(No, Becks, that doesn't seem to make much sense to me, either. So, he admits he was rapping the f-word, said he did nothing wrong, knew that kids were within earshot of him when he did it, AND he said that kids shouldn't hear that kind of language??? I typically connect "shouldn't" behavior with "wrong" !)
Well, I'm not inclined to say that the arrest strikes me as appropriate, but I gotta say that I do get annoyed at how incredibly crass some people can be in public. None of this is to say that I'm not aroused at the notion of say, public sex, but even then, a BIG part of the allure of that is the idea that it's so subversive and I acknowledge that it's wrong. In a world where children and adults live together, I don't think it's a good idea for kids to confront that, and EVEN IF we had some bizarre segregation between adults and kids, I personally wouldn't really want public sex to be allowed, as in most cases it would either make me want to vomit, or in a few cases, just make me jealous of the lucky guy. Anyway......
As for people speaking in public and dropping "the f-bomb" well, I can't say I'm shocked or even appalled when I hear it, but I am annoyed most of all by how it indicates - to me at least - just how inconsiderate and discourteous people can be. Loudly uttering "fuck" in public, in a non-extreme situation (such as a fight, a rare fight w/ someone else that must happen right then & there) just says to me that the person uttering it really doesn't care about other people's sensibilities AT ALL, and is just supremely narrow-minded and selfish in how they interpret the idea of living in "a free country" (apparently the prime benefit being able to say "fuck" anywhere at any time for no particular reason).
Yes, yes, I have uttered "fuck" in public before, with both friends and my wife. But I KEPT MY VOICE DOWN in nearly every case. As with most stuff, I don't presume that the rest of the public really wants to hear what I have to say, esp. when I'm frustrated or bickering with someone over something.
And I say this being well aware of how lame opportunists of every stripe (but, I gotta say it, most egregiously the Republicans) love to trot out their moral concerns with the "What about the children?" plea attached to them. I also say this fully aware that some people truly can be offended by just about anything, which presents a real problem for those of us who wish to enjoy freedom but also don't feel that public spaces are an extension of my home. Wear a Def Leppard t-shirt of the most benign sort and SOMEONE will probably take offense (for whatever irrational "reason") and wish to have you arrested.
That is why I tend to think that, on these matters, making and enforcing these kinds of LAWS are not really the ticket. What is called for is a public ethos of personal restraint.
Another example that bugs me considerably more. People watching porn on portable DVD players and watching it in public. I've never personally witnessed it, but have heard of incidents. What I HAVE seen is someone playing porn on the TV/DVD player in their vehicle, windows down, volume up (not extremely loud, but loud enough). Hey, I like porn as much as anyone, but seriously, come on. If someone is next to them in traffic and their kid is sitting with them, they could watch everything.
Kids should have to take great efforts to see porn. It shouldn't just be out and about in public for them to see, right?
And this ties in with my desire to see sex shops exist in a very low-key way. Yes, people in the rural "heartland" of America should be able to go to a sex shop w/o driving 300 miles, but also, their kids shouldn't have to walk past (or otherwise "deal with" - fellas, ya know what I mean) a billboard with Chasey Lain shoving her ass up in the air in a thong as part of an ad billboard for the place.
I guess I'm just in favor of a more clear demarcation between The World of Kids and The World of Adults. When kids think of the World of Adults, it should be a lot more sophisticated than simply "fucking" - Kids figure that sex stuff out on their own (and with some help from parents/guardians, hopefully), but it needn't be pushed into their lives. So, that's my rant.... Any thoughts?
(Having said all that, rememeber, I'm not really in favor of that kid being arrested for dirty rapping)
