Free speech... we hear about it ALL THE TIME nowadays, mostly in debating how to define "free speech". Most people would agree that you should be able to say whatever you want in the privacy of your own home without having to worry about whether the right to free speech allows for what you are saying. You could say pretty much whatever you want without suffering any repercussions (of course, unless you're threatening to kill someone, but that's another story). The main issue in free speech is what is allowed in a public forum. This holds especially true in the realm of the media.

The media has "free speech" too, but some things aren't allowed on TV (like the "seven dirty words" mentioned by George Carlin). Anything containing excessive violence or sex is either excessively censored, put on at an ungodly hour, restrained to a few pay channels, or any combination of the above. Movies are given ratings with age-limits on them. Books and magazines are excluded from libraries and banished to "adult" bookstores. The Internet so far has very little censoring of the content, although pay sites are common. Music takes the worst toll of all (in my humble opine), being censored on radio AND on some CDs, some being all-out banned from the radio entirely, having their videos edited to only 30 seconds of what it once was, having concerts protested, largely scapegoated for many violent acts, etc..

Censoring of music today confuses the hell out of me. I'd understand blanking out the seven dirty words and perhaps some sexual references while playing it on the radio, but in the latest Manson video, they blanked out the words "dead", "died", and "ratings"! ((THEY BLANKED OUT THE WORD "RATINGS"! I'd even perhaps let the others pass if it were played on Disney, but "ratings", for Christ's sake!)) Most parents, it seems, would rather let their 12-year-old watch an R-rated movie than listen to a Manson CD. This confuses me! There are no naked people in Marilyn Manson CDs, and if he speaks of violence at all it's to mock the people who commit it. And even if a child would listen to music describing violent acts, this is a LONG STRETCH from committing the acts.

I think if a child, or an adult for that matter, who will go kill people just because their favorite song talks about it should be committed. It's a problem with the person, not the song. The person's overly suggestable. That's like blaming alcoholism on the vodka distributor. And parents: if you do not want your kids listening to the music, watching movies, etc, THEN YOU READ THEM A FUCKING BOOK. Don't try to ruin it for us who do not have sticks up our asses. You spend time with your own kids, you teach them how to function, you keep them in a closet, and YOU deal with the malfunctions when they crash and burn in normal society.

Trust me, I can deal with a little violence. :-D.