FanNation - The Republic of Sport

     Two for the price of one this week. Not just our weekly excursion into media and sports, but an homage as well.

     Both involve one man. The "True Media Story" first, then the homage.

     It's found under Federal Communications Commission vs Pacifica Foundation, but it's commonly known as the "7 Dirty Words" case. The real story behind it, though, has been obscured...until now. That's right, folks; I can distill this whole story.

     Back in '73, the (now) late George Carlin recorded his classic "Class Clown" LP. (Yes, I'm that old.) On the album is a piece entitled "7 Words You Can Not Say on TV"...although I believe we do use some form of them here in FanNation. But that's neither here nor there.

     The case began, because a 13-year-old boy in NYC had his radio on to WBAI-FM, which is owned by Pacifica Radio (which in turn is owned by the Pacifica Foundation, based in San Francisco). I won't get into the discussion of Pacifica's leftist leanings, because it's not crucial to this story.

     As I said, the kid had his radio on (@ 3 in the afternoon) to WBAI, as they were playing the "7 Dirty Words" bit. In walks his father, and demands the boy shut off the radio. Then he (the father) decides to complain to the station...and blows his top when they tell him this is a free-speech issue. So, a letter to the FCC is forthcoming. He gets the same response from them.

     I should mention that "dear ol' daddy" worked in the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan. After the FCC letter, he decides to sue WBAI and their parent company (Pacifica Radio of N.Y.). The case takes years to wind through the Federal courts, and eventually goes to the Supreme Court. Now, for the obscure part of this story...

     Though the High Court rules that there is a right to control the content on the airwaves, they recommend that stations (radio or TV) create a "safe haven"--between 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.--where they can run material such as Carlin's. The reasoning being, those 7 hours were when children aren't apt to listen to radio.

     The stations were happy; the FCC was happy. All was right with the world. (In fact, the Pacifica station in Washington...WPFW-FM...used to run a show on Thursday nights from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. called "Shaved Face" that did that very thing. Once you got past the Third World music they played, you could hear the "good stuff". Uncensored.)

     Alas, the politicians weren't happy. Thus, for the last 20-some years, we've had to put up with this (purported) 24-hour ban on "obscene" programming on radio and/or TV. How's that working out, boys and girls?? Couldn't save America from Janet Jackson's boob, COULD YOU???

     And now, the homage to George Carlin...

     On one of his HBO specials back around 1990 or so, he got on a riff about words and phrases. In the middle of that, he got around to the subject of veterans. I can pretty much recite this from memory, so as my salute to the last true fighter for free speech I'll give this rundown:

     In World War I, soldiers were told they suffered from "shell shock". In World War II, it was called "battle fatigue". (I forgot what he said it was called in Korea.) Yet, by the time Vietnam rolled around, it was now called "delayed-stress syndrome" or "post-traumatic stress syndrome". Carlin's last line summed it all up in a nutshell:

"If they had told these veterans when they came home, that they were suffering from 'shell shock' instead of 'delayed-stress syndrome'...they would've gotten the care they deserved!!!"

     It's all about words, gang. When political correctness is allowed to dictate what we say, what we write, what we read, even what we listen to...it's no longer America we live in. We've become, ironically, the Soviet Union...or rather, what we believed the Soviet Union was.

     If George Carlin taught us anything, it's that we need to tell people what we really mean to say.

     So, there you have it. This piece is dedicated in tribute to George Carlin, on his passing yesterday at the age of 71.

     We'll see you next time. As always, thank you for reading.