A couple of things.
ITEM 1: Censorship.
cen·sor·ship n.
- The act, process, or practice of censoring.
- The office or authority of a Roman censor.
- Psychology. Prevention of disturbing or painful thoughts or feelings from reaching consciousness except in a disguised form.
I was listening to the radio a few days ago, and “Lightning Crashes,” by Live came on; I like the song. That, “I Alone” and “Selling the Drama” are the reasons that I bought Throwing Copper. I noticed that the song started on the second verse. This wasn’t the first time that I had heard a station start the song 1/3 of the way through, but this time stuck with me.
You can click here to read the song’s lyrics. I don’t get what problem people have with the first verse. Yes, they say the word “placenta.” Oh, no! And, yes, the first verse tells of a stillborn baby. I will grant that this is a delicate subject, but I also think that Ed Kowalczyk wrote the lyrics in a manner that didn’t treat it lightly nor were they disrespectful. Consider this: In the song “Who Are You,” from the CD of the same name by The Who, Roger Daltrey asks “Who the fuck are you?” The CD was released in 1978. In all of the times that I have heard it on the radio, I have never heard that edited out or backwards masked. I guess that you are afforded certain privileges of artistic license when you have been around for 30+ years.
Someone interviewed me last year for a paper that she was writing. The topic was “censorship” and she asked what I thought about it. Here is my reply:
As adults, we often talk about our free will and complain about people taking away our rights. But when it comes down to it, it seems all too often that we “need” someone to tell us what we should and shouldn’t see or do. It seems that we have lost our capacity for something that everyone used to have – or acted like they had – “common sense.” There are little things called “On/Off Switches” and “Remote Controls” that can be used to prevent us from seeing things that we choose not to see. But, too often, we seem more content to complain about what is on the air or in a magazine or book. I like to think that I know what it is that I do and do not find appealing. By the same token, I know that my tastes may run contrary to others’ opinions. While someone can suggest a film or book or ANY other media form to me, *I* have the final say in whether I choose to look at or listen to it.
Is parenting a form of censorship? That depends on your point of view. Censorship is defined as: “the act or a system of censoring;” parenting is defined as: : “the work or skill of a parent in raising a child or children.” There are things that most adults, by virtue of experience and education, are able to comprehend, react and respond to better than children. While it is true that some children have to “grow up fast,” depending on their environment and the changes in their world, most of them are still innocent with respect to many things to which we have become inured. I, personally, don’t think that parenting equals censorship. I think that it is parents’ responsibility to expose their children to things when they are able to understand them. It is also their responsibility to answer questions that their children may have about things that they don’t understand; if they don’t have the answers, they should be able to point the children to a source that can answer them.
Before I get scores of comments on this telling me that I haven’t considered factors X, Y, or Z, let me say that this is my opinion. I’m not forcing it on anyone AND I do reserve the right to be mistaken or reconsider it or even change it at a later date. My bottom line: The song was written and recorded in a specific order and manner. Play it. If the song doesn’t meet the standards of your station, don’t play it. I’m sure that there is at least one other station in your market that will play it… in its entirety.
ITEM 2: Discrimination.
Cracker Barrel hit with $100M civil rights lawsuit
Dee told me about this today. The restaurant chain has been hit with a class action suit accusing them of racism – varying from segregating African-American patrons to denying them service. *sigh* What part of some peoples’ brains contains the “Hello, I’m a moron” gene? I especially find it odd that this should happen since Denny’s underwent the same scrutiny in 1994. When is it going to finally sink in that aside from a few minor differences on the exterior, people are the same? And on a strictly capitalist note: Everyone’s money has the same value. If they spend it in your establishment, your revenue increases. If they don’t, you earn nothing. And let’s not forget what a few negative words from one potential (or ex-) customer to a friend or family member can do to a store’s customer base. Not to mention if those comments made it to an advocate group or a law firm. Oh, wait… that’s what started this in the first place.
I am not so naive as to think that everyone is treated equally; I know better. I’ve experienced it personally. I’ve watched family and friends who have been forced to experience it. The faces of discrimination are many: gender, racial, religious, sexual preference, weight… the list goes on. We, as a nation, have made many steps forward in combating inequality, but we can’t stop fighting the war just because we have won a few battles. “We fight the fire — while we’re feeding the flames…” – “Second Nature,” by Rush from Hold Your Fire (c) 1987
In light of this lawsuit, I find this picture even more ironic now than when I took it.
::: gets down from soapbox :::
Thanks for listening.
Peace.
