Concern Over Quake Gives Way to Spite : Talk radio started off by offering comfort for the many victims of the disaster. But then the mad-as-hell callers started looking for scapegoats.

I rarely listen to the radio except while driving, but after the earthquake I tuned in to talk shows. As things returned to normal in the next couple of weeks, I noticed that normal is often nasty.

At first callers simply told their personal stories, including some tales of real devastation. The calls gave me some comfort by showing that I was not alone, a sort of audio group therapy.

A day or so later, callers from other cities offered an outpouring of sympathy. I envisioned people coming to the Valley with brooms, trash bags, blankets and hugs.

Within a few days, though, anxiety and frustration had replaced shock. People were asking what the government was going to do. Would FEMA help out the thousands rendered homeless? One woman reported she stood in line for hours only to be told she’d have to come back in February, weeks away! People called with tales of unreachable insurance companies, busy government phone numbers, not enough Spanish-speaking intake workers, and, of course, price-gouging. At least one station devoted a whole program to gouging accusations.

Mad-as-hell radio was regaining its pre-quake mood, a kind of alienated outrage that thrives on villains. The early compassion degenerated as the hosts homed in on the scapegoats.

At last, the earthquake’s true culprits were revealed-- “Illegal Aliens”!

Why, the talkers demanded, should we pay for their housing? They don’t deserve a roof over their heads, or food, or medical care, or psychological support.

Now, really.

It’s no surprise that a bill to prevent aid was being initiated by some Republican politician from Orange County. What surprised me was how quickly people began to rally around this idea, rather than say, “Garbage! This is not about where people are from. These human beings have suffered incredibly.”

The people looking for scapegoats should thank God for the undocumented. We can hardly blame Mother Earth for having a quake, after all, it’s her nature. We can’t blame violent criminals, since they were as shook up as we. (The crime rate was reported to have plummeted immediately after the quake.)

Price-gougers at minimarkets seemed promising but were not nearly as numerous as the quake-shocked immigrants huddled in makeshift tents or lined up for food and shelter.

By last week, the shows were swinging along. One was about suing over faulty structures. There was no letup on the immigrant charity-grabbers.

And the earthquake was no longer the only topic on the air. I heard opinions about Michael Jackson, President Clinton on crime and health care and the Menendez juries.

It was all ordinary, and disappointing as well. Maybe I had thought talk radio would start dealing with things I was interested in: the countless people who were homeless before the quake, and why had no one thought of them; or bi-regionalism--you know, the idea of living and working close to home instead of commuting.

I heard people say they wanted their lives to be normal again and wondered whether normal works. With no power, no phones, no TV and no roads for just a little bit longer, maybe we would have been forced to change big time. I guess I was hoping that talk radio could have inspired us, rather than just rattle away.