Monday, January 17, 2011

Censorship, wtf?

Apparently, Dire Straits are a bunch of gay haters. 

I don't buy that for one second.  CBSC is taking it a bit far to censor an award winning song that was written 20 years ago.  Look out folks, we may have to go back into historical literature to take out ever "N" word that was written in every book at a time when slavery was still prevalent.  I am not saying that this is a good word to use, in fact, I believe the exact opposite.  However, music and literature are a reflection of the culture that was going on in the world at the time they were produced.  Why would we deny that these things happened, that these were the mainstream views?  We do a disservice to those who were affected and punished for having a different preference, or a different skin colour.  We essentially erase their suffering as if it didn't matter.  History is the only teacher that we as a people have and if we don't have an accurate picture, how can we remember not to repeat our mistakes or missteps?  My good friend Conrad pointed out to me that we may as well ban Weird Al, a Canadian icon of humorous music ie. Amish Paradise, I'm Fat, Eat It.  This takes us another step away from being a nation that embraces the right to freedom of speech/expression.  Ok fine, so it can be written, but not played on public radio or television.  I can't abide by someone making decisions for me.  I would rather hear the song, and decide for myself that this is something that I value, or not. 

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