> I’d better not tell. Anyone can see this. I don’t want
> the episode name posted. Nutjobs might be inspired to
> give her crank phone calls (she’d be easy to track down,
> once you know which episode it is). She’d never forgive
> me.
You do realize you’re accomplishing nothing by not mentionaing her name, don’t you? Given that she wrote an episode of the original Star Trek and that’s she’s female, I was able to find winnow down the list of people that she might be to about a dozen names in just fifteen minutes. (And if I’d been a trekkie, I could have done it much faster.) Another fifteen minutes and I could have reduced that list by half by eliminating the ones who have since died. Without a huge amount of work I think I could have told you exactly who she is and what episode it was.
I’m not sure what you think you’re hiding here. If there’s a nutjob out there who dislikes that episode and wants to harass the screenwriter, he could have found her name and located her long ago. Mentioning that she’s your friend adds nothing.
Acting like an ass is an inalienable right of every American!
Politicians have turned it into an art form in and of itself.
You have lots of rights, and are perfectly within those rights to criticize ANY beliefs, including your own. However if you feel it is your job/duty to point out asses in the USA, I suspect you’re apt to suffer from finger sprain from all that pointing. The USA is loaded with them and dear ol’ Charlie is only the tip of the iceberg.
I care jack shit about Charlie and his songs. However I do believe in his right and the right of all artists to sing about whatever the fuck they want. Even if I disagree with the lyrics entirely, I believe in their freedom to sing them.
OK I’ve had enough of your shit. Point out exactly WHERE in this thread have I suggested that
a) Charlie Daniels be prohibited from recording this song
b) Charlie Daniels be shot…strung up…thrown in jail for his beliefs.
c) In ANY way shape or form suggest that artists not have the “freedom to sing” about what they want.
Go ahead…show me. Really. Show me WHERE in this thread have I suggested that artists not have the right to sing any damn song?
Since I have NOT done any of those things…your “point”, such as it is, is a moot one.
Of course, if his lyrics had included the lines “And our skin isn’t brown” or “and our eyes aren’t slanty” or “Our God’s name isn’t Allah” somehow I doubt “But I was just talking 'bout the people who DID this!” would be an adequate explanation.
SIDEBAR: Am I the only person in the world who remembers that the people who actually committed the terrorist murders did not wear turbans?
Do I owe it to everyone to make it easier for any (hypothetical) nutjobs? If they are so determined, let them do their own legwork. At least by not telling, I’ll weed out the lazy nutjobs!
And at least they wouldn’t have heard her name directly from me.
All I wanted to do was cite a personal experience I had, where I knew of people (including me) who thought they knew the intent of a writer, when in fact they were incorrect.
Hate to hijack, and I probably shouldn’t, but I kinda took up Wendell Wagner’s challenge. I decided to allow myself five minutes. If we take the criteria that yosemitebabe’s friend wrote only one episode under her real name, there is only one possibility. If we open those written with a male coauthor, that adds two more to the pool. There is one more if we consider multiple-episode authors, and one past that if we consider one sexually ambiguous name.
Who gives a shit about what ol’ Chuck Daniels has to say. He’s been around a while, I like some of his stuff. All I gotta say is that before you go about trashing his song, write one that’s better.
“But Sam, we are not musicians”, the teeming millions say.
Too bad. I’m not going to bitch and moan about a professional engineer designing something wrong if I don’t know the first thing about structural design. I’m not going to down talk a computer program, because I can’t write code. If you think his song sucks, write one better, then argue about it.
Well, that’s just this side of stupid, Sam. Can I assume you never change the radio station when a song you don’t like comes on? I mean, it isn’t as if you could write a better one, so you should just listen and shut up, right? And, of course, you like every movie you see equally, because it’s not as if you could make a better movie. No, I’m quite certain you don’t behave that way–I’m quite sure you probably express your opinions on music, movies and television all the time.
After rereading through your postings beagledave you are 100% correct.
You have advocated that we do nothing but listen to your little rant that Charlie offended an entire culture.
However in yelling, “Look here! Look here!” we are to believe that you find the material offensive and we take the next logical step that you would want it removed. If you wanted us to ignore the song, you never would have posted on it. You can only yell fire so long before someone starts picking up a fire extinguisher.
My goal in expressing my opinion is that I don’t want people to censor Charlie’s work. I don’t want someone reading your criticism and think that some action is warranted.
In fact, I advocate the same as you do. We should listen to your rant, and not take any action.
Actually…you don’t even need to “listen” <what, your web browser streams the SDMB in audio now?> this thread…you could…you know…ignore it.
I don’t know who the “we” is that you refer to in wanting the offending material “removed”. I implied no such action. Other entities, according to the newspaper article, HAVE, requested that he change the lyrics before performing in their venue…he can say “screw you”…or he can clarify his lyrics.
I didn’t yell fire. I pointed out the idiocy of his lyrics (you know…the Straight Dope: Fighting Ignorance…remember that?)
Gosh…didn’t realize I had such an immense power with my eloquent pit threads. Thank God you jumped in to rescue the First Amendment from “potential” beagledave stormtroopers. :rolleyes:
Rainbow, you really need to relax. If I follow what you just posted, we should never criticize anything, ever. God forbid some opinion might cause someone to take some sort of action.
Sheesh, get a grip. And I’m not even that conservative…
beagledave, nice rant and better thread recovery. I have to agree, Charlie fucked up on this one. Artistic expression is important, but bigots are assholes. But hey, every artist has the right to be an asshole! They also have the right to be called on it.
To those of you who think that Charlie might not have really meant to single out one group with the “raghead” reference- are you fucking kidding me?!?
The term “raghead” had only one meaning that I am aware of- it is a slur against middle eastern men who wear turbans or similar head coverings. No biker wearing a doo-rag has ever been called a raghead, nor has a black man in a bandana.
Thank you rainbowdragon. It never ceases to amaze me how the people who scream “freedom of speech”, are the same people who get upset if you mention an awkward word about a minority, ethnic, or sexual group.
Plato? Aristotle? Socrates? Morons!
~Who did you love before? Who did they love before you? -Better Than Ezra
I think certain posters are confusing criticism with attacks on freedom of speech itself. I don’t see anyone in here claiming that CD should not be allowed to write the aforementioned lyrics. I see numerous people criticizing them. I fail to see how “freedom of speech” (that thing we all love to get behind and defend, especially when it isn’t being challenged) is in any way “under attack”. We can suggest that he shouldn’t write such lyrics, or that he’s foolish for doing so, or that he misunderstands the situation; none of these things imply that we feel it is our duty to prevent him from espousing these opinions.
