Kansas Library Censorship

SuperH · Post by **SuperH** » Sat Aug 07, 2004 6:11 am

http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Music/0 ... index.html

"The confiscated CDs included recordings by 25 musicians, including rap artists such as OutKast and Notorious B.I.G., rock bands Rage Against the Machine and Stone Temple Pilots, and even older acts such as Lou Reed and the 1980s experimental group Devo."

Explain to me why the FUCK someone would ban DEVO from libraries.

I can understand rap, a lot of it is shit and in the public eye a lot of it could be construed as "indecent". I can understand Rage Against the Machine.

I am a huge Devo fan. It's damned good stuff. There's not a single indecent thing in any of their albums - short of some blatant innuendo. INNUENDO.

And... political statements. The band's original concept was anti-corporate performance art.

So now libraries get to ban things because they make political statements that are unfavorable. WONDERFUL.

S4ur0n27 · Post by **S4ur0n27** » Sat Aug 07, 2004 6:27 am

Anti-corporate yet their red hats cost 35 $ US EACH!

Blargh · Post by **Blargh** » Sat Aug 07, 2004 7:11 am

Frankly, it seems obvious to me that the plausibility of a single individual attempting to determine what is 'decent' and what is not 'decent' for everyone else is nonexistent. While it is lamentable that morons have such power over what others can view, listen to and generally experience - at least other methods of avoiding such archaic measures are available to most people. Though that is small consolation at best.

It is ridiculous to assume that adults in general are incapable of making informed, rational choices about media and whether or not they wish to have access to it.

Put simply, censorship is fascism.

Kashluk · Post by **Kashluk** » Sat Aug 07, 2004 7:12 am

That oh-so-popular *bleep* sound you've got in the States tells alot, then...

SuperH · Post by **SuperH** » Sat Aug 07, 2004 5:43 pm

s4ur0n27 wrote:Anti-corporate yet their red hats cost 35 $ US EACH!

They started out that way but now they've got versions of their songs in ads for swiffer and a whole ton of crap. Mark Mothersbaugh likes to say he's come "full circle" by selling out. Devo sucked towards the end anyway.

(The hats are called Energy Domes BTW)

LlamaGod · Post by **LlamaGod** » Sat Aug 07, 2004 7:24 pm

Kansas is in the South, all over-religious rednecks and their 12 kids they had with their sister.

Spazmo · Post by **Spazmo** » Sat Aug 07, 2004 8:20 pm

No, you nub, Kansas is the midwest, corn, corn, corn and more corn.

And hey, to us Canadians, all you inbred redneck yankees are 'to the south'.

Mismatch · Post by **Mismatch** » Sat Aug 07, 2004 9:03 pm

things like this censorship debacle scare me....
It makes me really really uncomfortable.

Put simply, censorship is fascism.

I second that.

S4ur0n27 · Post by **S4ur0n27** » Sat Aug 07, 2004 9:28 pm

It's not fascism! It's purpose is to regularize people'S thought.

Post by **Retlaw83** » Sat Aug 07, 2004 9:31 pm

Once you "regularize" peoples thoughts, then you can spoon feed them what to think. While its not entirely fascist, it is highly socialist.

Mismatch · Post by **Mismatch** » Sat Aug 07, 2004 9:42 pm

While its not entirely fascist, it is highly socialist.

I'm not sure that one can say it's tied to any specific ideology.
As we all know it occurs in PR of china.
But in USA too, as I've understood.
(Isn't USA filled with cencorship, blips and bleeps, schools are run with some christian ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¼ber morale, and critisism of the system is rather unwelcome)
Although not as extensively as in china...

So, I don't think it is tied to a certain ideology.

S4ur0n27 · Post by **S4ur0n27** » Sat Aug 07, 2004 10:16 pm

It's every governement's tool.

LlamaGod · Post by **LlamaGod** » Sat Aug 07, 2004 10:37 pm

Kansas is close enough to the South, if you want corn corn corn, go Iowa.

Post by **Retlaw83** » Sat Aug 07, 2004 11:20 pm

Mismatch wrote: (Isn't USA filled with cencorship, blips and bleeps, schools are run with some christian ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¼ber morale, and critisism of the system is rather unwelcome)
Although not as extensively as in china...
So, I don't think it is tied to a certain ideology.

TV, during times when small children might be watching it, is full of beeps. Deep in the south (think places that don't yet have the internet) some schools MIGHT be run with super Christianity. And I don't know how other places are, but in my high school most of the kids and some of the teachers criticized the system routinely, and in alot of cases we disregarded the system altogether.

EDIT: While TV and stuff is routinely censored - due to the fact some very vocal private citizens will complain - if you buy a DVD, computer game, book or pornography, absolutely nothing in it will be censored unless the company making or distributing it chooses to do so. Even then, other companies or distributors will be selling uncensored versions.

airsoft guy · Post by **airsoft guy** » Sun Aug 08, 2004 12:20 am

Retlaw83 wrote:
Mismatch wrote: EDIT: While TV and stuff is routinely censored - due to the fact some very vocal private citizens will complain - if you buy a DVD, computer game, book or pornography, absolutely nothing in it will be censored unless the company making or distributing it chooses to do so. Even then, other companies or distributors will be selling uncensored versions.
The FCC governs network televison, the ones that transmit through the air. They don't like it when you say a naughty word or let a nipple out because the wee children might see it, even at three in the morning. You can get a permit or some such thing to show the naughty bad fun for a specific time. Example, a few years ago NBC decided to show Saving Private Ryan in all of it's cursing, brain splattering glory. They had to okay it with the FCC and pick out a time, which was after nine I think. I have to admit it was pretty neat seeing Tom Hanks say "fuck" with that little bastard peacock in the corner.

Cable TV doesn't have to worry about the FCC because cable isn't free, only those with the means, like adults can get access to cable. What cable does have to worry about are sponsors and viewers. If it offends too many people they might not stop watching or write letters to the companies that sponsor the show or station saying that they will boycott that company unless they stop sponsoring that particular show. Certain stations have more leniency, like the History Channel. It's very common to hear someone let fly with a shit, and sometimes even fuck if you're paying attention, although fuck is much rarer. Other stations like MTV are heavily censored by their executives because they don't want to offend viewer's parents. MTV is a big money making operation and it would be unwise to jeopardize those profits by verbally jacking off for the little robot children who think they're hardcore for watching MTV and being different, just like everyone else.

To summarize, anything government funded or on in the airwaves is pretty much controlled by Big Brother. Anything else is controlled by sponsors, ultra-right-wing-psycho-Christians or ultra-left-wing-psycho-pussies, depending on what it is you want to watch or listen to.

Spazmo · Post by **Spazmo** » Sun Aug 08, 2004 12:22 am

LlamaGod wrote:Kansas is close enough to the South, if you want corn corn corn, go Iowa.

omg geography nub

The South is all blacks and racists and preachers and spooky haunted cotton fields. Kansas--like the rest of the midwest--is white, white, white and totally agricultural. In fact, black people, racists, preachers and haunted cotton fields are shot on sight in Kansas.

It's true.

Post by **Retlaw83** » Sun Aug 08, 2004 1:01 am

As usual, airsoft guy, you're a lot more eloquent than I could ever be in explaining the subject.

Franz Schubert · Post by **Franz Schubert** » Sun Aug 08, 2004 4:35 am

This type of thing is neither fascist or socialist... it's unitarian (as opposed to libertarian). The reason you think it's fascist is simply because every fascist state in history has been unitarian.

HappySuitcase Man · Post by **HappySuitcase Man** » Sun Aug 08, 2004 5:16 am

Franz_Schubert wrote:This type of thing is neither fascist or socialist... it's unitarian (as opposed to libertarian). The reason you think it's fascist is simply because every fascist state in history has been unitarian.

Are you sure you don't mean utilitarian (doing something with the rationalization that "it's best for everybody)? Or authoritarian (which is the opposite of libertarian)? Because unitarianism is an weird off-shoot of protestant Christianity, with less boozing, but more hookers. A fair trade-off, I say.

Franz Schubert · Post by **Franz Schubert** » Sun Aug 08, 2004 6:10 am

Yep, I meant authoritarian. My bad. But my point still stands.