Comments on alfred lives here: hey faggot... want Money for Nothing?

@Vapid -- totally agree, context matters big time....

2011-01-30T11:33:50.225-07:00

@Vapid -- totally agree, context matters big time.

@Jen -- right you are, lets teach tolerance, rather than go back and try to make a song from 1985 unhappen.

@squatio -- Yep, I too thought Canada was pretty enlightened, except for our current backwards government and inability to plan snow removal in the north. Context matters here, and the guy saying the words in the song was clearly a jerk, and the song is 26 years old.

Thanks for stopping by guys!

First, kudos to BeckEye for being the coolest pers...

2011-01-30T09:26:55.925-07:00

First, kudos to BeckEye for being the coolest person I've read on the web in forever! A Patty Griffin reference right outta the blue, you are truly a woman worth knowing! (and for what it's worth, "Tony" is a kick ass song, like most of Patty's, for anyone who hasn't found time to check!)

This is the first I've heard of efforts to ban "Money for Nothing", or I would have blasted this silly shit in my own blog. Has anyone seriously considered what Knopfler was saying? Doesn't anyone understand sarcasm anymore?
If we sterilize the airwaves of lyrics that might make someone think, while accepting lyrics that are genuinely hateful and hurtful as being culturally relevant, we're left with only the garbage.
Mark Twain would no more agree to the censorship of his masterpieces than Woody Allen would agree to the colorization of his black and white films. We HAVE NO RIGHT to purge the words or in any way alter the art we find politically incorrect at any given time... no more than we should repaint the Mona Lisa's smile because it's just too quirky for modern tastes.
I'm not saying there's never a need for censorship, because there will always be a white supremacist willing to test the boundaries of our permissiveness, or a neo-Nazi willing to espouse a continuation of 'the ultimate solution'. Obviously, hate speech can't be easily defined.
Mark Knopfler is none of those things, and meant nothing of the sort with that lyric.
Yet another facepalm moment... (and from Canada? I thought you folks were the enlightened region of North America!)

The entire music industry will be torn to pieces i...

2011-01-23T11:34:41.734-07:00

The entire music industry will be torn to pieces if they have to start going through every song written in history and censor every word that is or may be perceived as offensive to anyone ever. I think perhaps it would be time better served if children are taught about tolerance and acceptance and loving thy neighbour despite and BECAUSE OF our differences. Then songs with language like this wouldn't be written in the first place.

I know the song but apparently my hearing is selec...

2011-01-23T10:02:13.091-07:00

I know the song but apparently my hearing is selective because I never even knew the word was in there. And I do agree, context is everything. Also Chelle's Dick comment=awesome!

I heard that song last year and was shocked that t...

2011-01-23T09:46:14.410-07:00

I heard that song last year and was shocked that they said that word. It's a shame because they are talented musicians. It's kind of the same thing as changing the n word in 'Huck Finn.' It's definitely offensive but does changing it change how people think? I hope so. Maybe it does. Over the years since we've educated people and we've become more politically correct, I've seen changes in my 5th graders and how they act towards one another. And my sister who is 20 definitely is more open minded than people were when I was 20 *ahem* 18 years ago. So maybe showing people that those types of words ARE unacceptable does have an impact. I hope it does.

@ Chelle - thanks for coming by, love the Dick Van...

2011-01-21T19:50:31.589-07:00

@ Chelle - thanks for coming by, love the Dick Van Dyke riff. That would be so worng and so awesomely funny.

Actually heard on the radio today that this decision is being reopened due all the incoming complaints... will sanity prevail?

OooOoh reading about this on my news website got m...

2011-01-21T06:20:53.023-07:00

OooOoh reading about this on my news website got my knickers in a twist. Then I wrote a big long rant on my blog about censorship, but I contained it to the recent censorship in Huck Finn. I'd started with a rant about this song AND the Huck Finn thing when I realized that it is only censored for radio airplay. I agree that the context is important, and the albums should remain intact, but the radio is public media so they have to be careful. At least they are acknowledging that it is an insensitive word? Finally?

I dunno know. I'm all torn to pieces on this one. I hope they don't force Dick VanDyke to change his name to Rich VanDrainageTrench now, though.

Good blarg. Found you on Studio30+

Hiya Brahm! I couldn't agree more - Faggot is ...

2011-01-19T12:50:40.287-07:00

Hiya Brahm! I couldn't agree more - Faggot is a horrible word. Actually, I didn't even know that Dire Straits had used it until I read the news story.

But I also believe that we can't go round banning words willy-nilly. In Scotland, faggot in one of the national dishes, and in the UK fag is a slang for cigarette. Context is everything.... so now I need to listen to the song again to get a feel for the context - DOH! banning it probably gives it more airtime!

To me, the tone of the song was not "anti gay...

2011-01-18T11:22:59.758-07:00

To me, the tone of the song was not "anti gay" at all. It was these poor dudes jealous of the long haired guys with all the money and all the chicks. I had a gay man friend who would frequently ask me to pop outside with him to smoke a fag. We both thought it was funny. Context is everything. If you want to call me a wetback, fine, if you follow it with "that little wetback is a millionaire".

I agree 100%. Banning that word is not going to e...

2011-01-18T08:24:58.304-07:00

I agree 100%. Banning that word is not going to end homophobia or gay-bashing in any sense. Those who choose to use that word are not going to all of the sudden rethink it because it's no longer played on the radio. I can't tell you how many times I've heard that song and didn't even hear that lyric. Guess I wasn't listening close enough...although it's pretty much guaranteed now that those who missed it before? Will make sure they find it.

That is totally stupid. As you said, context is im...

2011-01-18T08:11:01.846-07:00

That is totally stupid. As you said, context is important and the song is not an anti-gay song. What next, they're going to ban Patty Griffin's "Tony" because it also includes the word "faggot?" (And anyone who knows that song will understand how ridiculous this would be.)

Seriously? One person complains about a song that ...

2011-01-18T04:15:56.921-07:00

Seriously? One person complains about a song that is over 20 years old and this is the reaction? If so, then lets band together to get rid of some of the language and imagery that is in some of today's songs & videos. First Mark Twain and now this. My faith in humanity is waning quickly.

@ Sarah - thanks for stopping by, and for saying h...

2011-01-17T23:26:32.633-07:00

@ Sarah - thanks for stopping by, and for saying how cute Alfie is! Sorry to hear about your dog. Am happy to count this comment towards the humane society $.

@ Ron - just read your post, and totally agree with you. Good stuff!

@ Jayne - thanks for stopping by, as always, and I too thought of the interesting timing with the Huck Finn talk!

@ Nicky and Lauren - agree totally!

Missed your "leave a comment" deadline, ...

2011-01-17T22:59:33.520-07:00

Missed your "leave a comment" deadline, but just wanted to say that you truly do have the world's most adorable dog. (We had a most adorable dog, too, but we sadly discovered that living west of Calgary amongst the cougars made her life much too short) Just found your blog via "slap upside the head", and read your bio--I, too, have tried to using blogging as a way of writing more...hopefully you will be more successful at it than I was, I seem to like reading other people's blogs *much* more than writing my own! Cheers.

I hadn't heard that either. Huh. Yeah, not a f...

2011-01-17T22:56:42.583-07:00

I hadn't heard that either. Huh. Yeah, not a fan of censorship in any form. I see these various slurs as learning opportunities. I don't think we should worry too much about it. By the time they're done playing the song over and over again to prove a point, no one is going to want to hear it anymore anyway.

I hadn't heard about this. Unbelievable. Just,...

2011-01-17T18:29:21.544-07:00

I hadn't heard about this. Unbelievable. Just, unbelievable.

I agree with you. First Mark Twain and now Dire S...

2011-01-17T17:30:38.813-07:00

I agree with you. First Mark Twain and now Dire Straights. Why don't we just learn from history and resolve to do better?

Great Post! I have heard that song for years and n...

2011-01-17T17:30:12.852-07:00

Great Post! I have heard that song for years and never- ever thougth the lyric were a gay slur...nor was I left with anti-gay feelings. It is a slur indeed, but really...the band is from down under :D what can we say ;).

You are so right in that regulations and bans like this ae knee jerk reactions meant to exhale hot air without addressing real issues head on.

If you have a chance, please read my most recent post on civility...I think we agree on desired outcomes. :)