients who aren't yours -- the way Bill Frist did for Terri Schiavo from the Senate floor.

Finally, a long overdue GOOD RIDDANCE to Mike Webb, a snide, churlish, cavalier, anti-historical, anti-thoughtful, anti-serious reactionary who mirrored his Neotard Neocon nemeses in more ways than one. Bon Voyage, asshole. You'll never work in radio again.

One Liberal Asshole Radio Show Host down, Twelve-Hundred Neocon Fascist Radio Show Hosts to go...

[sparky]

well now, another little happy face joins our family.

[Fremont]

That would be an M.D. in psychiatry, Coin'o, AKA "Little happy face"...

[Tom Flint]

Mike Webb is an outstanding, compasssionate person, deeply committed to social justice for all marginalized people, especially gay and lesbian people. He has often become the target of cloaked homophobia because of his outspoken advocacy of the oppressed people.

I have known him for many years.

The poison and hatred directed at this gentle and kind man by these bloggers is incomprehensible and inhuman. Like a bunch of sharks who smell blood in the water.

[Peak Limiter]

"Mike Webb is an outstanding, compasssionate person, deeply committed to social justice for all marginalized people"
Yeah right! that's why he led the charge to decertify AFTRA (the union) at KIRO radio. 25 other people were left with no protections, pay raises and other benefits the he had as a result of his personal services contract. He didn't give a rats ass about anybody elese than himself and his personal problems with the union president.
Karma. Ain't it grand!

[stunned]

What is wrong with some of you? Take a look at yourselves.

umo, look at what you wrote: “It is all over Mike Webb. Your faults, defects and shortcomings destroyed your career and your reputation. Put the bullet in the chamber. Put the gun to your head. Pull the trigger. Do it Mike. Do it Mike. Come to the light.”

umo, look at what you wrote. Now look in the mirror. Did you get pleasure out of encouraging someone to kill himself? Did you think it was funny? Does it not register with you that that kind of hate mixed with glee is horrid?

The venom expressed on these pages is stunning. Chilling. Who are you people? Why do you come together to post such vicious things? Just because there are a bunch of you -- don’t kid yourselves -- bandying such creepy vitriol around for entertainment? Hello!!! It’s not normal.

This will be my first and last post. I can’t imagine choosing to deliberately expose myself to the ongoing poison and hatefulness (masking as entertainment) that converges at this website.

It’s New Year’s Eve. Imagine spending all next year without saying hateful, vicious things. Imagine. Try turning over a new leaf. The planet would benefit enormously.

[bloodthirsty]

"Stunned" must be a faggot. It would be cheaper in the long run for this country to exterminate faggots, along with the nigger children and liberals who are so filled with hate and venom. There's no call for the type of violent speech they call for. And it's damaging our honor as a nation of Manifest Destiny.

[sparky]

wow, you must be one of them "hate-filled liberals."
Why do I get the feeling the same person comes in here time after time to post this stuff?

[blathering michael]

I leave posts like this in here to remind us why we're liberals.

[jt]

I am going to miss Mike Webb. He was a breath of fresh air in a sea of right wing nut jobs, a few moderates, and the other lone liberal, Erin Hart. Like myself, Mike is a gun packing liberal that isn't afraid to use his gun. In the battle of the talk show host that KIRO held, MIke won those debates. The second battle showed how far ahead Mike was in the debate to the right wingers who still couldn't admit the stories they told that proved to be lies. That is one thing I hate, liars. The kool aid drinking, Bush boot licking ditto heads like Dori Monson, Lou Pate, and Frank Shiers should be going down the road for all the lies they have told and supported from the Bush administration. Right wingers are like school yard bullies who punch and call names. You can't reason with them, you have to punch and call names back at them. And that is what Mike did. It was entertaining to hear him kick a right wing morons ass. At least he let those nuts through. The right wing commentators' call screeners don't let intelligent people through. I see two type of people here who dislike Mike. One is the weak kneed liberal who says, "Please Mr. Right Winger don't hurt me, I will try to reason with you." The other is the right wing whacko who hates it when facts and reason gets in his way and his beloved Bush is shown for the evil fool that he is. If Entercom can keep a fat pig who was arrested for gross illegal usage of drugs, then they could have kept Mike Webb on for the minor crime he has been accused, not found guilty. KIRO is off my radar now, except for Saturday mornings when Ciscoe Morris the garden guy is broadcasting. Mike, I am going to miss you and wish you well.

[Left Behind by the New Democratic Party]

Hello.

I personally did not think Mike 'won' the talk host battles. He was constantly schooled by lou Pate. Mike would go on and spout slogans and the current favorite soundbites, get the applause from his fans, then would be verbally T-boned by Pate. Best example? When Mike said this (the Iraq War)was all to fatten Haliburton's pockets, Lou said quite calmly, "Mike, name another company that can do the same thing as Haliburton." Mike blustered for a bit but could not, and the audience kept chanting 'NAME ONE!' Finally, the answer came from Allen Prell, making Mike look even MORE foolish. Plus, at the debates, Mike was a one-trick pony. He could only blame Bush for everything. When it came to local issues, he couldn't add anything substantial to the debate, something else Pate was able to use to his advantage.

The fact is that Mike WAS a bully on the air, flip-flopping his opinions to fit his argument and harassing the people who DARED oppose him. While I understand that is how some right wing national hosts do it, I do not listen to them as I prefer local talk. The fianl straw in MY case was when Mike had a guest on the show that said that the twin tower's destruction was a result of demolition charges placed by the BIG BAD. The part that made me mad was not the theory, but the fact that Mike wanted to believe it was true, that it was somehow Bush's fault over the hijackers. He believed that it had to be the truth, ignoring the fact that the attacks HAPPENED ON LIVE TV. That infuriated me, and I could not listen any longer.

Am I sorry he is gone? Not really. Do I wish him harm? No. I hope he can get himself together and return to the medium he seems to love so much. But I will not listen to him. He is ultimately a hippocrite and displays all that is currently wrong with the Democratic party.

Domo

[umo]

Mike Webb hypocrisy is the most disappointing and repulsive thing about him. Rockstar was his biggest sponsor and Webb shameless whored himself out for that company. Webb shitcanned his integrity and ignored the fact that Rockstar owners Michael Savage and his son are virulent homophobes.

Mike condemned the hypocrisy of right wingers like Bill Bennett who preach virtue and morality while concealing his degenerate gambling problem.

Mike is a lying, cheating, insurance fraud perpetrating sack-o-shit who portrayed himself as a paragon of ethics on the radio...claiming moral authority to expose and condemn the immorality of Republican politicians.

[jt]

Mike didn't win all the arguments in the battle of the talk show host, but he won the overall debate. He was right on with WMS, with the fact that Hussein and bin Laden did not work together, and all the other lies from Bush and company. Dori and Lou were made to sound like fools when Mike got through with them. As for local issues, WHO CARES, I don't for the most part. The biggest stories now are the crimes that Bush and company have done and are doing to this nation. Mike covered that real well. If I wanted local events I would listen to Dave Ross. When Erin Hart talks about local events I tune her out. That is because what they mostly talk about is what is happening in Seattle and I don't care. I don't live in Seattle and don't want to live in Seattle. 710KIRO, with its big wattage, covers a large area, even across state lines. With that coverage 710KIRO should provide a commentator that talks about national events or at least regional events. And now there isn't one on the progressive side.

I guess it is alright when Dori or Lou yell, call names, and hit the dump button on callers who disagree with them, the few that get by their screeners. But then people with the same political views as these guys wouldn't notice that behavior.

Most of the right wing commentators are just plain mean, arrogant, greedy, liars. Fred Ebert, fired by 710KIRO, was one right wing host that I could listen to. He was intellegent and didn't fall for the lies from Bush and company. As for Mike being mean, good we need a mean progressive who can fight back against the bullies on the right. He wasn't mean where it counted, in the American belief in honesty, fairness, and sharing. Traits that most right wingers, meaning Republicans for the most part, don't believe. To them it is me, me, me, it's mine and to hell with everybody else. Arrogant, again good, Mike and any progressive should be proud and arrogant, the right sure is! Greedy, no not at the expensive of others, he should not be greedy. But then I am not so quick to convict him as others are on this site. A liar, Mike wasn't a liar when it came to Bush and company. I followed through and checked his facts with other sources and found them to be true, unlike Dori and Lou. As for the theory of a controlled explosion on the WTC. I didn't get the impression that Mike took much stock in it. Having worked in military intelligent units and seen some of the things done behind the backs of the American people, I wouldn't be surprised something wasn't done like that to justify going to war. Building number seven wasn't hit by a plane yet it fell within its foot print instead of like a tree being cut down. I am no engineer, so there might be an explanation for it, but I haven't heard it yet.

I really enjoyed the way Mike exposed the Republican liars and their corporate handlers with the facts he obtained from reliable sources. Something Dori Monson and Lou Pate can't claim. Both of whom sound like they are on Bush's payroll, not 710KIRO's.