freedom of speech vs censorship

Dr. Hobo · Post by **Dr. Hobo** » 9/11/2007, 11:09 am

so i was poking around on the cbc's website and came across a story about kathy griffin and some acceptance speech she gave and the fact its being cut from broadcast for being "too controversial" and wondered if i was the only who felt her rights to free speech were violated.. so heres the link to the story and the excerpts of what she said in particular and what the complaint and what was said in regards to her speech to get it dropped from the broadcast and then i leave it up to y'all to discuss :nod:

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/tv/story/2007/09 ... -fuss.html

what was said by griffin:

"A lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award," Griffin said in her speech. "I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus."

She went on to hold up her Emmy for best reality show and add: "This award is my god now!"

what was said by the catholic league:

Catholic League president Bill Donohue complained about the remarks on Monday, calling them a "vulgar, in-your-face brand of hate speech."
The lobby group called on the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences to "denounce Griffin's obscene and blasphemous comment."

my take is that does not constitute hate speech and if thats hate speech i should be in jail by all accounts and i dont even hate anyone heh.. so now i leave it up to y'all to discuss and i'll come back and post in here when i remember i created this thread :nod:

ps. i dont mean to offend anyone by posting this and if you are offended my apologies.

myownsatellite · Post by **myownsatellite** » 9/11/2007, 11:50 am

I think the right-wing media is full of shit and if they want to ban material from the air for not being God-like, then they should just ban TV all together.

Johnny · Post by **Johnny** » 9/11/2007, 2:29 pm

What else would you expect from a bible thumper?

nelison · Post by **nelison** » 9/11/2007, 7:37 pm

I'll gladly tear apart religion. However, this issue has little to do with freedom of speech in my opinion simply because the owners and operators of a private tv station should be allowed to air what they want. If Kathy Griffin was in public and was arrested for saying something, then that's another story, but within the private sphere he who owns it controls it and has every right to do so.

Dr. Hobo · Post by **Dr. Hobo** » 9/12/2007, 8:03 am

while i agree the company has its own rights and freedoms as a private institution why does it openly broadcast all speeches with references to God? it allows those speeches that the catholic league allows but decides this particular speech is 'bad" thats a direct assault on her freedom of speech, to me thats a form of favoritism if you will.. if, i call them tomorrow and say all references to jesus are offensive to me, and they choose to not cut those out is this still an acceptable action? to strictly state that because they own the material gives them freedom to determine what should or shouldnt be censored or whatever isnt right as well

AnnieDreams · Post by **AnnieDreams** » 9/12/2007, 6:27 pm

I'm not really surprised, those comments are pretty tactless and rude. They cut lots of people's speeches anyway, don't they? The program can only go on for so long.

Post by **xjsb125** » 9/12/2007, 7:46 pm

Dr. Hobo wrote:while i agree the company has its own rights and freedoms as a private institution why does it openly broadcast all speeches with references to God? it allows those speeches that the catholic league allows but decides this particular speech is 'bad" thats a direct assault on her freedom of speech, to me thats a form of favoritism if you will.. if, i call them tomorrow and say all references to jesus are offensive to me, and they choose to not cut those out is this still an acceptable action? to strictly state that because they own the material gives them freedom to determine what should or shouldnt be censored or whatever isnt right as well

It may not be right, but as you said, they have their own rights. Luckily you have the option to turn the channel if the restrictions they impose on content bother you that much. I don't think they should be censoring unless it's mandated by communications laws where they will face fines and sanctions. Ulimately, though, they have you by the balls when it comes to who makes the decisions on program content. All you can do is voice your opinion and change the channel.

Post by **xjsb125** » 9/20/2007, 8:43 am

Related to the Kathy Griffin story:

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070919/20070919006290.html?.v=1

You'll note that the Miracle Theater is located in Pigeon Forge, TN. Their theater is approximately 1.5 miles down the same road that the Wal-Mart I work at is on.

Dr. Hobo · Post by **Dr. Hobo** » 9/24/2007, 11:25 pm

for the record i dont agree or even particularly like what she said and find it tactless but having said that, i will always defend her right to say it