The Fool wrote:
>
> > From: Nick Arnett <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>
> > > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On
> > > Behalf Of The Fool
> >
> > ...
> >
> > > > Eh? How is this an attack on free speech? I don't agree with the
> > > tactics,
> > > > but I don't exactly see Fox as a great defender of free speech,
> either.
> > >
> > > It's an organization that is attacking forms of speech (in this
> example,
> > > among others, TV shows), that they do not agree with, by any and all
> > > means possible.
> >
> > It's *just* a boycott. That's hardly "any and all means possible."
> Your
> > hyperbole undermines the credibility of your argument.
>
> It's more than a boycott, it goes well beyond just being a boycott. They
> are not just boycotting the show, they are boycotting those who dare to
> advertise during the show. They put pressure on these advertisers and
> use and means necessary to dissuade them from running advertisements
> during the show (I am not a fan of advertising). When you have a large
> network of fanatics that are willing to create excessive amount of bad
> publicity for an advertiser, they can pretty much blackmail and extort
> any major advertiser away from anything they consider, baa-ad. They also
> use other sleazy tactics to attack, this is just one example. I think
> the boondocks example is perhaps a better example. Last year a bunch of
> conservative fanatics got the strip knocked off of a whole lot of
> newspapers. They are doing the same thing now.
I may have found one more flaw in your "religious fanatics" argument for
the organization in question.
I know a number of people that you would deem to be religious fanatics
who would be *opposed* to "Sabrina, the Teen Age Witch" on the basis of,
well, she's a witch. (I know someone who won't let her kids go
trick-or-treating because Halloween is a Satanic holiday. No joke.)
Yet it is rated #3 in the "Top 10 Best Shows". I think that if they
were as religiously-driven as your original subject line made me
initially think, that show would *not* be anywhere *near* the Top 10 for
Best Shows.
Now, I don't agree with their pressuring to get shows taken off the air,
but I think that there are a number of religious people who aren't going
to be entirely on board with this, and a number of people who don't
consider themselves to be religious who are actively participating in
this.
Not all crusades are religious ones.
Julia
_______________________________________________
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
