Goodbye Freedom of Expression

[zooted999]

Yesterday at approximately 11:30AM, I stepped out of my american government class ecstatic that I finally finished my midterm. 10 chapters about government, its history and its contemporary application are now lodged into my head.

I head over to the food court, buy myself a sandwich and start watching MtvU and Sean Paul's song, "We Be Burning" is on. If you did not already know, this song is about partying particularly with cannabis, the epitomizing line being, "Legalize it, time to recognize it" at the end of the chorus. So at this point, I'm surprised that they made a video for this song although I did hear it on the radio a few months earlier. The chorus approaches and I'm getting a bit anxious about the words "Legalize It" about to play through out the food court. The chorus arrives and instead of "Legalize it, time to recognzie it", they replaced it with "Recognize it, pimping as we ridin."

I was about to punch a wall-- I thought to myself, okay, maybe because this video is on during the day, they didn't want impressionable kids to hear that but that couldn't of possibly been their concern because the line prior to "Legalize it" is "Sipping Hennesy and We Be Bubblin" so clearly, safety with drugs isn't of their concern, it's just a blatant violation of freedom of expression.

It's so frustrating, especially now that I understand government much more, to see this sort of thing happening. The only legal limit on Freedom of Expression is if it incites violence and lawlessness or if it infringes on the rights of others-- which this song doesn't do.

The more I see things like this the more I want to pull my hair out, because in reality, there's little I can do about it.

<End Rant>

[STDzRus]

That's not the government. Well sort of.

That is MTV's SOLE decision to edit the song in order for the artist to let it play.
The FCC likes to play it's scare tactics.

[ladyM]

Read the thread about free speech, thats what my original message was about. The song must have offended someone and that ignorant, narrowminded person is now imposing their will onto people who are fully capable of making up their own mind about the lyrics.

It is very frustrating! There is a sign that reads, " if voting could change things, it would be illegal. " It may be irrelevant here, but it shows how impotent we are to make any real changes in this country. Once freedom is dampened in one small way, the whole idea of freedom is in question. That was lyrics to a song you liked, what about the next book you read, or the next movie you see, or art gallery/ museum you visit? How long before everything we do, see, hear, think and read is censored and changed to what one small group of people think is acceptable? What one person finds morally reprehensible, the next person finds morally acceptable.

[MightyFourTwenty]

Read the thread about free speech, thats what my original message was about. The song must have offended someone and that ignorant, narrowminded person is now imposing their will onto people who are fully capable of making up their own mind about the lyrics.

It is very frustrating! There is a sign that reads, " if voting could change things, it would be illegal. " It may be irrelevant here, but it shows how impotent we are to make any real changes in this country. Once freedom is dampened in one small way, the whole idea of freedom is in question. That was lyrics to a song you liked, what about the next book you read, or the next movie you see, or art gallery/ museum you visit? How long before everything we do, see, hear, think and read is censored and changed to what one small group of people think is acceptable? What one person finds morally reprehensible, the next person finds morally acceptable.

Yeah, it's completely ridiculous. You guys pretty much summarized it all up already, and have excellent points.

[P.E.N.G.U.I.N.]

Yes, I noticed the ruthless censorship of "We Be Burnin'" as well. When I first heard the song (Uncensored) I was practically jumping for Joy because my friend told me Sean Paul had made a video for it. I thought "Wow, if this gets on the radio and T.V. maybe some people will think about it!". Well, when i saw the video on MTV i was ready to kill someone. I'm sick of Our government. Nothing is really controlled by the people in power anymore. It's all the Oil Barons and Big-Time government Contractors that make the decisions. None of them care about the people; They just care about keeping us in line so that they can make their way to the Bank. Abraham Lincoln predicted it would happen near the end of the Civil War, and so it has happened. God help us...

[passit420]

thats why i dont watch mtv, they are anti-cannabis for the most part. for god's sake, they made an entire simpsons episode about medical marijuana, he tokes with otto (non-medical user) and it was on national telivision uring primetime. i saw it and fell in love at like 10 years old. drug references are constantly on tv, its not the fcc abusing their power for the most part, its fucking teeniebopper vision broadcasting images of sex, alcohol abuse, and boy bands but dont see it to be right to broadcast lyrics to a song about legalizing a plant for gods sake. that is why i only watch channels who present the truth, not meant to mean i a take everything i hear as the truth, but the channels i prefer dont hold a bias.

[slipknotpsycho]

don't take this the wrong way, but the only thing to do is just get the fuck up and move on and forget about it. there is always going to be a group of people that are against what you want. whether it be weed or even christianity. tha'ts just the beauty of opinion...and the richer always win....and if you don't believe that statment look at this way..there aren't too many rich potheads, and i don't know of one that has more money then people, such as bush....so becasue he has the money (along with thousands of others) to put their opinions all over tv and not think twice about the money spent on it, where as people who actually can see the good in legalization don't have the money to broadcast their opinions all over the damn place and shove what they think is right down everyone else's thraots....

[partyguy420]

yea... i think that our american govement is all just full of bull shit. "home of the free and the brave"???? thats a load of shit, i mean we are sapost to have a fredom of spech. arnt we??? well... i say bull shit in school for sumthing that was bull shit that was said to me. and i get kicked out. for a fucking full week. what about smoking weed? we get arested for smoking a joint. what about alcohal and ciggerets? ive had to go to treatment classes for weed beer and tabacoo pruducts.

NOW THE THING THAT PISSES ME OFF THE MOST IS THAT CROCK OF SHIT BUSH, MAKING IT SO THAT GAYS AND LESBIANS CANT BE MARRIED, I MEAN IF YOU LOVE SUM ONE, THEN U LOVE THEM, WEATHER OR NOT ITS A SAME SEX MARIGE.

and another thing is this is sapost to be a free country, and there are all of these shity fucking laws, i think they should only have laws for murder, and burgulary, and shit like that. non of this bull shit were if u want to smoke a joint u get aressted bull shit crap, or if u wana hammer a few alcohalic beverages, u should be alowed to.

and i sweare on my grandpas grave that if this bull shit on freedom of expertion gets anyworse then it dose then rite now, im gonna pull out a fucking rifel and start killing every person in our goverment, starting with the presedent, then the fucking vise president, and work my way down the line, cuz they are all starting to piss me off.

[slipknotpsycho]

i actually think b ush is gay...he does hang out with cheney alot....i think he just puts on an act so america won't hate him, tha'ts w hat he's always seemed like to me....like he just does wh at he thinks the majority of his country would want, instead of making the right decisions, or even what he feels is right....

[STDzRus]

"The war on drugs is a war between lower - middle class people on "illegal drugs" vs Rich people on prescription drugs.

[lateralus]

I don't watch music videos. :p