CBS To Air Profanity-Laden Program (Complaint About "9/11" Documentary)

American Family Association ^ | August 2006 | n/a

[RippyO]

I'm all in favor of a rule that says you cannot swear on network television UNLESS it occurs during a live terrorist attack. That should stop the "camel's nose in the tent" argument.

9/11 - Swearing is OK
Jim Belushi loses his car keys - Swearing is not OK

[ReignOfError]

The majority of tvs in this country still do not have cable.

That might fall into the category of "true but misleading." The majority of TV sets might not -- though I'm dubious even of that -- because a lot of people have TVs in various rooms of the house that they use only to watch DVDs or play video games. They function more as a monitor than a television. Then there are all the portable TVs without cable.

But according to the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, 59.1 percent of TV households have basic cable. Based on the numbers on that page, and with some fast and loose mental math, the folks with digital subscriber satellite bump the combined number up close to 75 percent.

Without cable there is no way to block the channel.

False. Every TV set larger than 13" manufactured in the last six years has been required to have the V-chip installed. And for older TVs, there's a foolproof blocking technology that has been around since before Philo T. Farnesworth built his first set -- a parent saying "No."

[Roccus]

1) I made no "wild accusations."

2) The words "filmmaker" and "program" as well as the term "9/11" all came from your original post.

3) AFAIK this film is being broadcast commercial free, so CBS (bite my tongue) is presenting a tribute, not a commercial enterprise.

4) The focus is on the WTC for three reasons;
a) The attack and consequences there were spread over a longer time frame. It was also the first to be attacked.
b) NYC is the media capital of the universe and there was more equipment in place, eg helicopters, to document the attack there. Also, the documentarians that provided the material for this presentation JUST HAPPENED TO BE THERE!
c) The greatest loss of life occurred there.

5) I'm glad you feel that way about the events of that day. Would that more Americans felt the same. I watched those buildings go up. I worked in and around those buildings for almost 20yrs. I knew everyday people who were murdered there as well as firefighters who lost there lives trying to save them. By sheer coincidence, I was in lower Manhattan that morning and saw it first hand. Since I have this connection with the WTC and the attack, I have a tendency to focus more on it than the other losses that day. I take it personally!
My insulation from what happened at the Pentagon and in the field in PA was the reason I went to see "United 93." I wanted to remove some of that insulation. It worked, the fire in my belly came back!

I watched this documentary when it was first aired but have not watched any of the numerous other "documentaries" that have been shown on cable and broadcast TV. I will watch when it is aired again because it is REAL. It is witness to the actual events of the attack. (The only other witness is the freeze frame of the plane hitting the Pentagon.) To alter any part of this documentary is to change this testimony and that would be the same as re-writing history. THIS MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO HAPPEN!


Pls excuse my use of capitol letters. If I had put them in italics as I wished, I would not have been able to keep the format of this post.

[mhking]

Oh, please. Wildman and his nanny-goons seem to have forgotten one major item that has been included on each and every remote control on the planet: The OFF button.

[ReignOfError]

Oh, please. Wildman and his nanny-goons seem to have forgotten one major item that has been included on each and every remote control on the planet: The OFF button.

I'm pretty sure the off button pre-dates the remote control. Shoot. I'm just old enough to remember when I WAS the remote control.

[One-Four-Five]

>I'm sickened by anyone who wants to use the events of September 11th for their own advantage, and that includes CBS.

Does that include the AFA? If anyone who's seen this honestly agrees with their assessment of this program, please explain why. Then maybe anyone so inclined could let us know how profanity would automatically violate indecency standards.

Community standards vary from place to place, of course. In my community, the youngest of children see Ground Zero on a frequent, perhaps daily, basis. The charge that CBS is trying to rewrite community standards may be plausible, but not on the basis of this program.

[NurdlyPeon]

Your post was a good, even handed summary of the discussion. Thank you. Nurdly.

[jaime1959]

F the American Family Association. That's a great, great documentary. If they don't want to hear real people dropping F bombs, don't watch.

[ladyinred]

This means it will be told as it was I suppose?

[lentulusgracchus]

Why, thank you.

[CharlesWayneCT]

But Saving Private Ryan was a staged recreation, and they COULD have made the movie without language, even if that would make it less "realistic".

On the other hand, this is from the reports actual words by actual people, what they really said in response to 9/11. I don't think we have to censor the truth, just put warnings on the show.

But I probably wouldn't have been upset with the Janet Jackson incident if there had been an appropriate warning and the V-chip setting for the show had been appropriate.

[art_rocks]

I see this whole argument from another angle. Zero tolerance. Since profanity is not to be shown on tv, some say no exception should be made. Others say that this is what happened during 9/11 and an exception should be made.
Those asking for the exemption are not saying every Hollywood movie needs to be shown unedited but this is history and what happened.

I guess I could make the argument that we don't want our children to see any violent act so I want all crucifixes out of the church. Seeing Jesus on the cross is too upsetting for my child seeing him suffer and covered in blood.

I personally never liked zero tolerance since there is no thought behind it even for extenuating circumstances. If you read this board, I think we have seen enough bad examples of zero tolerance and children in schools.

I think that God gave us a brain for a reason and we need to use it.

The other thing God gave us was freedom of choice which I see too many don't like if we actually want to make a choice with which you don't agree.

You don't have to watch this show.

[FreedomNeocon]

If you want to send AFA a nice little message, you can through their website, don't even need an external email program. Just type in your feelings and click 'submit'

Contact them here
http://www.afa.net/contact.asp


I'm Roman Catholic myself, 12yrs of private small catholic school. I can't even come close to relating to people like this, and they embarrass every single person of faith with their extremely overbearing sanctimonious exploitation of this issue.

[steve-b]

CBS's position is, we will decide what "community standards" are! (And we'll use money as our metric

That is an absolutely correct position.

If the community ain't buying what you're selling, you'll go broke. That is the only known accurate measure of community standards. There are no anointed experts who can come up with any better measurement -- if there were, communism would work and capitalism wouldn't.

[lentulusgracchus]

That is the only known accurate measure of community standards.

No, it isn't. The others are the ballot box and the jury box.