Censor and Censored

Censorship is a dirty word if the Internet has anything to say about it. Most viewpoints argue or state that censorship is everything from the tool of government to a shield for the ignorant. But why if censorship is such a bad thing is it still around and used by most countries.
The Question is why and by who? What is to gain from stopping one person from witnessing the words or actions of another??

Commonly head lines in the media concerning censorship regard topics like Nudity. Often controversy arises one art is displayed in a public place that some find offensive. Most often this is in the cases of nudity. And this is not limited to modern art. Many times since their creation masterpieces such as Michelangelo's David and many of Picasso's works have been threatened with destruction of alteration. Even today there are people that would take a paintbrush to the Louvre and Museums or Europe. The problems is censorship like art is subjective.

Recently the internet has been used more and more to share information. Not all of it is relevant and the a prime example of this is Face book. Used a social network people can view other Face book pages and read what is posted and comment on it. Many users adhere to the rules set forth by face book such as not posting indecent pictures or insulting other users or their viewpoints. In doing this they have encouraged people to self censor and report any content on the site that might violate this. Recently issues over breast feeding photos on face book have caused a stare. Mothers say they have the right to post pictures of themselves feeding their newborns. Face book claims that these images contain nudity and cant be shown. Again the issue seems to be subjective and the issue is still under debate.

Censorship is common in New Zealand. The Office of Film & Literature Classification will review and rate any film, book or game that will be available in New Zealand. If material is of a mature nature then it is given a rating that restricts the sale of the Media to persons above a certain age. R18 anyone?? Unless materials violates International law or contains dangerous Information. Like The infamous "Anarchist Cookbook" It is very rare something will be banned. And overall the system seems to work.

So why are people against censorship in cases like this?? Will mostly they aren't. However overseas there are perfect examples of censorship that has gone overboard. The former South Australia Attorney General Michael Atkinson's was the of many "Gamers" worldwide. Mr Atkinson and the extremes he would go to to bad or edit video games in Australia provoked attacks upon himself and his family. Mr Atkinson used this as an example That Gamer were more dangerous then bikers. Atkinson would often quote biased studies and used religious groups to increase support for the banning of games. This made many people fear that video games would be banned outright in Australia and how many countries would follow suit?

Access to materials that have been banned or restricted is easy if you know how. A few words on a internet search engine will bring a glut of content to a user and often free of charge. Ask many young people today if they have seen restricted movies or games and the answer will be yes. Many argue it is a parents responsibility to monitor their children and take action when they break these laws. It all boils down to the individual in the end.

But this is just a small scale, this type of censorship doesn't affect everyone. True but in China The government Has banned access to its citizens of foreign news media such as BBC and CNN. By Blocking these news sources the government can control the media and make sure it is harder for people to challenge their viewpoint. And In the past further extremes have been taken, the Soviet Union was famous for it's propaganda. By making illegal to even listen to American music or wear a pair of blue jeans it controlled its people until its collapse in 1991. The use of blanket censorship over a large population could change the way a whole country thinks and acts.

So peoples fear of censorship is founded. Both in the past and present censorship has been abused. Rather then hand the power of censorship to a single person or body or government or industry. A fair compromise is still a ways a way. and in the end not everyone will be happy. Censorship exists both in within a home and across a globe and will continue to exist as long as a delete button exists.