Teh Evil!Censorship

For those who stubbornly seek freedom, there can be no more urgent task than to come to understand the mechanisms and practices of indoctrination. These are easy to perceive in the totalitarian societies, much less so in the system of 'brainwashing under freedom' to which we are subjected and which all too often we serve as willing or unwitting instruments. -Noam Chomsky

For fun in my ha-ha spare time, I play around in some online fandom areas. And a few weeks ago, a lawsuit filed against MySpace got many other online community providers, such as LiveJournal, all anxious and worried about the amount of pornage and smutty talk on their sites. And so they tweaked the language of their terms of service, suggesting that people who had "adult" content on their journals or in their communities take some steps to keep minors from viewing the content.

Now, on the surface I suppose this sounds perfectly reasonable. They didn't shut down the communities or tell people they couldn't have adult content.

The thing is, they didn't have to, because a lot of their customers and subscribers did it for them. And freaked me right out of my fucking mind.

What's wrong with people? They don't even wait to be asked, let alone forced, they just hand over their freedom of expression like it was NOTHING.

Maybe I love words too much. Maybe the thought that someone might try to control or limit what I can write is so terrifying to me that it makes me feel like throwing up, and I don't understand why anyone would feel any other way.

But I don't think it's just about words. I think it's about ideas and creativity and liberty and communication.

I think Lenny Bruce was right when he said if you can't say "fuck," then you can't say "fuck the government."

And by the way, fuck the government.

Just fuck.

So, I understand that infringing the ability of the fans of television shows to discuss the sex acts performed on such shows (and someone explain to me why Showtime and HBO can air these shows, but we  have to be skeert to write about them on the Internet?) does not amount to the suppression of great works of literature. Missy Good's overtly lesbian Xena fan fiction is not The Satanic Verses. (Well, actually, I like Missy Good better, but that's just me.)

Or actually, I don't understand that. I lied. It's true that some works are "better" than others, and I guess some are more "important" than others, and shit, I guess some works just plain suck. But ideas are ideas, and if you want the Internet to be free of them, you're potentially going to get your wish.

The Internet cannot, must not, ever become a safe and "child-friendly" place, whatever the fuck that means anyway. I think people are completely delusional about children and what they know and understand, but that's not really even my point. If you try to apply the standard of "child-safety" to the Internet, to ensure that nothing that would upset some fundamentalist homeschooler in the wilds of the Midwest ever sneaks even one hot, wet, throbbing little byte onto the hard drive of her home computer, then we are All. Totally. Fucked. Forever.

And if we do that not because some ruthless totalitarian government made us do it, but because we were nervous?

If we do it not because someone wiped out our photos on PhotoBucket or told us our default icon on LiveJournal was "too adult" but because we WORRIED THAT MIGHT HAPPEN?

If we do it not because we had to or we'd lose our job or our friends or custody of our children, but because we thought we might lose our MySpace page?

Then we've just handed over the most precious thing on earth to someone who thinks it's a hunk of worthless shit.

Freedom of expression isn't just a phrase you should let go in one ear and out the other. It really means something. It means something whether you're just letting all those silly brain bunnies run free on LiveJournal, or ranting about oppression on DailyKos. The principle is identical.

So long as the people do not care to exercise their freedom, those who wish to tyrannize will do so; for tyrants are active and ardent, and will devote themselves in the name of any number of gods, religious and otherwise, to put shackles upon sleeping men. -Voltaire

Don't sleep.

Comments

[ooogyfan2]

Sigh.

On the one hand I love you, because you had a tiny little picture of teh hawtness that is Brian and Justin, and if you click on it it's not a tiny little picture.

On the other hand I hate you because it feels a little bit like you're telling me if I don't unlock my lj community the terrorists win.

In my defense, my lj community has always been locked. I didn't just lock it now.

On the other hand, I locked it for exactly the reasons you give, because I'm a skeert little girl hiding from the bad men. I have to think about this.

And that's why I hate you.

[Christie Keith]

Sigh, I understand. Please don't hate me.

This is the thing. You have a community, not a journal, and I can see that you want it private and there are reasons to have it private.

But this isn't about PRIVACY, it's about FREEDOM, and that's the thing that worries me about the reaction many people have, not just on LJ but all kinds of places, even us on PetHobbyist! It's a chilling effect.

[KT]

Once again, I have to demonstrate my shallowness by cheering on the mention of Missy Gold, my absolute fave fanfic author ... and THE GAB PICTURE!!! Oh my. Still trying to figure out what XWP tattoo to get ... ;) Maybe not this one. Something unique.

KT

[Christie Keith]

I thought she was your SECOND favorite fan fic author?

As to the Gab hawtness, well yes. But that picture IMO is SO MUCH about the look on Xena's face....

[ooogyfan2]

You guys is a bunch of lezzies.

[KT]

Ooogy, and what's wrong with that?

::: revelling happily in my XWP fanfic world :::

Christie ... Melissa Good = fave XWP writer ... someone else is my fave QAF fanfic writer ;)

[Nancy Campbell]

There's absolutely no good time to instill censorship. I'm so vehemently against it that I will personally put my ass on the line to stand up for my freedom. It is not MY responsibility to control other people or their children. If they can't teach their child good sense, morality (their version of it) and even critical thinking then they damn well better not look at me to fuckin' do it.

If someone doesn't want their child watching a certain program, change the goddamn channel. If they don't want their child surfin' the net and reading porn, then maybe they should take the necessary steps they need to take in order to build that little bubble around their child.

Sure, a 10 year old child doesn't need to be reading porno fanfic of any kind, but that doesn't mean authors need to stop writing it or putting it up on the net. It does means parents need to take responsibility for the lives they bring into this world and stop shoving their morality down everyone elses throats.

When I was in my 20's I thought people had become sheep.

When Walmart refused to sell Cheryl Crow's album because of a single line in it about buying guns at Walmart, unless she edited out that line...and she did it, I knew we were fucked. When they further refused to sell all music that contained, what they felt was "objectionable material" and demanded artists either produce acceptable material or edit the original, and they do it, I knew we were fucked.

Now I'm in my 40's and I *know* we're fucked little sheep that are refusing to see the big bad wolf until we're inside looking out the asshole.

[Gil.]

It's not that I don't see your point. I do. And to a great extent I agree. But let me ask you this, whose fault is this attack on "free speech"? There is a line and when freedom becomes license, you have to expect fallout.

Freedom of expression is priceless. And we ought to be as furious at those who take that freedom as permission to be gratuitously offensive as we are at those who would seriously curtail it because they bridle at the assault on their standards. Though at least the latter 'have' standards, even if they're cramped.

The fault is not all on one side here.

[Christie Keith]

I guess it's just one more thing we'll have to agree to disagree on. I'm a free speech absolutist. There aren't two sides to this for me.

[Nancy Campbell]

Ditto.

I know that I am not the first to say this or any of it's variations, but I stand by it heart and soul.

I may disagree with what you have to say, write, paint or scupt (etc.), in fact it may even offend me deeply. But trust me on this, I will defend YOUR RIGHT to do so, to my death.

[Gil.]

“When liberty becomes license, dictatorship is near.” -Will Durant

???....???

Nah, couldn't happen.

[Gil.]

"I may disagree with what you have to say, write, paint or sculpt (etc.), in fact it may even offend me deeply. But trust me on this, I will defend YOUR RIGHT to do so, to my death."

Not me. Words hurt. Unbelievable junk miscalled art is so offensive it makes me crazy. I ain't defending anyone's right to hurt me or make me out an idiot if I don't see beauty in monstrosity. I'm more likely to punch you in the mouth.

Not you specifically, Nancy. Just 'you'. (g)

[Therese]

I have to agree with those of you who say it's one sided. I get so frustrated, sad, and downright pissed off (oops..should I type that bad word?) when people try to impose THEIR beliefs on me. If they don't like what I say, write, or do, then guess what? They don't have to listen, read, or watch!!! You're right...we are fucked...in many ways, our freedom is being taken away...and it's being replaced with the *illusion* of freedom. And are the sheep falling for it? You betcha!

[Lisa Paddock]

Once again, Christie, you've written a piece that helps explain why I am such a fan and why yours is the only blog I read: We share the same values. Like you, like the late Hugo Black, I am a First Amendment absolutist, and if it didn't sound so damned pompous, I'd add that the First Amendment is my only religion. Still, I am a lawyer by training and a libel victim by accident, and both circumstances prompt me to add that there is free speech, and then there is not-so-free speech. The Constitution is a wondrous document that helps to explain why this is so. After reading through the primary document, however, one cannot help but notice that the First Amendment is the FIRST Amendment. I call on all fundamentalists to review this fundamental; doing so renews one's faith in all manner of things--including one's fellow human beings.