In memo to staff, @NPR standards editor says it is now necessary to say “shithole” on the radio so that listeners know the day’s news, but preceded by a warning to listeners, and “no more than one use of the word each hour in the main shows is enough.”— Steve Inskeep (@NPRinskeep) January 12, 2018
I might remind readers that 'shit' was on the top of George Carlin's list of seven dirty words.
The seven dirty words are seven English-language words that American comedian George Carlin first listed in 1972 in his monologue "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television".[1] The words are: shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker, and tits.[2][1]It's time to thank President Trump for making it possible for broadcast media personnel to now use the word 'shit' on air without interference from the FCC. Hopefully, the other six will soon become useable when appropriate too.
At the time, the words were considered highly inappropriate and unsuitable for broadcast on the public airwaves in the United States, whether radio or television. As such, they were avoided in scripted material, and bleep censored in the rare cases in which they were used; broadcast standards differ in different parts of the world, then and now, although most of the words on Carlin's original list remain taboo on American broadcast television. The list was not an official enumeration of forbidden words, but rather was compiled by Carlin. Nonetheless, a radio broadcast featuring these words led to a U.S. Supreme Court decision in FCC v. Pacifica Foundation that helped define the extent to which the federal government could regulate speech on broadcast television and radio in the United States.
Write your representatives in Washington that you applaud this boost for free speech from Trump and their lack of opposition.
However, what's allowable on broadcast tv and radio is not necessarily what should be allowable by a sitting president of the United States. And it's not the word 'shit' that I object to, but the racism of excluding people of color while inviting Norwegians.
If your members of Congress haven't stood up in protest, you might want to remind them that the president is a sick, dishonest, depraved human being who is not fit for office. And the checks and balances written in the Constitution mean it's their responsibility to act.
That they shouldn't wait until November when the people of the United States will act for them.
That bad, Steve?
ReplyDeleteI had taken an hour to write a comment to post here, but I thought better of it. We have our problems, too.
Yes, but at least Sen. Murkowski spoke up about it.
ReplyDelete