Too strict? Too easy? Either or? (Are Britain's censorship laws too strict?)

Member Name: Millenium Bug

Product:	Are Britain's censorship laws too strict?
Date:	18/06/02 (155 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Censorship will protect our children as far as they can, No free advertising, Perverts cannot perv.

Disadvantages: Unreal censorship, Too much fuss over little things, Changes the point of Films/Songs

I don’t know….

Would be the answer I would give if I was asked if censorship is a good thing. For many reasons

To Protect Our Children’s Minds
Is a major point in this discussion, but let us look at the current state of affairs. Children 10 years old, getting pregnant. Children 8 years and younger swearing at people and abusing public property. Children of 11 getting so drunk they need their stomachs pumping. Children KILLING other Children, and so on. What person in their right mind would not look at this state of affairs and see that the current methods of censorship don’t work.

Now I am not saying that censorship is a good or bad thing it is on both side of the line. I feel that it denys the more open minded and mouthed side of our culture in Britain, yet at the same time it stops us getting too open minded and allowing indecent things to occur all over the country. There are lines though, which should not be crossed, and the only thing stopping the crossing is the certificate on the box and parents. The most effective stopper out of all of the barriers which we put up to ‘protect’ our children are ineffectual and so therefore it should come back to the parents and they should be held responsible.

To Protect the Rights of Innocent People
Is yet another point brought up by people when questioned. But how do you do that, when as soon as they’re arrested the papers and tabloids are printing stories true AND UNTRUE, about the accused person. Shouldn’t there be a from of censorship here. I know there is a system to go through after the allegations but that will not repair the damage to your reputation. Another example of how censorship lets us down.

To Stop Obscene Material Reaching our Screens
Now this is a point I feel strongly about. I hear those news reports of music being banned from shops, films being cut down by hours, and magazines told to remove articles
and I think…. Hey! What are you doing? Music is an expression of somebody’s work, they put a lot of effort and feeling into those songs and that is what makes some of them decent enough for a DINKY like me to listen to them. Yet the controversy surrounding his lyrics and how they effect younger people should not exist. His records are for the older generations and should not be listened to by any one under 18 years old. This should be controlled by parents, but it is not… It is for those over 18 as we as the more responsible persons know that the things he sings about are not real and certainly should not be done. WE know yet the young and impressionable don’t seem to have the common sense to realise that.

I feel that I have covered the points I wished to cover, but I will add one last thing.

Undue Advertising
A large part of censorship is used by film producers and event hosts, it’s even used here on Dooyoo to reduce brand names profiting from something they did not endorse. This is the exception of censorship, it actually works.

All in all censorship is a vital part of life yet instead of arguing that it is too strict or not we need to take it upon ourselves to protect our individual worlds from the things you wish to protect yourself and your children from. All it takes is a bit of effort.

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