More Than Seven Dirty Words

July 25, 2003 | Marjorie Heins

[theoverseer]

If you don't like something, don't listen/watch it, and keep your children away from it.

[bassmaner]

How soon will it be before the righteous, holier-than-thou crowd comes storming in here to defend such 1st Amendment a$$wiping done in the name of "decency"!

CENSORSHIP IS INDECENT!!

[The Hon. Galahad Threepwood]

What about kiddie porn? Forbidding the distribution of kiddie porn is censorship.

[chriservative]

That is not a good analogy. Kiddie Porn/Child Abuse is illegal. Talking about sex acts may be offensive to some, but its not illegal.

[Texan5]

I believe that sex with/distributing scenes of sex with minors is a crime. Barring criminal activities, I do not believe anyone has the right to tell a consenting adult what they may, or may not watch/hear/read. I may not agree with your tastes, but I will defend your right to indulge them.

[The Hon. Galahad Threepwood]

That is not a good analogy. Kiddie Porn/Child Abuse is illegal. Talking about sex acts may be offensive to some, but its not illegal.

Yes, kiddie porn is illegal. That's censorship. Making the distribution of certain images illegal is censorship.

[al_c]

If you don't like something, don't listen/watch it, and keep your children away from it.

Hard to do when it's everywhere now days. We watched the premeire of the new series "Nip/Tuck" the other day. Won't be watching it again. I lost count of how many times they said "sh*t" on the show. Then they showed the previews for the upcoming season which included bare breasts, a girl's face between the legs of another girl, and other things that, IMO, shouldn't be on regular TV.

Looks like Carlin's list has been shortened.

[The Hon. Galahad Threepwood]

I believe that sex with/distributing scenes of sex with minors is a crime.

Yes. That's what I mean by "censorship." Distributing the images is a crime.

[Between the Lines]

That is not a good analogy. Kiddie Porn/Child Abuse is illegal. Talking about sex acts may be offensive to some, but its not illegal.

Talking about sex acts where a minor can hear is illegal. It is called corrupting a minor. Why are the public airwaves any different?

[KCmark]

It actually harms a kid. What a straw man.

[The Hon. Galahad Threepwood]

What you've done is give a good reason for censoring kiddie porn--a reason with which I wholeheartedly agree. But it is still censorship.

It is perfectly legitimate for you to defend censorship of kiddie porn while rejecting censorship of other material, but censorship is still censorship. Remember that everyone who advocates censorship thinks there's a really, really good reason for it.

Of course, I recognize the inconvenience of admitting that censorship of which you approve is really censorship. That would mean that you couldn't engage in easy blanket condemnations of censorship, but would actually have to debate the issue of where the line is to be drawn between acceptable and unacceptable censorship.

[Texan5]

Sorry, I don't have a problem with child porn distribution being illegal. I'm not an attorney, but it would seem that the reason distribution is a crime is because the images were made of a felony sex crime. So would distributing them not constitute a perpetuation of this crime? Like dealing crack, which is an illegal substance produced against the law, etc, etc. Is there a lawyer in the house to clarify this one?

[The Hon. Galahad Threepwood]

I'm not an attorney, but it would seem that the reason distribution is a crime is because the images were made of a felony sex crime.

No, the reason it's a crime is becauae there is a law against it. I don't know that any jurisdiction outlaws the distribution of pictures of car theft.

In any case, it's still censorship, even if it's a really good idea.

[Between the Lines]

No, the reason it's a crime is becauae there is a law against it. I don't know that any jurisdiction outlaws the distribution of pictures of car theft.

Snuff pictures and films are illegal to possess or distribute also.

[Grit]

While it appears that Congress may thwart at least part of the FCC's plan to increase media consolidation,

The FCC has no plan to INCREASE media consolidation. It has plans to loosen regulations regarding media consolidation. Big difference.

And this announcement came at a time when the constitutionality of the FCC's censorship regime is more doubtful than ever.

This author has no problems with the FCC restricting ownership, but questions the constitutionality of its so-called 'censorship'.

less attention has been given to its tough new stance against "indecent" words and ideas.

The FCC's power to censor the airwaves goes back to the beginning of radio,

This "new" stance is more akin to the "old" stance. Where was this published? Pacifica's website?

[Texan5]

Thank you, sir. I had forgotten about those-also images taken of a felony crime against another human being. A car is an inanimate object, so distribution is not a crime.

[chriservative]

I'm sorry. I just don't see the illegalization of kiddie porn as censorship, just as I wouldn't view the illegalization of snuff films as censorship. Such images are documentations of actual crimes for unconventional (read sexual) use. That is the reason they are illegal. A dramatization of a murder, however, as we see on TV all the time is not a crime and although some may view that dramatization as offensive, it is not illegal. In my opinion, to equate the two is really inaccurate.

Nip/Tuck is a very promising show. Just as with "The Shield", it is shown at 10pm during core adult viewing hours. You may not like it because it offends your sensibilities, but its incredibly well written.

[theoverseer]

It's on cable. Cable is optional, not mandatory. Also, most cable boxes allow you to block out channels.

[The Hon. Galahad Threepwood]

In other words, you react so negatively to the word "censorship" that you deny that censorship of which you approve is really censorship.

OK. No point in continuing the discussion, then.

[discostu]

You were suprised "Nip/ Tuck" was offensive? I saw that one coming halfway through the first commercial.

Try Monk, that's a good show. Plenty of clean shows out there. My fave is still Junkyard Wars, I just like watching people weld.