Every day, new limitations are being placed on what we can and can't say because a few people will find it offensive. What the authorities on this situation need is a hard kick in the groin, because they apparently don't realize that there is something in EVERY program that is offensive to someone. Changing a few words isn't going to help a damn thing. If anything, it brings us closer and closer to fascism, and we all know how well that turned out.
Most recently, the word "oriental" was taken off the list of "okay words." Hell, I'm half-Korean, and I don't give a crap if someone says "oriental." Another example is the term "Native American." The Department of the Interior coined the phrase to put a bunch of the western Hemisphere's indigenous cultures into one big clump. Well guess what, geniuses? Many people who fall into this category are actually offended by the term "Native American." So what now?
And it's not just race that is being dealt with. A lot of people find the words "midgets" or "dwarves" inappropriate. They prefer the term "little people," but calling them that isn't going to make them taller. The handicapped are now being called "handicapable," or "physically challenged," and probably the biggest abomination in this list, "differently-abled." Someone somehow tricked these people into thinking that if you change the name of the condition, you'll change the nature of the condition. Guess again, ramp boy. This situation is even worse when fat people are involved. "Obese" is a rather common word nowadays, but it's often grossly inaccurate. Obesity is actually a very precise medical condition. "Large" or "heavy" are also used. Look, people aren't large or heavy. 747's are large and heavy. And you're not big-boned either. Whales are big-boned. Fat people are just fat. Deal with it and quit trying to dance around the problem like it doesn't exist.
Terms relating to sex or drugs are also frequently beeped out. This is just stupid. Who are these people trying to shelter by not allowing them to hear these words? Parents, your kids will be hearing about sex and drugs sooner or later, so you may as well get it over with. Plop them in front of the TV and change the channel to the Howard Stern Show. Trust me, it'll be good for them in the long run.
If you still don't see the folly of censorship, allow me to speak from personal experience. Back in my high school, the teachers weren't allowed to show any movies with a rating higher than PG. Now see if you can follow this logic. They had students that drank till their livers exploded, smoked till their lungs gave out, had unprotected group sex, sniffed glue, got hopped up on mushrooms and acid, cut their arms with dull razorblades, drove at double the speed limit and beat the living crap out of each other, and somehow, the administration thought a few dirty words would make a difference. Hey dickheads, grow up. We obviously did.
One day I'd like to see a late night talk show, and they'd have a comedian like George Carlin or Chris Rock who is simply notorious for swearing, and he'd just have this huge list of words that you may or may not be able to say on TV. Then he'd say the words really fast before anyone can beep him out. It wouldn't be a kick in the censors' groins, but it would be a start.
