Chris Coots writes...
www.lovegodsway.org
Donnie Davies represents himself as a Christian singer-songwriter and spokesperson for Love God’s Way Ministries. Very recently, a scathing music video featuring Mr. Davies was removed from his accounts at youTube.com, MySpace.com and googlevideos.com respectively. The song, entitled “The Bible Says,” has extremely offensive lyrical matter and should understandably raise eyebrows. Rather than write about it, check it out for yourself if you’re up for it.
Here is a link to the video:
Is it regrettable that community standards, in this case, have over-ridden this singer-songwriter’s freedom to express his beliefs? The accused attributes his exile from MySpace to the media manipulating public opinion (not his own.)
If you’ve followed the links, and read the lists or watched the banned music video (or noticed that Oscar Wilde is quoted as a reformed homosexual) you will pretty surely gather that Donnie Davies’ “quest to heal” is all a ruse. The smug delivery and overt joy in his singing make the piece laughable if you can swallow jagged pills. Although humorous, it’s far from a joke. Real or not, he’s making an important point.
“MySpace made it clear, dear Friends, that censorship is alive in America. Even Google chose to take down our band's fine, fine video because it violated their sense of a community standard. It is regrettable that community standards must override Freedom of Expression in a time where powerful, hypnotic mass media is incredibly effective at manipulating public opinion. It is regrettable that the average citizen has allowed themselves to fall into such a state of sleepy ignorance that they must rely on the government for protection from "threatening information". Still, at least Google has a standard where MySpace has none. MySpace removed our videos and our account without any warning and without explanation. Now, I suppose they are a private business but it makes you wonder how someone can get their message out to the world if the only web site they have is a MySpace page.”
Censorship is a scary thing. Scarier than hate. There is a point to every word, no matter how ignorant or hateful. Is it right to eliminate a point of expression just because someone uses a term or delivers an opinion that is not deemed progressive by society’s standards? (Especially if it’s done in a circuitously comedic light?)
Bigger picture: What happens to a world that isn’t allowed the integrity to stand up for something? If you’re forced to put on the suit of a yes man – can you ever take it off? How can we make choices about our life, from who we can love to what God to believe in to what car we should drive to what kind of orange juice to buy... if our hands are tied and led unknowingly? While there must indeed be a line drawn in the sand that divides our freedom of expression into sectors of poignant topical confrontation and plain bad taste - does that line have room for complete and unexplained censorship?
Thought Bubble: The opinion of Davies the character may not change the world in a positive light, but the world has very rarely been changed for the better by someone or something well behaved.
Please don’t misunderstand me bringing this to your attention. I’m not standing up for conservatives, liberals, racists, Christians, or any group singularly – this is about a single attempt to make a point that was shunned because of the use of a word. An attack on the abuse of censorship that was in turn censored. Point taken.
What does this mean for media-creating outlets like StrawberryFrog? We’d like to think we express ourselves, but do we? Have we gotten in a pattern of censoring ourselves for the sake of the press and our client list? How can we define what we stand for if we’ve been conditioned to please by any means necessary?
In the least, what Mr. Davies has done here is assured us that no matter what we believe in, we are nowhere near as free as we’d like to believe. Even if it is “ourSpace.”
Stand up for your online rights. Carry it over into your life.
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