Censorship @ MindSay

After reading the top 10 blogs this morning I can see that some of the bloggers are upset with some of the posts that deal with religion vs no religion, politics and such and all the heated debating that accompanies them. If I understand them correctly ( and hey, I may be reading them wrong) but they would prefer the posts to be more "light hearted , friendly, happy" and such.
But I thought Mindsay was a place to "speak your mind", post "your feelings" and share "your beliefs and non beliefs", your "triumphs and tragedies" .
I am a humanist and I don't mind religious posts at all. And though my opinion and views may differ from theirs , I respect their right to speak and defend their positions. And I know when they get on my case and throw scriptures at me they do it because they think they need to save me and when I throw them back it's because I'm trying to save them.
And people who are going through bad things need an outlet and a shoulder to lean and cry on.
But limiting,  and censoring speech is a bad idea. The first amendment gives us a right not available in many countries. I cherish it, respect it and will defend it to my death.
If a post appears to be something that will offend or upset you, then just don't read it, plain and simple. You can tell by the title what the content will most likely be. And if you are afraid someone will jump on you because of something you post and you don't want to get hurt, then end your post with a "Please , no hurtful, hateful or rude comments."
But what ever you do, don't give away your right and your freedom to speak your mind . It is precious. And many have given their lives for the privilege.
Now, respectfully,  if you want to jump on me, here I am, bring it on!

Seriously, what do you do with the passion and heat that glow in your heart, those embers reminiscent of things you really, truly feel?

 

I think there's 4 kinds of heat. Each kind has its' ability to damage, create, or inspire. What you do with your flame is up to you - but I will warn you, in time, all flames die. What you love or fear today may be the one thing that years from now that will lose its' luster, and cease to invoke any emotions at all.

 

Take my Mom. In the 60's she raged against the political machine, and hard and fast. Her aim was true. Sit-ins, chaining, locking arms and picket signs were everyday fare, and with more charisma and passion than any of us can seem to muster these days.

 

She had children, married, moved on to becoming a good citizen thinking the fight was won, and all that was sacrificed for would remain steadfast and sure. Nope, it was lost again - silently whittled away by greed, religion, envy, and personal agendas by those who would wish to lead us whether in our schools, towns, states or worse, nationally. Now, she's 50. She's an activist on fire. The cries that used to be in her head now escape wildly from her lips with such incredible force as she witnesses the spoils of her passion be flittered away like so many butterflies.

 

Gone is the era of make love not war, as we seek to annihilate sexuality and make it a perverse taboo subject never to pass one's thoughts, and war seems to be much better by comparison. 

Gone are the songs of substance and ire, only bubblegum princesses and hiphop mavens of little clothing remain.

Gone are the throngs of younger generations , standing on two feet unwavering, demanding the respect and rights to which they were promised, and in fact taught the government would uphold..as it was law.

 

Oh, sadly it still is - but we, the ones who will inherit this sham when the true rebels like her are gone, do we fight? Care, believe, demand or protect? AH, of course not. We are a spoiled age, one in which electronics do everything, walking is only for fitness, and words of passionate love have been reduced to "O rly? ILY2". If you did love me, would it be so worthless of your time to say it in words? To shorten it to an abbreviation akin to AL for the state of Alabama doesn't mean much to me. And so on goes the ruins of our age. Wasted youth, so shallow.

 

So what do we do? The embers are being fanned ever so slightly by the elders who created the haven we take advantage of now and we just assume it's our right. Well, guess what? We have other rights too. Everyone has guaranteed rights, *everyone*, and we...don't give a damn.

 

You'll stand in line for your coffee, so stand in line to petition and vote on bills that can harm lives and destroy families.

You'll call every person on your "five" countless times a day - so call a senator and say ,"Hey, you are a public servant, I *am* the public, and we matter. Listen to us!".

You will text, blog, sing, and dance - join a march, protest, make a **legal** scene. USE IT.

 

Have you never paid attention to those who were your age before you? That kind of passion has the magic ability to change lives, nations, and demand a better way for all of us. Don't sit there and stare! You know you have a voice, so use it. It's only so long before those wonderful people who gifted us these freedoms and privileges will move on, or pass on...what will we leave our children, or have left as a fond memory in old age?

 

DO SOMETHING, before the flickering lit sparks of hope and justice just die out like our heat and passions, and prove we were worth the hell our previous generation went through *for us.*

 

Sensory heat - Flame, burning touch, fire, hot embers.

Percieved heat - Hot peppers, spicy things, a muggy day.

Interpretive, negative - Anger, envy, violence, hatred.

Nuance heat - love, sensual, sexual, passion, "chemistry".

 

Any of these can be a gift to society, and easily so. Improve your life, the quality of it, and the attention you nurture it with. If you love deeper, admit to envy, savor the beauty of a single flame or just try a new spice, creep out of the box and see what being spontaneous and free is like - all of these things will have an effect somewhere, on someone. We're all connected, and every tiny detail of your cold existence just guarantees another will follow.

 

 Now, step out, misfit brothers and sisters, find your heat, and embrace it's warm soul. And then ask yourself - "If you were on fire, what would you do - with the power and passion to change the world?" I'm feeding my fire, and someday, I hope it takes over the world. The fire's love, strength, justice, sustainability, and action....what's yours?

 

It's no lighter fluid, but it's a start.

LilliHK

From T-Shirt Hell:

"I'm done. I'm finished. I can't take the stupidity anymore, so I'm leaving and I'm taking my website with me. As of Monday, Feb 16, 2009, T-Shirt Hell will be no more.

No, I'm not selling out to some douchebag corporate entity. No, we're not being sued by any of the over 40 companies that have sent us cease and desists over the years. No, I'm not going to jail (yet) and no, it's not because of the economy. Although, the recent dip in sales certainly does make the idea easier to accept, even though we still sell over 3000 shirts a week.

I started this company in June of 2001, nearly 8 years ago, with the intention of producing the best satirical, the most controversial, the funniest t-shirts on the internet. Generally speaking, I feel I've accomplished that and am satisfied with what we've put out. I made a shitload of dough along the way. I've done cocaine off the better body parts of supermodels. I've even raped and killed a mountain panda in the hills of Shaanxi. But these perks are besides the point.

I just don't feel like dealing with idiots anymore. I'll give you an example of the kind of misguided morons we deal with on a regular basis at T-Shirt Hell. We released a new shirt a couple weeks ago that says "It's not gay if you beat them up afterwards". I will not explain the irony or the social commentary of the slogan because anyone with half a brain should be able to handle that on their own. Problem is, we've been besieged with emails from angry people complaining about the "fact" that the shirt is hate speech or that we're promoting gay bashing and should take it down immediately.

Comments like:

"I can't even believe people buy this shit. Do you realize your supporting a hate crime? That makes you feel better about yourself? Wow you need a life. We're all human beings and you can't except it."

and

"It's Not Gay:If You Beat Them Up After"?? That is highly inappropriate and very very morally wrong. I will be advising everyone I know to avoid buying anything from your site until shirts like this are removed. In this world people are fighting for equality and a chance to be themselves without fear of being beat up because of who they are, yet here is an established website promoting hate and violence. You all should be ashamed of yourselves."

Now, I can't say I'm surprised we're getting hate mail from people who have nothing better to do than to start half-assed campaigns because of their lazy, just enough passion for an email, ideals towards a misguided cause. It happened when we did our first really controversial shirt, "The School Shootings Tour", it happened when we did our "What About All The Good Things Hitler Did" shirt, it happened when we did our "Arrest Black Babies Before They Become Criminals" shirt (boy did it happen then). It used to happen all the time when we did more social commentary and didn't give a fuck about what anyone thought and did shirts that did not leave anyone out. Unfortunately, as a concern for the safety of my employees, we don't push the envelope as much anymore...and I can't say I feel good about having caved in.

Anyway, rather than cater to the masses, I'm just going to stop making shirts. It's not enjoyable anymore and I have enough money to move on to something more rewarding. Maybe I'll start my own hooker farm or maybe I'll practice sleeping. Whatever I decide to do, it will be better than this.

Attention any venture capitalists or independent investors/business assholes who are about to inquire about purchasing T-Shirt Hell. Don't. You won't do the company justice and I won't take that chance. I'm putting it to sleep. It's over.

That's right, I'm crazy. I'm pulling the plug on a company I could have sold for millions. Why in the fucking world would I do something so stupid? Because I can. I don't care about money. This is the way I've always done things...my way.

So, to all the kickass motherfuckers who supported us and REALLY got what we were trying to do, thank you (no, not you, you racist idiots who thought we actually had racist intentions and no, not you, you dumb as a stump fucks who just think any shirt with the word "fuck" on it is as right as rain). Thanks to all the people who contributed to my vice fund and at the same time helped make a funny statement about the world today.

As a final farewell, I'm going to bring back some of the top selling Worse Than Hell shirts as a fuck you to those who forced me to remove them. To those who are offended by them and to those who think I'm racist, promoting rape, a nazi, homophobic or just the world's biggest asshole...well, at least you think I'm something, which means I've achieved what I wanted.

Thanks to Gary, Mika, Jacob, Greg, Bob, the black lady who writes our newsletter, and to everyone else who was part of T-Shirt Hell. Time to move on to even greater things. I'll miss you (by miss, I mean, it's going to suck not being able to give you my excellent reach arounds when you least expect them).

Fuck you,

-Sunshine Megatron

(Click here to read a follow up by a soon to be laid off TSH employee)

"

You know what truly concerns me about all of this..is the people who defently view this with a close mind.

 

Some think im nutz about trying to defend this man since i dont know all the evedence in this case. In a ways thats a very good and true point. I just wish i knew what the books were so i can make up my own conclusions.

 

But wiether you like this person or hate this person..to me what is truly the most important thing is our First Amendment rights as manga and anime fans is on the line!

 

The arcticle just pointed it out..the first time the CBLDF is defending someone who owns manga , not someone who selles the material..or is the artist of the work.

 

I'm an artist myself and over the years ive was close minded on many thing but thanks to some artist friends over the years it helped me ease some fears and try to expand my options..now im afraid i may have to limit down what i enjoy drawing again.

 

My fan work is nothing like what this person is being put on trail for..but what if tommrow something you enjoy drawing suddently becomes illegal in the US  goverments eyes? Its not impossable it can happen.

 

So far the person in this case the person has 1/2 won it..but now comes the true test....a jury. A jury who may not have any knowledge of anime/manga. Who may already have there own conclusion before this trail. And must rely on the "miller law":

 

 Miller test for obscenity:

"(a) whether the average person, applying contemporary community standards would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest;

(b) whether the work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by the applicable state law;

and (c) whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value."  The jury must answer all three questions in the affirmative in order to convict.
 

Now if your a fan of anime and manga doenst matter if its adult kind or just regular kind..or you enjoy drawing it ask yourselves these in honesty...

 

1.Do you know that anime/manga and the chacracters in them are fake?

 

2. Are you confident about your art's chances of not being declared bad in the publics eyes?

 

3. And if they are declared bad in the public's eyes...would you be next to go to jail?

 

 

In my point of view there are things that do indeed cross the line that should be punished.  But thats an opinion.

 

This however is the law. Etched in stone. You know judge dread like law. No opinions..doesnt matter if your right or wrong. Thats the bottom line.

 

This is a very serious situation and i truly hope that as a manga/anime fan no matter what kind it is that you enjoy. I hope you will either get the word out about this story..or support this fund for what its for. Not for this case in general..but for what the CBLDF stand for. Defending your right as a manga/anime fan.

 

Because you never know one day it could be your non adult anime and manga that could be targeted next. And if you dont belive me i strongly urge you keep these in mind with the publics eye:

 

http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA407833.html

 

http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA407833.html

 

All it takes is just a little public fear to drive something out of purpotion. Thank you for reading.

Ok first off this is what i have to say...WTF?! (btw sorry for saying jap. manga because of the text title limit.)

 

I wish this was a joke people but I just got done reading this story from animenation and the anime news

network. Person in the US may actually go to jail for purchasing a japanese manga from japan.

Charge obscene material. Sentence Term..20 years!

 

Obscene material? Thats it? I dont get it what were the pictures that were ment to be obscene in some persons? If its kid porn then yeah he  deserves to go to jail...but they didnt say what it was .

 

Heres the link to the story check it out! This isnt a spam or scam! Heck i wouldn't be surprised if this gets sliped by media radar untill it is too late!

 

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/editorial/2008-12-11/christopher-handley/carl-horn

 

Ok i know some people out there and  you know who you are..you may or you do not like the certain styles of manga or anime. Or sometimes what it may "promote". Thats fine don't read it. Dont look at it. Change the channel. Thats your choice. Not something you FORCE on others.

 

To me im comparing this to the gay rights movement, censoring the GTA games, to the times where penthouse magazine could put you in jail simply for buying it(as in a legal adult going to jail just for buying it. Nothing to do with leting a kid look at it here! Just buying it. period ).

 

Some of you manga fans and anime fans probly may already have it in your minds..The first ammendment will stop this. This case will be closed and the guy wont go to jail.

 

But what if your wrong? Could you possably comprehend the effect this would have if this guy goes to jail?

What else will certain political influced people target in animes and manga as "obscene material" .

Violent scenes? Nudity? Saying a certain word that may be deemed inapproprite? Maybe symbols?

What else will America declare to censor in anime and manga? Keep in mind..i said HERE..in America.

 

It would be the begining of dramtic domino effect, and no longer be just something you watch in fiction as drama. This would be real life! How much good quality art(fanmade or legit) espically ones from good friends ive got to know over the years on the net may have to be taken down or censored. You also could kiss certain anime and manga titles goodbye in the US and dont even bother getting them from japan because then it would meen you would be in the same boat that guy is in right now. I even enjoy drawing this stuff as a fan...will i no longer be able to draw because its the law?!

 

So what do you do? I dont know what all i can do myself but i defently plan to donate little of my money this chrismas to the  Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Thats my way of standing up to fight this.

 

I will say in closing though..there are sometings in this world that defently no person should ever see and deserve to be declared illegal. But anime and manga isnt one of them. Its my choice to enjoy as well as it is to others.  Thank you for reading.

 

I truly hope that this case when its over and done the