How do you feel about the broadcast ban of Dire Strait's money for nothing with reference to the term faggot in Canada?

Idiotic, I hate it when people do things like this. Not to long ago they removed the word nigger from Huckleberry Finn too, also something I find idiotic.

Now, I would never call someone a faggot or a nigger, and while I am using those words here, they are merely used as an evidence exhibit, for illustration purposes only, I’m not calling anyone those things. Having said that, I don’t like it when “art” is messed with in that way. Even if the “art” is offensive, I’m the kind of person who is loyal to the original version of things, and it would annoy me just as much if something less offensive was changed.

Also, this politically correct removal of offensive things, is honestly, quite offensive, and a little bit creepy to say the least. I find it offensive to me, as it insinuates I’m stupid and can’t be trusted to hear these things, and it’s creepy because in a way, it is rewriting history, and that has a very tyrannical ring to it.

Keep the original offensive language in peoples work, and let the choice to use those words, serve as a clue about the person who used it, and let it’s use reflect on the user and the user alone.

Finally, to try and put this in to perspective, I have listened to Dire Straits for years, I always liked the guitar, it’s a cool song. While I have heard this song a thousand times, I only just found out from this question, that the word faggot is in the song. It’s not like he vocalizes it that well. In my mind the song has always sounded like this: “guitar guitar, da da da guitar, money for nothing, mumble mumble, something about a microwave oven and some either chicks or kicks for free”.

Political Correctness gone batshit crazy!

I think Dire Straits is mocking the folks who would use the term. In a, see-you’re-trying-to-put-this-other-guy-down-but-he’s-got-it-so-much-better-than-you, kind of way. That’s my interpretation of it.

I think it is a huge double standard. Some extreme metal bands express violend hatred towards christians and nobody bats an eye.

@Mikewlf337 some Christians express extreme violence toward various groups and no-one bats an eyelid, personally i think the use of the word in question within the context of the song is dubious, ambivalent, naive or a combination of all three, bare in mind the same group wrote les boys

It would be helpful to have a link.

It seems consistent with their broadcast standards, but like anything the application of these standards is uneven—as evidenced by the fact that this song has been on the air for 25 years already as well as the other examples provided in the article.

As Chris Rock said when posing the question, Can white people say “nigger”? Answer: Not really.

Context! I know people aren’t that dumb. Unless they are, of course

Granted, it’s not Orwell, but Mark Knopfler wrote the song after observing two working class employees at an appliance store watching a Motley Crüe video on MTV making cracks about how they had to work hard and pop musicians don’t but who get rich. They were trying to make themselves feel better about their lot by saying nasty things about the rock stars. Knopfler wrote it in their voices, All In The Family-style. We aren’t supposed to agree with them. And those guys had some nasty things to say about black musicians, too, if anyone’s ever caught it. Yet I didn’t get offended because I understood the context.

And if I could get a message out to people who feel they lack power, it’s this: Someone calling you a slur directly, and I mean anyone, is the one with the problem. At one point, I had to ask myself: Because someone calls me a nigger, does that actually make me a nigger? Of course not, not unless deep down I think I am one, with all the low class-ness they mean to imply. Well, am I? No? Then why would I give someone else that much power over how I feel about myself and my identity? Someone trying to stop me from doing something because they think their skin colour, bank account, possession of a penis or any other silly thing like that? Those people will feel my full force. Otherwise, I’ve got better things to do than to worry about some person calling me names.

I never knew the song included those lyrics. Did anybody else? That song sucks anyway. No one should play that song.

@psychocandy it should be banned on lack of artistic merit. lol, it is pretty awful.

@mammal That’s not the point. I’m just saying that you can condemn one derogatory comment and allow another.

@aprilsimnel as Mark Knopler isn’t renowned for his bigotry, i’ll go with your clarification. Thanks for the contribution.

It’s stupid to ban this, unless they are going to ban every song with a derogatory term- such as rap music that refers to women as “whores”.

@BBSDTfamily opens up a can of worms, but then again, Canada are into controversial bans, like banning George Galloway from entry, for example, a British member of parliament. That was pretty ridiculous.

@mammal I mean you can’t condemn one derogatory comment and allow another.

@Mikewlf337 ok, we need consistency, fair enough.

If it’s really causing such a problem, just bleep out “faggot.”

I hear this song playing all the time in American restaurants and shops and they either bleep or edit out “faggot” and nobody even notices.

Mark Knopfler was actually the first live concert I ever went to… at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard a compromise would appear to be the appropriate solution, i agree.

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard it was a single complaint against Newfoundland Radio Station CHOZ-FM resulted in this decision from the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council.

“Money For Nothing, a classic-rock radio staple by Dire Straits, is too offensive for Canadian broadcasts because of its use of the word “faggot,” the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council has ruled.

The ruling, released Wednesday, responded to a complaint submitted to St. John’s radio station CHOZ-FM over a Feb. 1, 2010 airing of an unedited version of the song, which mentions the word three times. The complainant wrote that the song’s lyrics were ‘extremely offensive’ to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.”

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Grammy+winning+tune+offensive+radio/4107242/story.html

I don’t like censorship even of objectionable language.

I would not want to hear it, but that’s because I don’t want any profanity on my radio.

@marinelife not sure about that, after all, we have censorship on this very site.

@Nullo now we are going to the other extreme. not sure about that either.

@mammal No, we don’t. This is a private site with rules. Not the public airwaves.

@mammal I disagree – this is about popular entertainment. I don’t want to hear profanity on the radio. I am perfectly fine with the studio or artists censoring it.
I am glad to hear that Canada’s over-wrought ‘hate speech’ laws aren’t bending people out of shape, though. I’d heard of people facing jail time for preaching that homosexuality was sinful. There may yet be hope.

@marinelife now we are dancing on the head of a pin. Moderation, censorship much of a muchness. This isn’t a private site it is in the public domain.

@mammal The difference is private site vs. public forum. Besides, content is not censored on Fluther. Only personal attacks, spam, and stuff so poorly written it is indecipherable.

@marinelife it is public domain nonetheless, whether you get a 1000 hits or 100,000, but let’s stick to the topic.

All censorship is wrong. If the song was called “Kill the Faggots” THAT I could see being banned with justification because it has no artistic merit. That is not the case here.

As a Canadian I find this incredibly ironic. In the 80’s 2 popular Canadian songs “Black Stations/White Stations by M+M and High School Confidential by Rough Trade were banned in America for thier controversial content. As well Canadian punk band Teenage Head was forced to rename themselves Teenage Heads to please a more conservative American audience. It’s sad for me to see us moving in the opposite direction.

@syzygy2600 you are contradicting yourself, look, we don’t have to take the position, all censorship is wrong, we don’t have to throw the baby out with the bathwater, we just have to be thoughtful about how censorship is implemented.

@syzygy2600 You would be amazed at what’s considered to have artistic merit.

@Nullo well i disagree, with you there, i consider the Piss Christ a powerfully evocative piece of work. Difficult, sure? deliberately and crudely offensive, i’m not convinced it is. i go with Sister Wendy who i used to enjoy watching on British TV, a sweet catholic nun with a passion for Art and commentary. As for the other picture, is that Grass? faeces? i’m not sure, is that a coca cola parody?

@mammal, it’s shrink wrapped shit in an acrylic container.

I thought it was very interesting that one of the comments on my radio station about this issue was that the lyrics were written 26 years ago and what was okay then is not okay today.

Part of me is glad that Canada’s wacky hate crimes laws are stepping on other peoples’ toes, too. Maybe they’ll realize that there is such a thing as too much law.

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard The guy built a machine specifically to produce crap for this sort of thing.