Orwell That Ends Well

In America, some don't take the theart of censorship in the post-Arizona killings seriously, since we're protected by the First Amendmnent.  But we have to remember, if we didn't have it, how easily "liberal" governments could take away our freedom for our own good.

Recently, American saw a bowdlerized Huckleberry Finn for teaching purposes.  At least (supposedly) that's a private idea for an extra edition, not replacing the original (though it could in the future).  It's not a government demand.

However, up north, the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council has banned Dire Straits "Money For Nothing" (25 years after the fact) for the use of the word "faggot."  As always, the censors know best.  They can listen to whatever they like year-in year-out, but they need to protect the public from bad concepts.  Above all, let's not have a discussion about it. (Censors often claim they're protecting the weak, though you'll notice they tend to represent dominant opinion.)



The song had been attacked when it originally came out. (I remember a particularly idiotic statement in the Village Voice about how when Sting sings "I want my MTV," he's singing it to the tune of "Don't stand so close to me" which clearly is him warning off homosexuals.) Fine, attack it.  But it shows, if nothing else, a missing sense of humor. Within context (and either censors don't believe in context, or think everyone is too stupid to get it), the song is about a dumb guy ranting in a socially unacceptable way.  That's the point.  That's why it works.  If you're worried it'll have a bad effect, explain to other why, don't stop it from being heard to begin with.