By Jimbob1

(c) January 14, 2011

The following is written “Without Prejudice”:

One word in a popular rock song from the 1980s has been ruled offensive by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council which has announced that the song is no longer acceptable for air play on Canadian radio stations.

The song, “Money for Nothing”, made popular by British rock group Dire Straits about 25 years ago contains the word “faggot” in the lyrics and the word is considered to be offensive and discriminatory to members of the gay community.

“Money for Nothing” has won awards in the music industry and has been played on radio stations for more than two decades…but no more…at least without it being suitably edited with the word “faggot” being either deleted or bleeped out.

Once acceptable, the word “faggot” is now caught up in the evolution of language.

The CBSC which oversees acceptable language and ethics for Canadian radio stations handed down its ruling Wednesday after a listener complained about the word “faggot” in the lyrics last year.

So what happens to all the songs that include the word “gay” in them, including some classic standards dating back to the 1930s and 40s?

It seems rather strange that members of the “gay” community are not as “gay” as they like people to think they are. It is okay for them to refer to their society as a “queer” community, but don’t anyone outside their community refer to them as a bunch of “queers” because that is offensive and discriminatory.

And what about coloured people calling themselves “niggers”? Should anyone else use the “N” word there is automatically a discriminatory connotation attached. When we were youngsters there were black licorice candies shaped like little people and they were marketed and sold as “Nigger Babies” but you wouldn’t dare go to the candy counter and get a handful of “Nigger Babies” today.

And what about the term “Indian” when referring to Native Americans? Is it discriminatory for kids to now play “Cowboys and Indians”? It is okay for First Nations people to call themselves “Indian” and reference their culture in that way “Indian Time” or “Honest Injun” or “Indian Reserve or Reservation” but many take offence if someone else calls them an “Indian”.

It is the same with certain so-called slang words to describe a race of people “Wop” for Italians, “Japs” for Japanese both of which are deemed offensive in some quarters but it is perfectly permissible to use the word “Brit” to describe a resident of Great Britain or “Yank” to describe a resident of the United States or “Canuck” for Canadians.

Using certain words would result in a person being hauled before the courts, possibly fined or jailed for use of discriminatory and hateful language and ordered to write a public apology for the use of certain terminology.

Somewhere along the way our society has become sidetracked and the language train has been run off the rails and they call the thing human rights.

Human rights be damned…it boils down to a matter of respect. If a person is being respectful in the use of terminology then there should not be a problem.

Whatever happened to one of the basic rights and freedoms…that of expression?

(Sorry Triond does not have any images suitable for this article…not even a picture of the band Dire Straits which seems odd…but that is the way it goes here.)