CRTC Darling, Marshall Mathers
Well.
RayK stopped by the blog yesterday to take issue with my warnings of progressive effort to create a risk-free society. In particular, he took issue with the suggestion of music being banned or censored by the liberals among us, and suggested, really that was the purview of conservatives.
I appreciate his thoughts, and am thankful for this medium allowing people to connect in a civil way.
And with all respect, I disagree with him.
Respectfully.
Firstly, there is a mountain of difference between Canadian conservatives and U.S. Conservatives. Canada conservative effort typically relates to fiscal issues, not social issues - whereas the U.S. Conservative movement has a much stronger social conservative element, arising from a large presence of what I occasionally refer to as Christian extremists.
So.
Firstly, don't use comparisons of American conservatives to make a point regarding Canadian Politics.
While certainly, there are Christian Extremists like Charles McVety in Canada - the reality is that censorship in modern media is alive and well - and it isn't coming from the right.
In response to RayK who wrote, "If you actually believe that progressives want to do things like ban Eminem, then you really have no idea who progressives are or what they want":
Uh, can you say "Money for Nothing"? Canadian Broadcast Standards Council says you can't play it because it uses the term "faggot" - never mind the context of the use. For those who aren't conversant with the offending lyrics, the song is basically about a blue collar worker complaining over how rock stars live compared to him - here's the offending portion:
We gotta install microwave ovens
Custom kitchen deliveries
We gotta move these refrigerators
We gotta move these colour TV's
See the little faggot with the earring and the makeup
Yeah buddy that’s his own hair
That little faggot got his own jet airplane
That little faggot he’s a millionaire
That HAS been censored, in fact, by the CRTC. And that is not a response to "conservative pressure".
Now then. If you think that is "ban worthy", imagine if someone brings this to their attention, from Eminem's "Criminal":
My words are like a dagger with a jagged edge
And I'll stab you in the head, whether you're a fag or lez
A homosex, hermaph, or a transeves
Pants address, hey fags, the answer's yes
Homophobic?
Nah, you're just heterophobic
Starin' in my jeans, watchin' my genetiles bulgin'
That's my mothafuckin' balls, you better let go of 'em
They belong in my scrotum, you'll never get ahold of 'em
Hey, it's me, Versace
Whoops, somebody shot me
And I was just checkin' the mail
Get it, checkin' the male?
How many records you expectin' to sell?
After your second LP sends you directly to jail
Come on, relax cat
I like gay men, right Ken?
Give me an Amen
"Amen!"
Yes. I'm sure the progressives over at the CRTC would give Eminem a pass, but would ban Dire Straits. They just don't know about it. Which is the other stupid thing about censorship - it's so arbitrary.
And if we want to really get into the most insidious censorship in Canada, we would discuss the Canadian Human Rights Commissions.. but that would take all day.
Sure - there are those in the progressive movement who are very anti-censorship, and there are those in the conservative movement who would be pro-censorship - but by and large, the drive to "help" us by advocating more government regulation and control comes from well intentioned "progressives".
Thank-you, I'll take a pass on the hand of the State on my shoulder.
3 comments:
That HAS been censored, in fact, by the CRTC.
You should get your facts straight. The ban was NOT by the CRTC. It was by the CBSC (Canadian Broadcast Standards Council) which is an industry body and has nothing to do with the government.
I do however, think the ban is stupid. In order to have free speech you must protect all speech, even that which you find offensive.
First off, the CRTC is in no way a progressive organization. It is a regulatory body--nothing more, nothing less. The CRTC can create, eliminate, tighten or loosen regulations.
Second, the CRTC is in no way a progeressive organization. It has made many rulings progressives disagree with. If one assumes that any decision one doesn't like is "progressive", then they'd be progressive, but actual progressives disagree with the CRTC all the time.
Third, the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council is not part of the CRTC. In fact, as Reid points out, the CBSC is an industry body that answers to the corporate executives who run our media companies. These people are not--I can assure you--progressive.
Fourth, The CBSC doesn't ban songs--as Conservatives always seem to claim whenever the CBSC hands down a decision regarding a song that includes the word "faggot". Rather, the CBSC requires that songs be "edited for radio play". They do this for ALL CURSE WORDS--including, but not limited to, epithets. This is not a progressive issue. I know of no progressives who think it's really of any importance one way or another whether songs are edited for radio play. There are nosy nannies on both sides of political spectrum; if I've got to choose, I'll take the side with the folks who are concerned with words like f*ggot and n*gger rather than sh*t and f*ck.
On a personal note, I felt SFL's earlier post was insulting and presented a caricatured picture progressives. For that reason I used the word "ludicrous" to refer to the content of his post. Given the constructive nature of his response, I have tried to respond in kind in this comment. Cheers!
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