Will People Against Censorship Take A Bold Stand?
Censorship is a sensitive issue, and no one wants outright censorship to become commonplace in America. We as a nation pride ourselves on free speech.
Now, to be clear, I have always had an opinion relative to the Opie & Anthony broadcast in question, as well as the actions of fans of the duo. I will outline my opinion, and then address some new developing stories.
1. I feel that what transpired on the broadcast in question did step over a line. The broadcast was not censored at all, and in fact aired in its entirety.
2. I feel that the apology was in order, and that it should have been recognized that there are cases where things go to far. The issue at hand here is often compared to comedy routines, etc. The problem of course is that the Opie & Anthony show is a blend of comedy, edgy material, current events, etc. When listening to a comedian, the listener does not have to adjust to the tenor of the show, it is simply comedy.
3. I feel that Opie & Anthony mocking/belittling the apology was not only a slap at those initially impacted, but a slap to XM as well. It was their commentary on this the apology that got them suspended. Again, no censorship transpired. Their comments were aired in their entirety.
4. Those that feel that Opie & Anthony were marketed as uncensored simply had a misconception about what the real situation was. Rest assured, that Opie & Anthony were not going to pull another “the mayor died in a car accident” stunt, or a session of “love making at St. Patrick’s Cathedral” event. There were indeed lines, and fans who listen to the show with any regularity should have understood this.
5. I felt that fans rallying around a rape and violence against women scene to defend free speech and stand up against censorship was an extremely poor choice. Whether they like it or not, mainstream America sees this suspension as tying back to rape and violence against women.
Now, here is the test of PAC and Debbie Wolf. Over the past week, there has been an issue brewing with Bubba The Love Sponge. The events in question were not even part of a Sirius show, but rather a personally run website of bubba called Bubba Raw. Bubba Raw has no connection whatsoever with Sirius, and is a subscription service which sports wild stunts, and adult themed material.
This story centers around an intern on the show known simply as “Tom The Tree Man”. Tom’s full name had never been divulged on the show. In one edition of Bubba Raw, Tom The Tree Man went through some torture sessions that included, fire ants on the genitals, anal beads, and sniffing the bare posterior of another person.
Tom The Tree Man’s real name is Tom Parmentier and he is an employee of the City of Pinellas Park Water Department as a Utilities Technician. Subsequent to the airing of the torture footage on Bubba Raw, Tom Parmentier was suspended with pay by the City of Pinellas Park pending an investigation into whether his behavior on the Bubba The Love Sponge’s Bubba Raw site. Now, as reported in the St. Petersburg Times, Mr. Parmentier has been fired. Parmentier can fight the firing. He will have that opportunity at a hearing scheduled for Thursday June 7th. The public hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. in the Council Workshop room on the second floor of City Hall, 5141 78th Ave. N.
This is where the rubber meets the road for People Against Censorship and Debbie Wolf. This is an issue that does not carry the same baggage as the Opie & Anthony event. This is where Miss Wolf can move beyond being an Opie & Anthony fan, and can set the stage for her organization to prove that this is a true effort against censorship rather than a call to action for fans of two shock jocks suspended by XM Satellite Radio. This is where certain questions and events with meaning can be pointed out. Does the city have a right to control the activities of an employee during off hours? Does the fact that Tom The Tree man was a relatively anonymous person bear any weight? Does it matter that Bubba Raw is a subscription site? Are there certain city positions that this issue matters more?
What we have here, as opposed to the Opie & Anthony event is something that crosses several issues that more Americans can relate to, and perhaps will not feel bad about getting behind.
Of course this may be difficult for Miss Wolf, but her actions here may set the tone for credibility of her organization. It is widely known that Opie & Anthony are staunch competitors of Bubba The Love sponge. Fans of one show typically do not have much that is positive to say about the other. The same holds true for the talents themselves. This is precisely the reason why People Against Censorship would be making a bold statement by taking action on behalf of Tom Parmentier. Are they really against censorship, or are they simply Opie & Anthony fans that are pissed off and looking for vengeance on XM?
If you the reader are interested in voicing your opinion regarding the Tom Parmentier situation, please comment here, and let bubba know your stance by e-mailing the show at show@btls.com. If you are interested in learning more about People Against Censorship, you can visit their website at http://www.peopleagainstcensorship.com/. Let them know your opinion on this matter.
Position – Long Sirius, Long XM
You should check your facts, sir. PAC was formed BEFORE the O&A event in question, and PAC supports shows that are not in favor with typical O&A fans, such as JV and Elvis.
Rape was not a part of the Homeless Charlie dialog, either.
“and PAC supports shows that are not in favor with typical O&A fans, such as JV and Elvis.”
We would hope so and that is why we are hoping they will also pile on with this cause. That being said, has their site been shut down?
“Rape was not a part of the Homeless Charlie dialog, either.”
Are you insinuating that she would have wanted to have sex? What do you call sex that is forced upon someone? I am willing to play semantics, feel free to suggest what you would consider proper wording.
I am not being facetious and we do appreciate your comments.
Indeed the organization was formed a couple of weeks prior to O & A being suspended. However, the O& A controversy was already brewing, and PAC did not have any real meaningful support or press until the O & A suspension “launched” the organization.
That being said, it appears that the organization is no longer here. The web site has been down since the weekend, and there is no explanation as to what happened or why. Ironically, it seems as if PAC was suspended.
As to the rape comments. Here is the transcript:
Caller “Homeless Charlie”: I tell you what. What’s the George Bush b-tch? Condolleezza Rice? I’d f-ck that bitch. I’d like to f-ck that bitch dead.
Hosts: (Uproarious laughter.)
She needs a f-cking man.
Host: Yeah.
Charlie: I’d f-ck that b-tch (inaudible).
Host: I just imagine the horror in Condolleezza Rice’s face when she realizes what’s going on.
Host 2: As you were just holding her down and f-cking her.
Charlie: (Cackling).
Charlie: Punch her in the f-cking face. “Shut up, B-TCH!”
Host 1: (Laughing hysterically.)
Host 2: That’s exactly what I meant.
Now, I think the “imagine the horror as she realizes whats going on” and “as you were holding her down and f-cking her” are pretty well descriptive of a rape. Let’s not parse words here.
Now, the big question is what has become of PAC? Any answers would be appreciated.
Thanks for reading and sharing your opinion.
I won’t get into a word parsing fight either, although the “transcript” you have is not accurate. I did find the site you cut-n-pasted that text from – I wonder if you’ve actually listened to audio? There was laughter involved, never uproarious or hysterical. “Charlie” was on mic, and not a caller. O&A and Jim Norton do converse with Charlie hoping to get interesting reactions from him, hence the continuation of the line of questioning.
If you follow this show and others you would realize that discussing things such as this with certain characters can sometimes generate entertaining radio. Stern uses similar methods, as well as other “shock jocks”. This bit did turn out to be extreme, which is exactly how O&A are marketed by XM, and exactly what XM knew they would get when they hired the the pair.
Now Bubba is in trouble for a bit that suggests Rudy Giuliani have anal sex with White House press secretary Tony Snow. Did that bit “step over a line”? If not, what is your reasoning?
PAC: (I’m not associated with them) I believe they are simply having trouble with the hosting site. They are a grass-roots movement and don’t have a large bankroll or a fine-tuned infrastructure, yet.
I have listened to the audio. I am also from Boston so, I have had the pleasure of hearing O&A on free FM for years.
I will agree with you that the audio was not “hysterical” I would consider it more along the lines of maniacal or sinister.
I don’t disagree for a second that such bits can create entertaining radio. I also agree that Howard does similar things. That being said, not everyone finds every bit funny, some people are rightfully offended.
What Bubba did was parody of Zach de la Rocha. It wasn’t about what Manson was saying in the bit, it was about how what Zach said was so ridiculous that they were going further overboard to show just how ridiculous Zach was for what he had said. The guy called for the current administration to be tried and shot in front of a live audience. That parody was done to show just how nuts Zach is and to draw attention to Zach.
I think that in the end people figured that out and that is why that situation never snowballed.
I hope you get that hosting issue sorted out.
We think the site was started around the same time as the controversy because your website domain names were registered around the same time (within days). Has the PAC been around for years without an online presence?
Is the PAC taking any stance on the Tom The Tree Man issue? I would love to move this whole conversation over to the Sirius Forums if you guys would be so kind as put all of this out there for the public to see.
I do not want to parse words here, but the description and conversation involved Homeless Charlie as well as Opie & Anthony. Exactly which persons fantasy are we talking about here. Simply stated, the comments were not construed as sexual fantasy by anyone in the mainstream. Further, “Imagining the horror as a woman is held down for a sexual act” is a pretty blatant description of rape. Is a murder not a murder if you only describe pulling out a gun and shooting someone?
In my opinion, it would be better if PAC members stopped trying to defend the event and the words used. It seems like a used car salesman saying that rust is the color of the car, and that never sells well. People know what they heard, and do not want someone else dictating their own opinion to or for them. them that
The PAC presence was virtually unknown prior to the Opie & Anthony event. The comments were made on May 9th. The apology on May 11th, and the suspension on May 15th. As near as I can tell, the website was founded on May 5th. I do not disagree that there was activity with the organization after the Imus news, etc. However, a real platform did not exist until the Opie & Anthony events happened.
Articles regarding that the founders are fans of Opie & Anthony, Ron & Fez, etc. are well known. The actions of the organization seem to center on the talents that the founders like, and attention to other happenings seems to fall by the wayside.
What is unfortunate here is that the mainstream public sees the comments made by Opie and Anthony differently than people against censorship. Like it or not, those comments are a poor foundation to build a cause upon….at least in the eyes of many.
At this point PAC is identified with this issue, and they have some opportunity to “balance” that out a bit by acting as strongly for other happenings in the sector.
As suggested, the forums here on Sirius Buzz are a great place to share opinions. My being critical is merely my opinion. It does not mean I am right or wrong. However, organizations have to be sensitive to perception. Sometimes a wonderful and passionate organization can lose credibility and support if it is perceived to be tied to something very unpopular.
I hope to see PAC up and running again, and would love to see their opinion on the Tom The Tree Man issue.
I am a member of PAC and to answer your question, no PAC didn’t get shut down. They are in the middle of switching servers and it is taking long then thought. Opie and Anthony or even homeless Charlie for that matter never said the word “rape”. it is simply a rough sex fantasy of homeless Charlie’s, they were not talking about raping either of the women in question. You also said that the O&A controversy was already brewing when PAC started up, which is false, there was no controversy with Opie and Anthony and XM during the time PAC was started. I would like to know why you think that and if so were i could read that for myself. Thank you for your time, I will try to check back to read your replies.
Debbie,
I support your stand that you are defending the right to air tasteless ads. (I wonder where you would stop, however). The real gauge, in the end, will be the public outcry. Clearasil will be the loser, not censorship. I think you underestimate the sense of the American consumer. There wil be a backlash and millions of teenagers will get their pimples cleansed by a competitor. TOUCHE!
Jimmy Paulk
Dear Debbie,
Little support to you from institutional orgs reveal the reign of censorship in the so-called ‘Free World’…
Cheers
Max