Theos-Talk Archives (January 2005 Message tt00740)

Please note that I've never said that I approve of their site.

But I disapprove of some people applying their artistic standards
against others. (I'm not saying that the creator of the site thinks
they're being artistic either, but this ties into the next paragraph.)

Last night's Joan of Arcadia (an excellent show) had as one of its
themes artistic freedom. One of the students used the family's
recently deceased gerbil, dipped in shellac, as part of her art
project entitled "Momma always said there'd be days like this" and
another student went home, told her parents. The parents put pressure
on the principal, who told the teacher to get rid of that project. The
teacher refused, asked the principal to have the parents talk to her
first, so the parents came back to the principal (without talking to
the teacher) and demanded he remove it, so he removed it with no
explanation. Meanwhile, the student whose display was removed was
having trouble understanding. The teacher did go to the school board
and the board agreed that the issue of artistic freedom applied, so
the display came back.

My point is that if we let one group, no matter how large, determine
that this particular site is offensive and MUST BE REMOVED, then we
are hastening the day that other groups will start making the same
determination, and eventually, the sites that MUST BE REMOVED will be
a site that you are in favor of.

There's the old story that went something like:

They came for the Jews ... I didn't defend them because I'm not a Jew.
They came for the gays ... I didn't defend them because I'm not a gay.
...
(several more lines just like this but with other minority groups)
...
Yesterday, they came for me, but there was nobody left to defend me,
they had all been taken.

I only went to the site that one time years ago, figured out what it
was, and never visited it again until YOU brought it to my attention
this time.

And the only reason I saw it the last time was because someone was
sending around a petition to shut it down.

Sometimes, I wonder if the people who put up the pages aren't also
circulating the petitions, because they get MANY MORE VISITORS that
way. I know there have been controversial movies that got more paying
viewers because of negative publicity campaigns. I know I've gone to
some of them because of the people trying to tell me why I shouldn't
go see it.

Go ahead and protest all you like, but the simplest method of protest
is like when you see a show on television that you don't like. Just
change the channel. I didn't really care for the site, so I never went
back, until you forced me to. When I see someone killed on television
or an animal abused (simulation I'm sure) as part of a network show, I
don't tell the TV Network to cancel the show, I change the channel.

John
http://www.GodLovesEveryone.org/spiritual-dvds-every-month/
http://www.GodLovesEveryone.org
http://www.MAZES.com

*****

Erica:
<< The Bonsai Kittens site was closed a couple of times. So yeah the
site was and is considered abusive and many societies and groups of
animal protection have send recently complains to the server to close
down the web site. But now it seems that they got their own server, as
no complain is having effect. But time will show. Please do not try to
defend the right of someone to make such barbarian satires as this
one, the site is a sick barbarian joke and an agression for too many
people. >>

Erica 

John:


In addition, it would be very difficult to find a statute under which
such a site could be censored. Satire has always had certain types of
protections that other material did not. For example, I have some "Get
Out of Hell Free" cards that I like to give out, when I remember to
carry them. Hasbro cannot stop me from carrying them, giving them, or
even selling them, because they are satirical. (Hasbro did try to stop
Randy Cassingham, who invented the cards, from making them and selling
them, but they did not succeed.) (My version of the card can be seen
at www.GodLovesEveryone.org.)

If we can't censor websites that give directions on how to create
bombs (and governments would love to censor those), how can we censor
something that is recognized by the majority of site visitors as being
satire?

John
-- www.GodLovesEveryone.org and www.MAZES.com
http://www.GodLovesEveryone.org/spiritual-dvds-every-month/ *****
Prior messages ***** Erica Letzerich wrote: Yeah... you are right!
Erica Bart Lidofsky wrote: The point I am making is that there is no
"controlling body". As long as the website isn't based in a given
country, there is nothing that country can do. Bart Erica Letzerich wrote:

>>You may find some useful information about this matter on :Internet

Censorship Law and Policy Around the World. 

>>http://www.efa.org.au/Issues/Censor/cens3.html