Censorship!!

Nasty word isn’t it?

1990 saw two major controversies involving censorship. The more heated of the two was the National Endowment for the Arts, the other, Too Live Crew.

The two have very little in common except that someone tried to dictate to the entire country what was “in good taste.” As a result, lines were drawn and much debate was heard.

Fortunately, the National Endowment for the Arts seems to have survived the attack, unfortunately, for those with some musical taste, talentless Too Live Crew did too.

Most sane people will agree censorship, in any form, is wrong. Look at all the heads nodding agreement, “Yeah, he’s right, censorship is wrong!”

Keep nodding.

Out of all of you who agree with what’s been said thus far, how many signed the Women’s Alliance petition condemning the “coed of the week” pictorials in the DeKalb Nite Weekly?

Hey, why’d you stop nodding?

What’s the difference between the NEA, Two Live Crew and coed pictorials? It all boils down to freedom of expression. Do you deny those women the right to pose for the pictures just because it offends you?

If so, you might as well join Tipper Gore and the rest of the self-righteous, self-appointed judges of “good taste.”

You have the right to voice your opinion about the pictorials. However, once you infringe on the right of others to look at them, you are guilty of censorship.

Let’s discuss the models themselves. Has anyone heard any of them accusing the DeKalb Nite Weekly of exploitation? Hmmm…if they have no complaints, what gives someone who is not even involved with the pictorials the right to complain?

The models pose on a completely voluntary basis for their own reasons. They are not paid and they decide on what outfits they wear for the pictures.

The paper has also been instrumental in building modeling careers for some of the women featured in the pictorials. Who? Cindy Crawford to name one, and more recently, Jennifer Tomczak.

If these women want to pursue a career in modeling, the DeKalb Nite Weekly provides them with experience, modeling contacts and photographs they can use in a portfolio. Maybe you don’t agree with what they are doing, but does that give you the right to deny them of one possible future for themselves?

Presently, there are so many issues involving women that a controversy such as this one serves only to detract from the importance of those other real, pertinent issues.

Women deserve and have gained a great deal of respect in the past 50 years. That respect has been a long time in coming but it still has a long way to go.

If you want to gain respect for women, get off personal issues like your displeasure with the coed pictorials. Try redirecting your energy toward something like equal pay for equal work or child care for working mothers.

Here’s an easy way to deal with the problem; if you don’t like it, don’t look at it.

Be good.