Boy, do I have trouble with this!!! I have always opposed censorship....all through history various groups have used various arts...including music, to describe and object to perceived inequities. Some even 'suggest' solutions that defy and confront the current 'authority'....and years later we remember and celebrate those 'causes' by singing their songs, etc. and then I imagine myself a 'good' cop on the streets of L.A., hearing lyrics which are nothing more than a hate-filled incitement to kill ME! umm...hmmm...somehow all the arguements about the evils of censorship ring a bit hollow when I know 14 year old kids are listening to this and looking at me as nothing more than 'enemy' wearing an easily recognizable uniform!

As some have said, 'good' music will survive, the crap will eventually be forgotten....but the crap can get you killed tomorrow! Yes, I know it is not direct cause & effect, but we all know how powerful that medium is in the minds of kids.

I am somehow tempted to say,(or TRY to say) "ok, I can't stop you from writing and singing anything you want....but I will NOT allow you to mass-produce millions of copies commercially and play it on national TV!" ...Who am I to judge what is acceptable? Well, who is this group "Body Count" to suggest that almost everyone wearing the wrong uniform should be 'target dejour'? Maybe I should just organize a police chorus, and write songs suggesting that gang members should be shot on sight! (try THAT and see about 1st amendment rights!)

I just don't know!! It is too hard for me...I have never been one who can simply proclaim "THIS is correct...THAT isn't" Almost every moral dilema is context-sensitive, despite the tendency of some to want a simple, short answer! ...I decry the situations that led anyone to WRITE such a song, but I also decry the attitude OF the song!...Philosophy from Plato on is full of counter examples about such situations...."a man owns a weapon legally...is is justified to take it away from him when he is drunk?" etc.

I am reminded of a little poem:
...."The rain it raineth everyday
....Upon the just & unjust fella
....But more upon the just because
....The unjust hath the justs umbrella" so...the fruits of non-censorship are not distributed equally, and despite the argument, "if we allow a little censorship, where will it end?", I am 'inclined' to admit occasional censorship, just as I see the need for occasional wiretaps...*shrug*...but. as I said..I really don't know if I am right......