censorship who gives a fk

Brad MiskaPeriod 8 EnglishCENSORSHIP Who gives a F**k!!! My
life has been nothing but censorship since the time I was born. When I
was very young and lived in Chicago there were all sorts of interesting
things around to play with. My parents physically censored me by putting
me in "baby prison." They felt that certain things needed to be censored
from me because of their potential danger. So I was kept out of harms
way in the playpen or crib. As I grew older and was no longer watched by
my parents 24 hours a day, I realized that I was censored by others. In
school, it was constantly no to this and no to that. All that negativity is not
good for children, all day long. It was always interesting to me as to why
we recited the pledge of allegiance in school, what if you are not
American? I also was not allowed to watch the news. My parents felt it
was "real violence", and not appropriate for me, that was parental
censorship. When I was old enough to go out with my friends I became
confused when my parents said I could see an "PG-13" rated movie but
the theater wouldn't let me in. When I argued that "my parents said I
could go see it!!", the theater management always said things like I need
to be 13 or must be accompanied by a parent and so on. I then proposed
this question, my parents said I could see it, now why can't I see it? The
answer to that question is the government doesn't think I am old enough.
My mom said live with it, there is nothing you can do. I think that made
me more inquisitive.That was just the beginning, I was too young to go on
certain rides and too young to go into stores like Sharper Image and I
was too young to purchase the music that I really enjoyed. When I was
able to get my hands on a Compact Disc I had wanted, it sometimes had
a "Explicit Lyrics" warning sticker on it. I would go home, listen and enjoy
only to get lectured by my parents. They said things such as; you can't
have anything that contains profanity, or any type of objectionable
material. "Then again I am only going to encounter it in the real world!!!", I
would reply. Obviously there are many different views to take on this
issue, and I knew there was a long and difficult battle ahead of me until I

was 18. I contend that censoring music is a necessary evil but, it
should be allowed to a minimal degree. Instead it is the parents that need
to be the censor for their children. With proper "tools", such as Advisory
stickers, I believe parents can effectively control objectional material in
they household. Also there is much controversy on whether or not the
government is playing the part of the parent. A Censor, from the Latin
word censere, to judge, is an official with the power to examine literature,
mail, etc. and remove or prohibit anything considered obscene,
objectionable, etc to subject to censorship. What a censor edits, might
violate the First Amendment. The First Amendment to the Constitution of
the United States of America states that "Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of
the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a
redress of grievances." In my opinion and the opinion of countless
others, censorship is unconstitutional. The general wording in the First
Amendment allows many different interpretations. Because of these
various interpretations, ProCensorship and Anticensorship
organizations/factions have formed. One of the most powerful groups you
want on your side for anti-censorship is the American Civil Liberties Union
(ACLU). From 1925 to the present, the ACLU "has been on the forefront
of the fight to protect constitutional freedoms through the court systems."
Legislation has been proposed for the prevention of explicit lyrics
with a multitude of bills never passing or if they had, not being enforced.
In the state of Washington there was a law passed called "The Erotic
Music Bill." This 1992 law stated that store owners had to place an
"adult only" label on certain recordings. It was also stated that it was a
crime for anyone to sell a CD or tape that had an "adult only" label on it to
a person under the age of eighteen." The law was passed but was never
put into effect because the State Court declared it Unconstitutional,

violating the First Amendment to The Constitution of the United States.
That is just an example of why restricting the sale of controversial music
or video will never work! Pro-censorship groups are lobbying for
legislation to attempt to censor music right now. In Montana, lawmakers
are trying make some money on so-called obscene music/art by fining up
to $50,000 and 10 years in prison for purchasing and selling music that
has the "sticker" on it. In Pennsylvania, they want you to be at least 18
years old to purchase a CD with explicit lyrics and being caught could get
you up to 25 hours of community service. In South Carolina, the retailer
would get fined for a third offense which is considered a felony which is
up to $2000 and five years in jail. The Parent's Music Resource Center
(P.M.R.C.) does not want recordings that include topics of sexuality,
violence, drug or alcohol abuse, and suicide to be produced. They also
want store owners to be punished if they produce or sell any music that
contains these previous topics. Many people think it objectionable to have
unlabeled CDs available to parents and children. Tipper Gore is the
leader of the P.M.R.C and is working non-stop to get censorship into
effect in conjunction with the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of
America). The issue of censorship was pushed constantly by PMRC so
that the RIAA, as a compromise, made up a sticker in 1990, that warned
of obscenities in musician's lyrics. The "Parental Advisory-Explicit Lyrics"
sticker also known as "Tipper Stickers", was introduced but that still
wasn't good enough for Tipper Gore and her P.M.R.C. It is also the belief
that the stickers make children more curious and then they want them
more, but there is no evidence supporting that yet. The P.M.R.C. seem to
think that parents can't do the job of parenting, They want more than the
"Tipper Sticker", they want all obscenities vanquished from the face of the
planet. They think that if they continue to push, they will win. The
government obviously doesn't think it will work, even if a law does pass, it
would be repealed because it would be unconstitutional. The FCC

(Federal Communications Committee), created in 1934 to regulate
communication by radio, wire and cable, has fined many bands and radio
stations for profanity used on the air. They are being hassled by groups
such as the P.M.R.C. who feel a much larger fine would decrease the use
of profanity. Not everyone believed in the P.M.R.C. In 1989, ROC (Rock
Out Censorship) was founded and they began to set up booths, with the
approval of the band management, at concerts to educate the music fans
about what is going on with all of the censorship battles. In 1992, they
gathered more than 35,000 signatures in a bold attempt to remove the
warning labels, and now have well over 50,000 signatures. They have
sent numerous letters to MTV and radio stations in hopes of getting
support for their cause. Here is a great quote from a letter to MTV from
ROC-" The Government Subcommittee basically told the industry that
"either you clean up your industry, or we'll [the Government] clean it up
for you". This is hardly the language of a voluntary system. It is the
language of censorship. It is not voluntary when you are put under the
barrel of a gun Today the censors target violence and sex, tomorrow it
will be opposing political thoughts." ROC contends that the First
Amendment states there is freedom of speech, so it's wrong to censor.
They will continue to fight the "Tipper Sticker" and censorship. They will
go as far as the P.M.R.C. will go, but in the other direction. The ROC
members are not the only ones who are against censorship and the
P.M.R.C., bands such as Megadeth write songs showing their view. They
wrote a song against censorship called "Hook in Mouth" on their CD
called So Far So Good So What. Here are some lines from the song,
"Hook in Mouth", "A little man with a big eraser, changing history Altering
facts and figures, events and every issue Rewrites every story, every
poem that ever was Replacing rights with wrongs You say you've got
the answers, well who asked you anyway? Ever think it was meant to be
this way?" These lines show they are against Censorship. The next lines

which are the chorus are really interesting, "F, is for fighting, R is red,
ancestor's blood in battles they've shed. E, we elect them, E, we eject
them, in the land of the free, and the home of the brave. D, is for your
dying, O, your overture, M is for money and you know what that cures.
This spells out FREEDOM, it means nothing to me, as long as there is a
P.M.R.C IM not a fish, IM a man, Hook in mouth!!!!!!!" They believe that
the P.M.R.C. takes away our freedom and we are caught on their "Hook".
I really like this song. Soundgarden had things to say as well.
Soundgarden's Matt Cameron interviewed by Angie Beardslee in the
Rock Out Censorship Website in 1996 said he feels censorship is
un-American. He also was very clear on his opinion that "Every kind of
music is art. Music is art!" Kids have been put right in the middle of this
mess. Who are their parents? Most children were raised by their parents,
who fed them, clothed them and took them to the park. So who bought
the kids their CD's before they were old enough to buy them themselves?
Their parents did. That is why kids feel that if something is going to be
censored from them, it should be done by their parents. They say that the
Government gave us the freedom, now they shouldn't try and take it back.
The kids are always hit with the thought that they buy CD's for the Lyrics.
They say that they don't purchase the music for the lyrics, they buy it for
the music, but when they mess with the words it messes with the full
version of the song, it is considered art and should not be tampered with.
When a authority figure censors something, not only does it affect the
"art" but it affects the enjoyment of the music as well. The government is
acting as the parent of all of the children out there. Is it necessary to tell
the parents that they aren't doing a good job raising their children? There
are parents on both sides of this issue. Is it true that many parents can't
control their children and need help by government? Kids say that it
should be the parents job. It is proven that the way a child will act as an
adult is not only because of the way they were brought up, but also by the

environment in which they were raised. Music, wel