(Warning: This isn’t a regular, family-friendly Blogger Dad post. It has some “indecent” language. This is also my first post-40 written post. Man, am I gonna be a cranky old man! You have been warned.)
You know, I was trying to be good and ignore this blatant attempt at self promotion. But, when a story is this ridiculous, I had to take the bait.
The Parents Television Council, an advocacy group who takes it upon themselves to police the entertainment industry and determine what you and your kids should and shouldn’t be exposed to, has gone after the CBS show, $#*! My Dad Says, because … get this … the title of the show is “indecent” – even though the show censors its own title!
The show, premiering this fall, is based on a Twitter account, Shit My Dad Says, which recounts the musings of writer Justin Halpern’s dad, an old-school, no holds barred guy who tells it like it is, often to hilarious ends. The Twitter stream became an unlikely success story, leading to a book of musings interspersed with more fleshed out stories of growing up with dad, called S*it My Dad Says.
The PTC has sent 340 letters out to frequent sponsors of TV shows urging them not to advertise on $#*! My Dad Says unless the name of the show is changed.
According to an Associated Press article, PTC President Tim Winter, “Parents really do care about profanity when their kids are watching TV … All parents? No, but something like 80 or 90 percent of parents. Putting an expletive in the title of a show is crossing new territory, and we can’t allow that to happen on our watch.”
On their watch? Who appointed these self-important A$$holes as Defenders of TV?
Oh yeah, They Did.
The PTC is a conservative group who claims they want to “bring back family values and responsibility to the entertainment industry.” According to Wikipedia (yeah, I went “all out” in my research) they began in 1989, by monitoring “liberal bias” in entertainment. They have since gotten their knickers in a bunch whenever any TV show airs anything which might offend somebody somewhere.
And oh yeah, they bring in lots of money as self-appointed guardians of what you see and hear.
And that’s what this is really about, isn’t it? Drumming up more interest and donations for their cushy “jobs” as the Morality Police.
A group making money off what will likely be a popular TV show by creating controversy.
Now I won’t even go into the backgrounds of this group. For instance, I won’t mention that board members include Billy Ray Cyrus – we all know what a paragon of morality his daughter is. Woops, too late. You can check out the wikipedia page for more information on this group, its political connections and the influence it wields.
No, this post is mainly about $#*!.
How is $#*! an indecent word?
What child do you know that doesn’t talk about $#*!, whether he calls it poop, poo-poo, doody, Number Two, or any other term? Facts are facts, we all do it. We all shit.
When did pooping become indecent? I mean, they’re not gonna show it on the new show, right? I mean, now THAT would be something worth writing letters about!
I’m not going to say that there isn’t any value in what the PTC does. Believe me, I find much of TV reprehensible, whether it be glorified scenes of violence or so-called Men of God preying on the wallets of the weak and sick, there’s lots out there to offend and warp the minds of the innocent.
I think the PTC can provide a valuable service (and earn their paychecks a bit more honestly) by giving parents information about the content of TV shows so that THEY, THE PARENTS, can make informed decisions about what their children watch on TV. But we don’t need the Morality Police changing the content of TV shows or trying to damage a show (not to mention the jobs of all the people involved in the show – don’t they have families which they value and would like to be able to provide an income for?) by going after its advertisers.
Isn’t the Conservative party about smaller government, and letting “the market decide?”
So, let the market decide if shows like this, or actual more offensive shows, survive. Besides, don’t TV’s have V-chips to filter out “bad” TV shows? And I hear that there’s other new technology out which also allows you to both change the channel and turn the TV off! It’s called a remote!
Why do we need Morality Police to protect our kids from profanity and violence on TV? Isn’t that the job of a parent?
For those who would argue that parents aren’t around to monitor their childrens’ TV viewing habits, I might counter argue, isn’t that the real problem here?
But back to the subject at hand, this diatribe DOES have a point.
A funny thing happened this Father’s Day. A lot of people I know told me that they got the book, S*it My Dad Says for their dads as a Father’s Day gift. They said it reminded them of their own dads, and the shit their dads said. I visited a book store and talked to some employees who told me that the book was flying off the shelves. People were getting the book for their dads.
In other words, families are bonding over this book. This “indecent” book. A book, which I might add, some might even call touching and poignant.
And here’s the thing that these Morality Police miss in their obsession (one might almost call it a perverse obsession) with obscene language. Lots of dads talked like this. My own dad cursed like a fleet of sailors. That doesn’t make them any less valued as a person. Any more vile or indecent. My dad was, and is, the most honest, caring, tough-as-nails, but decent person I’ve ever known. I’d stack him up against your whole band of letter-writing, job-killing-Morality Police any day of the week. Because it’s not about the Shit our dads say.
It’s about what our dads DO that shapes us.
So F$#*! you, PTC!
Sorry, I meant, Fuck You, PTC!
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Now THIS is the Dave I know and love! Enough with the sweet crap — keep these post coming! Yeah, I am a good influence.
~L
.-= Lisa´s last blog ..Lisa Tries Boboli 100 Whole Wheat Small Pizza Crust =-.
LOL. There’s no reason I cannot be both things. Sweet and Snarky.
Snarky-side needs to make his presence more often! We discussed some other good subjects last night that should give you more material, right? Look at all of the positive feedback, DWW. People love Snarky Blogger Dad. More! More! More! (chanting) ~L
.-= Lisa´s last blog ..Lisa Tries Boboli 100 Whole Wheat Small Pizza Crust =-.
AWESOME.
Write on man, agree with every word.
Welcome back.
.-= Matthew Dryden´s last blog ..Pleasingly Interesting =-.
Thank you, Matthew. Your site is looking great, by the way. Love the header.
Agreed.
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Thanks for stopping by and commenting … and agreeing with me.
The book is hilarious. The twitter account is hilarious. And I’m sure the show will be hilarious.
Like you, a big problem I have with this organization is that they are taking the responsibility away from parents to monitor what their children are watching on TV.
There’s a Christian organization out there (well, I’m sure there is more than one) that lets people know how “family friendly” a movie is (read: how it compares to what they believe a “good Christian” should watch) and it used to piss me off, mostly because it made all Christians out to be these over-sensitive whiny people. But they don’t lobby to have shows taken off the air, or movies boycotted, they informed parents about the content of the movies and gave it a “family friendly” rating. The PTC would do much better following a model like this, and a lot more people would be appreciative of their work. Then again, this is probably my “liberal bias” speaking, something they aren’t fans of.
.-= twistedxtian´s last blog ..Peeing with Bean =-.
Thanks for commenting. There’s a lot of money to be made in the business of trying to legislate morality. Seems kind of, I dunno, immoral.
I was recently talking with someone about the PTC and completely agree with you. I’d add one more point: The PTC essentially spams the FCC with complaints. A study from 2004 found that the PTC was the source of over 99% of the FCC complaints ( http://arstechnica.com/old/content/2004/12/4442.ars ). I don’t know if more recent studies have been done, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they were still in the upper 90′s. If the FCC simply ignored any PTC-based complaints (or, at least, factored them all in as one complaint), they would be freed up to do work more important than deciding whether a single f-word spoken or a nipple bared for a tenth of a second during a live event means that the station should be fined millions of dollars.
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It’s kind of funny how self-appointed moralists become bullies. Just one of the many hypocrisies.
So, let me get this straight. We’re supposed to protect ALL children from obscenity because not every parent is up for the job.
But the children of parents who are poor, absent, addicted to drugs, from a culture of welfare dependency, mentally ill, whatever things prevent them from being adequately fed, housed and educated well that’s just too bad. Can’t help them. You know, until their parents do their job other wise there is no point because they won’t appreciate it because they aren’t learning any better at home.
But we’ll sure as heck step in to do the parents job when it involves a mild swear word on television.
Interesting.
I cheered when I read this post. I’m so sick of people stepping in over bullshit that doesn’t matter and inserting their opinions as if anyone asked. It’s arrogant and presumptuous.
No shit, fuck the PTC. I don’t understand why they need to protect kids from a show that won’t be on until they have long gone to bed? If the kids are even watching it, it isn’t the show or the producers fault. It is the parents no doing their job. So freaking stupid.
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I am the mother of two boys and have been known on occasion to swear in front of my kids. Therefore, I taught them that there are words that adults can use that children cannot – just like there are drinks that grown ups can have, movies that grown ups can see, and activities that grown ups can participate in that children cannot. Kids hear and see these words. Seeing them in the title of a TV show – who cares?
What I’d like to know is where is the PTC when “reality” shows decide to portray people competing for a wealthy mate? Or eating bugs to win money? Or any of the other obscene things that the industry has developed in the pursuit of viewers! Maybe we need a show called “&$#* American’s Will Watch”!
Abso-F&$*ing-lutely!
But on another note, I have to say casting William Shatner as the Dad is pure genius
Hey, did you know that if you typo Jamie@BlueDuckCopy, it comes out as Jamie@BlueDickCopy? Neither did I till just now.
I think this one rates up there with the McDonald’s rants, Dave. Totally on the mark. Bunch of self-righteous, power hungry people if you ask me. I didn’t like Billy Ray when he was popular, let alone now. Why would anyone listen to him?
Why dont you let us know how you really feel? Damn near spewed my coffee over, well, most of it. Way to go Dave.
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