Viral Censorship
Oklahoma has a state representative named Sally Kern who is a homophobe. This will surprise no one.
Kern believes that gay people are a bigger threat to American society than terrorism, that it spreads (join hands and sing "We Are A Cancer"), that we are infiltrating the government, that we want to destroy the country, etc., etc., etc. She worries about our recruiting young children, and she repeats the silly idea that "no society that has totally embraced homosexuality has lasted for more than, you know, a few decades. . .". (Can anyone tell me what this is suppose to refer to?) None of this is a big surprise, either, although it is pretty stupid.
She made these remarks to a group of a dozen and a half like-minded people. To Kern's surprise her remarks were recorded and posted to YouTube, where they has been listened to by tens of thousands of people and generated a remarkable amount of publicity, video responses, statements, discussion, and disapprobation. Not surprisingly many people think Kern is a homophobic bigot and have said so. (I won't link to Kern's remarks, but Pam's House Blend has lots of details on the story.)
Now, here's the punchline.
Kern and her supporters seem to feel that all this publicity and widespread attention garnered by her remarks amounts to an attempt at censorship on the part of the militant homosexual lobby.
I suppose marketers might label it viral censorship. What a concept!
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To thwart spam, comments by new people are held for moderation; give me a bit of time and your comment will show up.
I welcome comments -- even dissent -- but I will delete without notice irrelevant, rude, psychotic, or incomprehensible comments, particularly those that I deem homophobic, unless they are amusing. The same goes for commercial comments and trackbacks. Sorry, but it's my blog and my decisions are final.
on Monday, 17 March 2008 at 15.24
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Gee, it seems you can't run down a whole bunch of people you know little or nothing about, presenting opinions as fact, hearsay as evidence, touting self-awarded moral authority, without being criticized and getting some push back. Who knew?
That said, I was disappointed when CNN Radio News reported Kern has been the target of threats of death and lesser violence. Her homophobic bloviating is offensive, but she's within her rights and shouldn't have to fear for her safety and life.
on Tuesday, 18 March 2008 at 22.12
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Indeed, I deplore the death threats. Entirely too many people have corrupted the public discourse with inappropriate and exaggerated responses and they should stop it. Hate speech and threats of violence should be universally reviled and shunned.