Censorship....Protects You From Reality.
Who knew in 2018 that censorship would be such a hot topic. Even Tumblr is announcing as of Dec 17th they will be monitoring all content for anything considered “sexual” in hopes of making it a safe place for all users (insert vomit emoji).
In the mid 80′s Tipper Gore was taking a stroll near her 11-year-old daughter’s room. Without warning, she caught an earful of her tween’s tape deck (or turntable), as someone sang about “masturbating with a magazine” and how …my body will never be the same. (Prince-Nikki)
Sex talk?! (OMG :/)
Tipper was completely freaked out that any words implying “sex” could make it into her ears without giving her “permission”.... and she would not take this lying down! Tipper and three other women formed the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) in 1985, which would establish guidelines for regulating music deemed sexual, violent, or all-around uncouth, slapping warning labels on anything that fit the bill.
The best part of the story is that warning labels actually HELPED SELL more records —Censorship even in it’s finest hour was a joke and actually ended up being the best marketing tool they could have asked for...
So how is it any different today?
This nonsense about getting offended at “words” has been going on for a LONG TIME.... Do we really think taking songs out of circulation or “banning” media of any sort will STOP ANYONE from listening to (or looking) at it????? PUUUULLLLEASE. Realistically It just drives up the demand(and sales)! I mean until all this crap came up...who even cared about “Baby It’s Cold Outside”? Now with the recent controversy we’re all listening and analyzing the lyrics, trying to figure out where the subliminal message is....And don’t even think about making this a conservative/liberal issue. You both suck. Conservatives can barely see a naked body part or hear about sex without going into convulsions bc “God says it’s wrong”....Liberals are quick to convulse if they perceive any inequality or perceive non-consensual sexual innuendos....You both get offended at the drop of a hat.
It’s my opinion that it’s dangerous for a culture to perpetuate “intolerance” (it’s bad enough they do it in schools with books). We are becoming so thinned skinned that we are creating a society of people who have the mental fortitude that is equivalent to the strength of imitation crystal from the dollar store. The minute something irritates them....The glass breaks....So this small squeaky group of people who are “offended” complain and expect whatever it is that bothered them to be removed from the airwaves. Right? Bad idea. The irony will be when this current trend completely backfires and artists decide to push back TEN FOLD! You thought lyrics and media sources were racy before???? You haven’t seen anything yet. People will be BEGGING to have back Rudolph and Baby It’s Cold Outside....
I’m personally inspired mentally, emotionally, creatively and even physically when I have an adverse reaction to media content I don’t agree with. It “gets me thinking”. How boring would life be if we agreed with everything we saw and heard? As I pondered this topic last night, the first song that came to mind was Patti Smith’s 1978 Rock N’Roll Nigger..a song I really enjoy *but it’s totally politically incorrect. Lyrically it’s written about oppression but uses a word that purposely caught everyone’s attention. It’s art. Art isn’t suppose to be about “conforming”. After I heard Kurt Cobain sing “Rape Me...”, Jimi Hendrix “...I’m going down to shoot my old lady, I caught her messing around with another man”, NIN “...You let me penetrate you, You let me desecrate you”, GNR “....I use to love her, but I had to kill her”, Ozzy’s “... Where to hide, suicide is the only way out, Don't you know what it's really about” or NWA’s “F*ck The Police”- I survived and I enjoyed the story in their music. Every type of art is going to have it’s critics. It’s about taste. Creativity shouldn’t have political/social boundaries. Period.
Now.....The racist statues many support “as history”.....Is a whole different deal. That’s not “art”... If they want them in a building titled “Southern History Museum”, for people to view, that’s fine. But having these out in common area’s, in communities is ridiculous. What if a person that abused your family member had a statue...would you want it on your front lawn? or at your local school (as people praised what a wonderful person they were)? Hell no.
My 1/2 cent.
http://afropunk.com/2011/02/patti-smith-instigates-the-weight-of-the-rock-n-roll-nigger/