But we censor content all the time. We nearly all agree that there needs to be barriers to children getting to see R, NC-17, and X-rated content. We agree that TV channels who market themselves as being dedicated to children's programming should not show violent or adult content in the afternoon. We generally agree that a free-to-attend and family friendly neighborhood "movies in the park" night shouldn't show "Last Tango in Paris" unedited to a bunch of families and their young children. Those forms of censorship are not driven by religious groups and we accept that. Most of us understand the need to be sensitive to our developing children and sometimes to our elderly who haven't been exposed to the extreme stuff we consider normal for adults today. We can understand toning down our foul language while at Chuck-E-Cheese and holding back on the old-hooker's loose pussy jokes while at a pee-wee league baseball game. I even think we get that there is a time and place for everything and are generally willing to abide to social norms of public behavior, especially around vulnerable people.
However, if the "vulnerable person" happen to define their vulnerability by their religion, it seems that is not acceptable and a many feel they should be forced to be exposed to things they find offensive.
This shit goes both ways. Some people just prefer to limit images, language and ideas into their minds which they believe drags down their souls and makes them less happy or able to maintain their mental and emotional standards.
I am that way with angry rap - when it plays the music itself makes me anxious, mad, and triggers a fight or flight response in me (music is very powerful for me), so I do all I can to avoid it. When my stepson was living at home and blasting that music, I had to find a way to not hear it, either by asking him to turn it off/down, or blocking it with my own headphones playing music that didn't make me want to punch the next person I saw before cowering in a ball under the bed. While I haven't tried to eliminate that sort of music from society, I have made a conscious effort to avoid it, including leaving parties when it became apparent that music would be playing the entire time. That doesn't make me weak, narrow-minded, judgmental, or arrogant. I am not declaring I am better than everyone else because a form of art gives me feelings I would prefer not experience for enjoyment. However, many people take my avoidance of that music as judgment of them. Just like I used to take a ton of very serious verbal and even physical beatings for not drinking alcohol or doing drugs when around people doing them and insisting I join them. Why do we think that if someone else doesn't want to do, see, or hear the things we like that inherently they are judging us for their lack of participation?
I get that as an adult you should have the right to watch, listen, or talk about whatever you'd like (still within reason - child porn and snuff films should remain banned, right?). But someone trying to keep it out of their lives while not infringing on your ability to access it, that should be okay.
I mean, if you live in a community where 99% of the citizens would not buy a theater ticket to a NC-17 movie, the studio isn't likely to show that movie there and have empty seats when they could show a kids movie or a uplifting PG movie and sell loads of tickets. Yes, that makes your neighbors responsible for you having to drive 100 miles to see the more adult movie you want to see. But that doesn't make those people wrong for not wanting to go to a movie they find offensive. I don't expect to move to Japan and see a WW-II war movie portraying Japanese as the spawn of Satan and Americans as the saviors of the planet. So why should I expect to go to a very religious town and expect to see movies with extreme violence, language, nudity, and sex? That isn't taking away your rights, that's just economic forces.
This dog-whistle response to religious people who don't want to be exposed to things they think are offensive or emotionally demoralizing gets really tired. Sometimes what I need isn't easily available to me. That usually isn't censorship or a challenge to my rights.
I mean, we are talking about entertainment here, not water, clean air, medicine, food, housing, clothing, or anything necessary for life. Entertainment....
