China defends new Web video and audio rules

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Who is the decider?

The problem with programs such as China's is who makes the decisions as to what is objectionable.

A person who has been physically abused may find any depiction of violence bothersome. Someone who is involved or just enjoys boxing will have a much higher tolerance of the same.

I was raised in an ultra-conservative religious environment (they thought the Baptist's were going to hell because they were too liberal!), and when I tried out the "F" word as an 8 year old child, my father gave me a beating so bad I remember thinking during it that I was going to die. To this day, I don't use or like hearing bad language. Would you want me determining what objectionable language is? Let me tell you - no you don't!

As we have seen with China and other repressive regimes, they have a very narrow view of what is objectionable. As much as I think there is too much garbage out there, the alternative is scary. That is why even though I abhor abortion, I won't protest in front of clinics. I worry that when restriction are placed because I agree with them, time will come when restrictions are placed that I don't agree with, but precedents have already been set. (I know all the arguments about abortion being implemented by judicial fiat rather than constitutional amendment, but that is a whole other issue).

Basically, my point is that while we need minimal controls on things, we need to take the path of least intrusion at each step to solve problems, not cast a wide net at the beginning.

Posted by: TucsonGuy   Posted on: 02/06/08 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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