Double Standard?
I believe Count Duckula had this right. Educational material is different from entertainment material. The fallacy here, Doc, is that you're comparing educational cable television material versus entertaining movie theatre material. I've yet to see a purely historical or natural documentary be shown on the big screen with any sort of rating being applied to it, and no one will likely put one in the theatres because there's no profit to it.
For comparitive purposes, we'll discuss libraries and bookstores. Bookstores sell both books on human sexuality and adult magazine. The adult magazines are usually placed on the highest racks covered in plastic to prevent opening and in direct line of sight with the cashiers, whereas the books on human sexuality are often placed in the distance in the non-fiction section right where some child can go and pick it up. Why not insist that those copies of the Kama Sutra be placed behind the counter as well? Or, why not insist on a rating system at the local library so that books on the Vietnam War with graphic photography require a parent present with the child to check out the book, or even take them off the shelf?
Ignorance fuels hate and fear, and knowledge tends to disempower concepts that inflict psychological pain. I recommend the following book, censored for those with sensitive eyes: N*gg*r: The Strange Case of a Troublesome Word by Randall Kennedy. It was featured on an episode of Boston Public, and is required reading for some sociological courses at UC Berkeley. Let's say a teenager, a freshman in high school, was curious about the "N-word" and why it held such a position in our society. Would it be right to restrict a book that held pertinent educational information from them simply because they were 14 or 15?
I'm sorry, but I'd be outraged as a historian if the "N-word" was kept from a documentary on the Civil Rights movement. That's keeping relevant information out of our history.
Finally...
All men are created equal, well, the rating system should be the same.
It would require a totally different thread, but I'm sure a lot of men will tell you that on many levels, men are not created equal...therefore, logically, the rating system should not be the same. Humans are created with genetic imperfections, cultural influences based on race and gender, social standing based on birth, and so on and so forth. From conception till you are born there are things that are already working in your favor and those that are working against you.
-Grim-
I believe Count Duckula had this right. Educational material is different from entertainment material. The fallacy here, Doc, is that you're comparing educational cable television material versus entertaining movie theatre material. I've yet to see a purely historical or natural documentary be shown on the big screen with any sort of rating being applied to it, and no one will likely put one in the theatres because there's no profit to it.
For comparitive purposes, we'll discuss libraries and bookstores. Bookstores sell both books on human sexuality and adult magazine. The adult magazines are usually placed on the highest racks covered in plastic to prevent opening and in direct line of sight with the cashiers, whereas the books on human sexuality are often placed in the distance in the non-fiction section right where some child can go and pick it up. Why not insist that those copies of the Kama Sutra be placed behind the counter as well? Or, why not insist on a rating system at the local library so that books on the Vietnam War with graphic photography require a parent present with the child to check out the book, or even take them off the shelf?
Ignorance fuels hate and fear, and knowledge tends to disempower concepts that inflict psychological pain. I recommend the following book, censored for those with sensitive eyes: N*gg*r: The Strange Case of a Troublesome Word by Randall Kennedy. It was featured on an episode of Boston Public, and is required reading for some sociological courses at UC Berkeley. Let's say a teenager, a freshman in high school, was curious about the "N-word" and why it held such a position in our society. Would it be right to restrict a book that held pertinent educational information from them simply because they were 14 or 15?
I'm sorry, but I'd be outraged as a historian if the "N-word" was kept from a documentary on the Civil Rights movement. That's keeping relevant information out of our history.
Finally...
All men are created equal, well, the rating system should be the same.
It would require a totally different thread, but I'm sure a lot of men will tell you that on many levels, men are not created equal...therefore, logically, the rating system should not be the same. Humans are created with genetic imperfections, cultural influences based on race and gender, social standing based on birth, and so on and so forth. From conception till you are born there are things that are already working in your favor and those that are working against you.
-Grim-
Kwansu, dudes! - A whole bunch of Patu San citizens.