More on the Money for Nothing nonsense:
(Note to readers: This story includes a discussion about the use of offensive words. Discretion is advised.)
OTTAWA — The term “fag” is acceptable on Canadian radio, but “faggot” is not, according to the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council, which released a ruling Wednesday that essentially bans the Dire Straits song Money for Nothing.
The song is written from the perspective of a blue-collar worker moving and delivering appliances and televisions while watching rock stars with big hair and makeup get “money for nothin” and their “chicks for free.” The song was released in 1985 and has been a staple of rock radio ever since.
A single complaint from a woman in Newfoundland, filed last February, kicked off the process that ended with the ruling.
You know what I found funniest in this article? That they had to run that disclaimer at the beginning. When I was a kid, content warnings like that were like a red flag — that was the stuff we wanted to read/see first. Today when my husband and I sit down to watch a movie that starts with a disclaimer for “sexual content, violence, and language”, we look at each other, smile, and I’ll say, “Oh good, the trifecta!” And a nudity warning always ensures hubby will perk up and take notice.
It’s also interesting that the word “nigger” in rap songs is still acceptable, though they expect that to go too — as soon as someone complains (nobody has so far). Guess if they ban the n-word, the Big O will have to leave his iPod at home next time he visits, so as not to offend this nation of wusses:
U.S. President Barack Obama recently told Rolling Stone his iPod playlist includes a pair of artists who use the controversial word frequently.
“I’ve got a little Nas and a little Lil Wayne and some other stuff,” Obama told the magazine.
But I don’t think Americans should be quite so smug. While we’re busy editing a 25-year-old song, they’re actively bastardizing literature that’s 125 years old. But only literature written by “crackers” ’cause Roots gets a pass, while Huckleberry Finn wasn’t so lucky.
Still, I’d be remiss not to note that all it takes in our country is a single complaint by some whining busybody. And in my hometown, one complaint about a city councilor’s Facebook page was all that was needed to send the lot of them for sensitivity training — at the taxpayers’ expense, naturally.
So, here’s Dire Straits’ original version, unedited. But you should note that the band themselves self-censored for concerts so as not to offend.
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I can think of a lot of reasons not to listen to Dire Straits but the use of the word “faggot” is not one of them.
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