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1 posted on 07/25/2006 9:19:44 AM PDT by raccoonradio
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To: raccoonradio
interesting--I try to NOT be PC though some things might cross the line. You're right, we should be able to say what we want though the FCC feels it's part of their responsibility to protect the public from profanity, "hate speech", etc. The old "should you be able to shout fire in a crowded theater?" argument comes out. Should a talk host be allowed to say they"d like to kill a certain politician? Does that cross the line?

It is indeed interesting that if you belong to a certain group, using a taboo word is OK. Many little people/ dwarfs find "midget" offensive (probably due to the use of that word by circus sideshow/freak show owners), yet there are some dwarves who call themselves Midget Wrestlers and are proud of it. I also found it interesting that while blacks objected to "Colored people", "people of color" is fine. I'm colored, myself. Kind of light pink-ish (Caucasian). I'm also a Native American. That doesn't mean that I have Indian blood in me; it means I was born in Massachusetts, part of America, therefore I'm a Native American...

Censorship is when the government prohibits something from being said, but there's also boycotts/ advertiser pressure. A Madonna ad campaign using "Like A Prayer" was squashed after complaints from religious groups. By the same token, a campaign by some against the TV show "Married...With Children", saying it was crude and vulgar, kind of backfired and it became a big hit. The movie The Last Temptation of Christ (Martin Scorcese) was criticized as blasphemy (not sure if these people had seen it) because it dared to fantasize, what if Jesus had abandoned his ministry, got married, etc.? People who held deep beliefs about Him had every right to not see it, and to urge others not to see it. Now, should the government have stepped in and prevented the film from being shown?

How would devout Christians feel if someone complained about The Passion of the Christ and demanded it be withdrawn from theaters--demand the GOVERNMENT pull it. (They could, I guess, go to the theater owners and threaten to boycott that film...which would mean the devout Christians who wanted to see that movie would be out of luck. Hmm.)

Muslims go so far as to believe that even a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad is blasphemy (and we know what became of that). Imagine if a government, a theocracy, were to punish someone who dared draw or publish such a thing...

There are on/off and volume controls on TV sets and radios,and people have the right to not watch/not listen. Although I think that during certain hours, adult language/etc. maybe shouldn't be on...or maybe we can let the advertisers step in: people complain to the advertiser, who threatens to pull their spots.

2 posted on 07/25/2006 9:21:04 AM PDT by raccoonradio
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To: raccoonradio
"*"
5 posted on 07/25/2006 9:37:17 AM PDT by martin_fierro (< |:)~)
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