Xref: utzoo news.misc:2036 soc.culture.jewish:8282
Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!ukma!uflorida!novavax!proxftl!twwells!bill
From: bill@twwells.uucp (T. William Wells)
Newsgroups: news.misc,soc.culture.jewish
Subject: Re: Censorship and Re: RACIST JOKES
Message-ID: <201@twwells.uucp>
Date: 23 Nov 88 00:19:59 GMT
References: <8030@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU> <1058@osupyr.mast.ohio-state.edu> <347@sulaco.UUCP> <10551@ihlpa.ATT.COM> <2365@looking.UUCP>
Reply-To: bill@twwells.UUCP (T. William Wells)
Distribution: na
Organization: None, Ft. Lauderdale
Lines: 56

In article <2365@looking.UUCP> brad@looking.UUCP (Brad Templeton) writes:
: 1) I *don't* censor.  I edit.  There is a world of difference.  Any
:    "power" I have comes from no position of authority, but instead
:    from the support of the people who read the group.
:
: 2) Those asking me not to post offensive jokes aren't trying to censor
:    me either.
:
: 3) Those *telling* me not to post offensive jokes wish they could be
:    censors, but they aren't, so I don't have to listen.

Right on all counts.  I, for one, am more than a little irritated at
the propensity of certain "free speech" types to label any instance of
one person's choosing not to publish another's words as censorship.
The term "censor" refers only to acts performed by governments and
their agents.

However, the popular, pejorative, use of "censor" merely means to
fail to publish, when one has the means to do so.  It definitely
would include editorial decisions, and the purpose of this distortion
does indeed seem to be to tar editorial discrimination with the brush
of censorship.

Be that as it may, no decision that a moderator or a system
administrator might take with respect to publishing or disseminiating
the contents of a newsgroup may legitemately be called censorship.
(With some, I hope obvious, exceptions.)

(For the linguisticly inclined, there is one other use of the word
"censor" which is more-or-less equivalent to "censure", but that
clearly is irrelevant here. That use is also mostly obsolete.  See
the OED if you care.)

: 4) Those wishing to have my "employer" *censure* me for posting offensive
:    jokes are a borderline case.  I don't view this as censorship, but I
:    can see the case where it might be viewed as such.

No, this is not a borderline case, there being no government involved.
Were your employer the government, it would be a borderline case.

: 5) Anybody who attempted to bring any legal tools into play, such as
:    threatening legal action, or accusing me or my "employer" of promoting
:    hatred -- they would be a censor.  I don't think there's been much of
:    this, as yet, but if there is, you can bet my ire would be raised
:    very quickly.

Right. This brings the government into it.

: 6) This seems like a minority thing.  About 5 people have written in protest.
:    I have lost count of those who have written in support.

Add one more to your list of supporters.

---
Bill
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