The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #36798   Message #512661
Posted By: LoopySanchez
23-Jul-01 - 01:42 PM
Thread Name: Ani DiFranco Song Censored on Letterman?
Subject: RE: Ani DiFranco Song Censored on Letterman?
First point: Censorship only happens when the government attempts to silence a person's voice in music, art, film, literature, etc. When a network chooses, whether at the last minute or not, not to allow a performer a spot on it's TV show, this is not censorship, because other shows exist that she could appear on. Would it be censorship if I sent in a demo tape to Capitol Records and they said no? Would it be censorship if I sent in a letter to be published in the editorial section of the NY Times and they chose not to print it? Was it censorship when Magic Johnson's talk show got cancelled after 5 weeks?

Second point: I know I'll get fire bombed to no end for this comment, but here it is: In the opening line of her song, DiFranco talks about whites bulldozing the country because they're afraid of black people. Ok, fine, can't argue with that, it's true in a lot of cases. Here's the question: When a single racial group makes up only 7% of the population (black males) but commits over 40% of the violent crime, can you blame another racial group if it has fear in it's hearts? This comment isn't to address the reasons behind the crime (80% illegitimacy, government programs that subsidize breeding, prevalence of drugs, public housing that kicks out people with success and leadership, public education that protects incompetent teachers, etc), but I do hope it will point out that there is plenty of blame to go around.