Sad Sad day for free speech

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by Fab

I think decency is treating others well, not hushing up those bad ole cuss words.

How about parents who would prefer to keep their children from hearing rubbish like what is heard on Stern, Opus and Andy, et. al.? The point is that airwaves radio is, for the most part, not controllable by the parent (as far as keeping it from getting to the children), whereas a pay option (such as Sirius, XM, cable TV and satellite) is more readily parentally controllable.

There has to be a threshold of what is acceptable to be put out on the airwaves and on the Superbowl halftime show. That threshold has been long passed.

[Fab]

What, they don't make "off" buttons any more? When Alice is in the car, we listen to a CD in the morning, as it's either filth or hate. Moving Stern to Sirius won't change that here, he doesn't even get played here.
As a parent, it's my responsibility to filter what gets into my kid's head. She came home from school today and asked me what chronic masturbation is, an eighth grader used the phrase to insult another eighth grader. After considering the fishing addict lie, I told her the truth, and she was completely and utterly disgusted. "That's what made it such a funny insult to them." I said.
So, should I pull her out of school? I went to private school - Born Again Christian Private School, in fact, and there was a lot more sex and sex talk going on there than at the public school I went back to upon being thrown out. (Halloween, forks, Ozzy, headmaster's lawn, long story.)
No matter what you do, some stuff's gonna get heard by your kid. Fact of life. But I also feel there's things out there a lot more obscene than talk of boobies and farting. Like the Patriot Act. But that's a different thread (and yes, KY, I did read it!)
Your mileage may vary!

[Fab]

What, they don't make "off" buttons any more? When Alice is in the car, we listen to a CD in the morning, as it's either filth or hate. Moving Stern to Sirius won't change that here, he doesn't even get played here.
As a parent, it's my responsibility to filter what gets into my kid's head. She came home from school today and asked me what chronic masturbation is, an eighth grader used the phrase to insult another eighth grader. After considering the fishing addict lie, I told her the truth, and she was completely and utterly disgusted. "That's what made it such a funny insult to them." I said.
So, should I pull her out of school? I went to private school - Born Again Christian Private School, in fact, and there was a lot more sex and sex talk going on there than at the public school I went back to upon being thrown out. (Halloween, forks, Ozzy, headmaster's lawn, long story.)
No matter what you do, some stuff's gonna get heard by your kid. Fact of life. But I also feel there's things out there a lot more obscene than talk of boobies and farting. Like the Patriot Act. But that's a different thread (and yes, KY, I did read it!)
Your mileage may vary!

[cstephens]

I ended up starting to listen to Howard by accident a couple years ago. All of my shows that I listen to in the morning end at 10am, and on days when I wouldn't get to work until after that time, there wasn't anything else to listen to, so I ended up listening to Howard. I did like listening to some of his interviews, and there were times when he would be interesting, but other times, it was just potty humour and the like, which isn't my thing. And the sex stuff wasn't offensive to me - it was just boring. I've heard other people do similar things that I found funny, but for some reason, his approach didn't do it for me.

What really was turning me off his show was Robin though. She irritates me to no end. She's like a really bad version of Ed McMahon. She goes along with pretty much everything he says and rarely adds anything original to it, and then there's what sounds like her fake laugh.

So now, I don't know what to listen to after 10am. I liked Adam Carolla ok on Loveline, but I'm not sure I'm all that interested in listening to him that much more.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Originally Posted by Fab

As a parent, it's my responsibility to filter what gets into my kid's head.

Hear, hear! You must spread some Mojo around before giving it to Fab again.

[€uroMeinke]

I don't know, I 've got to wonder if the impact of naughty words and humor would vanish if there weren't so many restrictions as to increase their "naughtyness" value. Kids hear the stuff plenty of placces whre there are no controls. But I think for most people you pass a certain threshold and the forbidden becomes boring.

[BarTopDancer]

It is a parents responsiblity to filter what their kid is listening to not the governments or a commission (FCC).

We were all going along fine until one day OMG there was a second of boobie on TV. EEK! What is the world coming too! Surely Howard or Opie and Andy must have caused it! The very fiber of our morality is being corrupted by potty humor. Let's fine everyone and make sure the innocent children are protected form something that parents should be protecting them from anyways. Then the FCC started going crazy fining for things that PB (pre-boob) were acceptable.

I fully agree that Howard started pushing the boundaries after the 'incident' and went as far as he could go after he signed a deal with Sirius. But really, for nearly 20 years he was acceptable for the public airwaves then one day he wasn't. It's sad that more people don't see what's wrong with this situation.

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by BarTopDancer

We were all going along fine until one day OMG there was a second of boobie on TV. <snip>. Then the FCC started going crazy fining for things that PB (pre-boob) were acceptable.

<snip> But really, for nearly 20 years he was acceptable for the public airwaves then one day he wasn't. It's sad that more people don't see what's wrong with this situation.

Considering that Stern was fired from his first NYC gig (WNBC) in 1985 because he was too crude and that his first (of MANY) major FCC fine was in 1992 to the tune of $600,000, I would hardly say that he was "acceptable" for 20 years.

Sure things started getting stricter after the wardrobe malfunction. But it was the straw that broke the camel's back. The rules had been broken for quite some time. Just a little at first, then more and more until, "OK, that's it!"

While it is easy to cry "it's not the government's job to protect me," when people do not do a good job of moderating themselves, then yes, it is the government's job to step in and smack somebody upside the head. It's called personal responsibility (when you don't excercise it, somebody's only gonna put up with so much crap until they break). Too many people do not know when to stop!

Also, the big-bad government has not "over-reacted." It is clearly stated in the "rules of the game" that naked boobs are not allowed on broadcast television. When rules get broken, the defecation is gonna hit the rotary oscillator.

Should the FCC not react when Janet flashes? If not then, when? Two boobs at once? Heck, let's just cut to the chase and allow full-on intercourse complete with close-ups. After all, if a parent doesn't want their children to see this, then they just need to turn the TV off!

And why stop with the TV? Let's allow strip clubs to open right next to schools - after all, only consenting adults are allowed into these places.

And why should only 18 and over folks be allowed to have all the fun? Why 18? 17 is close enough isn't it? How about 16? I know some 14 year-olds that act more "adult" than some 30-somethings - should they be allowed to view such material?

But don't let the big-bad government tell me what to do

[Not Afraid]

The FCC has always been a strong protector of the airwaves. This happened long before Howard didn't invent being rude and boring on the air.

[BarTopDancer]

Originally Posted by Not Afraid

The FCC has always been a strong protector of the airwaves. This happened long before Howard didn't invent being rude and boring on the air.

They didn't fine him for being boring . If you find him rude and boring no one is making you listen. And that's the point. They started fining him (and others) for things they did PB and wern't fined for instead of saying Hey, turn it off if you don't like it. I don't listen to Christian radio or watch Christian TV but I'm not trying to get it off the air because I find a lot of what they say offensive. I just don't listen.