We Interrupt This Week’s Feature Blog-Presentation For A Seriously Opinionated Commentary On This Country’s Inability To Embrace Free Speech
May 15th, 2007
This is the first time I am using WFME for a seriously opinionated blog post.
I know people visit this blog for entertainment purposes and I know the last thing anyone wants to hear about is a serious rant that has nothing to do with bread bowls, Freddie Prinze Jr. or my ability to eat six packs of crackers in less than a minute without drinking anything whatsoever. But there’s something going on in this country right about now that is completely driving me absolutely, whole-heartedly, completely and utterly mad.
So if you don’t want to hear about how our First Amendment rights are being curtailed by corporate America and the government — then move along… There’s nothing here to see.
Nice to see you below the fold.
In the last couple of years, if you’ve paid attention — you may have noticed how quickly big business and corporate America folds under the pressure of special interest groups and whining Americans. Janet Jackson’s nipple slips through her clothing (by accident or not) and people flip out. What follows is the subsequent rejiggering of all live television and radio — resulting in live-to-tape delays so that law suits and civil suits can be battled before they ever enter the courtroom. Shock jock Howard Stern’s suggestive topics and subject matter (which I’m not supporting or vilifying) results in Clear Channel dropping his show from particular markets. Don Imus says something that probably isn’t much different than the kinds of things he’s been saying for decades — but people like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton turn it into a witch hunt and threaten to boycott…
And what happens? The corporations, for fear of losing money (but not their respect or values) — bow down to the pressure because money is involved.
Don Imus wasn’t fired because of what he said. He was fired because of the backlash. Say what you will about his ethnic stereotypes and bad judgement — but that was Imus. Comb through his years of radio transcripts and you’ll find a slew of equally bad comments on personalities of every background and ethnicity. Does that mean I support what he said? No. Does that mean things in this country regarding the First Amendment are slowly deteriorating? Potentially.
Did this bother me solely because of the Imus thing? No.
Suddenly, after the Don Imus situation — more and more companies were bagging their talent because of things they said. DJ’s from “The Dog House with JV & Elvis” were fired by CBS radio a month after the Imus situation because of prank call where they phoned a Chinese restaurant and joked about Kung Fu and asked for “flied lice.” They were playing stereotypical characters (not unlike Jerry Lewis’ Chinese landlord character in Breakfast at Tiffany’s in 1961) that never previously rankled Asian-American groups — who last month flew into overdrive-outcry mode on the heels of learning a little bit from the Jackson/Sharpton situation.
Of course, it didn’t end there.
Just this week, XM’s “The Opie & Anthony Show” was put on hiatus after the two used offensive language (mind you, on an XM channel that is not governed by the FCC and makes mention of the adult content as you tune-in) about sex and Condoleeza Rice. I’ll bet you ten bucks that when we reach the end of their 30 day suspension, that show won’t be coming back as well.
These days, even leaving messages on your daughter’s personal voice mail system can get you in trouble (and potentially cause you to be prohibited from seeing your flesh and blood), as Alec Baldwin knows very well.
And just tonight I experienced what I like to call “the most idiotic e-mail protection system ever” — having an e-mail I sent to a friend at her office “rejected” because I included the phrases “holy crap” and “damn” in the body of the e-mail. Literally, it was sent back to me with this note: “Transaction failed due to offensive words or phrases in the message.” Seriously? Are you kidding me? HONESTLY?
It didn’t used to be like this.
You can say that this country has become more politically correct over the years. You can say that what was being said, done and thought in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s was never appropriate and thank god now people are finally waking up to what needs to be done about people who spread such vitriolic words. You can say that anyone, no matter if they’re an entertainer, radio host or next door neighbor, should be held responsible for such words — and punished accordingly.
And I can disagree.
If you don’t like a radio hosts’ lingo, don’t listen. If you think Alec Baldwin is a horrible father, that’s your right to say so. But when people have to start to fear what they say (like me, wondering if I should even put up this post for fear that someday down the line a future employer or corporation will find this and disregard me for an opportunity) then the First Amendment is slowly being wrapped up in moth balls and put away in a dark attic where no one will find it.
How many more people will lose their jobs because they were being silly, or just happened to say what was on their mind? How long will it take for entertainment to just end up being “sanctioned words.” Why can’t we all just ignore what we don’t like, and enjoy what we do?
I, for one, am sick of the trend.
This is me, standing up from my chair while cheering and stomping my feet.
Amen Paul, AMEN.
I am so, so tired of watching our freedoms deteriorate bit by bit. This is how it happens, this is how we creep slowly form democracy to facism with no one the wiser: bit by precious bit.
Comment by amandarin — May 15, 2007 @ 10:38 pm
Love it when you get serious. Nice to see a balance, an arc, at WFME. I now will peer pressure you at least once a month to get serious.
Seriously.
I’m serious.
Comment by JM — May 15, 2007 @ 11:52 pm
Amandarin - Nice to see you agree. Now the only question becomes, how the heck do we stop the ball rolling?
JM - I’m seriously serious. Sometimes.
Comment by Pauly D — May 16, 2007 @ 5:33 am
So, correct me if I’m mis-stating your opinion, you support everyone’s right to make possibly offensive comments AND the right corporate America to complain vociferously about it, but Imus and the like should not be fired?
Comment by Wordmaven — May 16, 2007 @ 6:00 am
Wordmaven - I’m a tad confused by what you mean. But — I support free speech (yes, even if what someone says might be offensive to you) but I don’t support Corporate America firing people for doing their job. Imus was hired by CBS Radio knowing the type of DJ he was. It’d be different if he was hired for a Christian Radio Network with conservative goals. It’s about expectation. If you hire DJ’s for a morning show because they’re controversial and on-the-edge — you shouldn’t fire them suddenly because of public outcry over questionable comments.
It takes a lot less effort and chaos for people to just ignore what they don’t want to hear, see and experience. We do it everyday, so why all of a sudden are we rallying behind firing DJs who are doing what they’ve been doing for years?
Comment by Pauly D — May 16, 2007 @ 6:38 am
Amen! I get a little sour every time I listen to my favorite rock station and notice that they’ve suddenly bleeped yet another word in a song that had never been bleeped before.
Comment by Jane — May 16, 2007 @ 6:48 am
Not for nothing, but Don Imus’ firing and all of this other DJ nonsense is not a free speech issue.
If Don Imus had said what he said and the Secret Service had shown up at his house and thrown him in jail, now that would be a free speech issue. The First Amendment says that we can say whatever we want and the government can’t touch us. It doesn’t bar an employer from firing one of their employees for making statements that could hurt their bottom line.
This is not to say that CBS was justified in firing Imus (he did nothing that was out of character - and IMO you could easily argue that he did exactly what he was paid to do), or that people aren’t too sensitive nowadays (this has only been getting worse since the Janet Jackson nipple), but its simply not a free speech issue.
The First Amendment allows us to say whatever we want without fear of government retaliation. It’s not a social contract that gives us license to say whatever we want, whenever we want, to whomever we want with no fear of retribution or consequence. Let’s just say that if I tell my wife that I think the particular pair of pants she has chosen to wear on a particular occasion are less than flattering…invoking the First Amendment will not save me, or my sex life.
A reasonable person always has to consider what they say before they say it. And there are always certain risks any time we choose to say anything (or even if we choose to say nothing). But, thankfully, one of those risks is not the police carting you off in handcuffs in the middle of the night.
BTW, I do agree that we would all be better off if people weren’t so f-ing sensitive.
Just my two cents.
Comment by Jim — May 16, 2007 @ 7:38 am
Jim - Point well taken, except for one thing. Some might say that Corporation A could very well have interests that the Government has influence over — and who knows where pressure is coming from.
That being said — yes, a company has the right to fire you for doing whatever they deem unnecessary, but it’s just unfortunate that the gauge has suddenly become extremely skewed and nowhere near equal across the board.
Comment by Pauly D — May 16, 2007 @ 7:44 am
Jim while your point is correct in theory, that’s not what’s happening in practice.
The FCC, the organization behind most of this pressure against “shock jocks” and the like, is an independent government agency. If corporations are firing employees because they fear FCC fines or suspensions, that is government relation. The fact that Imus didn’t end up in handcuffs doesn’t mean that the government isn’t trampling all over our First Amendment rights.
Comment by amandarin — May 16, 2007 @ 7:56 am
When Don Imus was fired, the company released a statement that what most influenced their decision was the barrage of internal emails they received from their employees, who suddenly felt emboldened to say to top management, this guy makes us feel bad, this guy is a disgrace, what is coming out of his mouth is a hateful embarrassment, and we sure wish we worked for a company that wouldn’t employ someone who on any level thinks calling a bunch of college women “nappy headed hos” is OK. In my opinion, it’s difficult to imagine a thought process that would cause that to come out of anyone’s mouth that doesn’t involve deepseated racism and misogyny.
Don Imus can start a blog tomorrow, or go to a park and stand on a box, and say anything he wants. His freedom of speech is completely intact. As is the freedom of speech of everyone who rose up against him and used their rights as Americans to stand up against what he said.
And I don’t care if he’s been saying that stuff for decades. If finally, finally, there is enough public opinion to stand up against his racism and his sexism, then I say good riddance. Racism and misogyny simply aren’t funny.
Comment by lizriz — May 16, 2007 @ 8:28 am
Paul, You may remember Janet Jackson’s nipple, but I don’t - BECAUSE it was during the halftime show which (even before the nipple’s appearance) had dancers doing that mock fornication-style dancing my kids ought not to see. We changed the channel to avoid viewing the dancing and RATS missed the nipple. The venue is important (Imus’ show is not kiddie programming), although controversial comments are not surprise to anyone who watches/listens to him - is it really “his job” to make racially insensitive insulting comments? No. Actually, I don’t think he should have been fired (oh, he’ll be back) - if folks want to send a message to him and his employer, turn off the show. The ratings would send a message more clearly than his reactive backlash firing.
Comment by Wordmaven — May 16, 2007 @ 1:03 pm
When are you gonna spring it on the rest of your readers that you will be running for office?
Comment by jacquie — May 18, 2007 @ 3:39 am
A little late to the party, but… Opie & Anthony weren’t suspended because of the “Homeless Charlie” bit. O&A were taken off the air by a company very aware that it’s going through a desperately-needed-to-survive merger that still needs approval by the government. They were in the clear about the Homeless Charlie bit after apologizing, but began ranting last Monday about similar topics you wrote about here and called for radio jocks to band together and fight the power. XM decided it was too much and yanked them. They still remain on CBS Radio though.
Might I remind the masses, however, that these are the same two guys who aired two people having sex in St. Patrick’s Cathedral (and were fired for that by CBS Radio) and also the same two guys who started a mild hysteria in Boston when they announced as an April Fool’s joke that the mayor was dead, even after their boss told them to stop (and were fired there too).
That said, XM is a paid service with channel blocking/parental control technology, and the channel that airs Opie & Anthony is specifically labeled for explicit language. The equivalent of what XM did would be like HBO yanking The Sopranos off the air because of content. I fully support their First Amendment rights to be on the air as long as they don’t violate FCC regulations (which are admittedly extremely hazy on “decency” boundaries), but you will never find them on my radio.
Comment by Keith — May 21, 2007 @ 7:45 am