Comments on: Australia’s 20 Worst Cases of Censorship and Moral Outrage in 2008

By: John

John — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 06:19:36 +0000

I’m about to agree with an American! WOW! I’m Canadian and we have issues, but reading about all this is kind of shocking. It sounds like you have a brutal amount of censorship. It bothers me that the government dictates what people can see. Where’s the freedom?!

By: fatty_american

fatty_american — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 14:57:25 +0000

haha, you australians are crazy!

i thought american christians were bad, jeeze.

By: Fitzroyalty

Fitzroyalty — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 01:15:41 +0000

Tziolas and the animated character as real person cases particularly annoyed me. When the Tziolas case eventually gets to court I hope it costs the government a significant sum to compensate her for this totally unacceptable abuse of power.

By: spud

spud — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 23:03:06 +0000

Reply to Grant Dec 2008 – The Australian media is no longer an immature nation. It has grown up and is playing the same tune as its international teachers. It publishes only a small edited part of a complaint that will ensure a sensational reaction from the public. Unfortunatly a politician will often react before researching the original complaint and its foundations. In their haste to console the complaintive, they can make an emotional judgement that further complicates the issue. Yes our politicians need to be less hasty, but our media needs to start taking responsibility for shafting so many legitimate complaints down the “wowserism” well.
If your views are so strong, why don’t you return home and share your “talent and visions” with your local community? Become a politician and show us how to do it. You could also become a parent and then see why such complaints manifest.
P.S – Don’t ditch your own country especially when you are not even here – its very unAustralian and very 2nd rate.

By: Stilgherrian · Links for 29 December 2008 through 09 January 2009

Stilgherrian · Links for 29 December 2008 through 09 January 2009 — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 21:41:33 +0000

[...] Australia’s 20 Worst Cases of Censorship and Moral Outrage in 2008 | Somebody Think Of The Chi…: Again, what it says. [...]

By: Jenni

Jenni — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:23:15 +0000

This really makes me want to die. This can -not- be the kind of country I am returning to.

Why does the Australian government insist on treating adults like children? As though we are somehow less capable than the rest of the world at choosing what we can and cannot ‘handle’ viewing? It is truly sickening.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 05:50:37 +0000

I know it’s the principle that counts here, but in practical terms, to what extent do these feeble attempts at social control really affect things in this borderless day and age? The Bill Henson scandal excepting, most of the entries here either made me chuckle (typical bloody Qld’ers – building height restrictions so as to deter gazing pedophiles, far out) or go ho hum (Manplay 37 banned, big deal, just type it into Google and there’s 5 VOD sites offering it just a link away).
The ACB is about as effective and relevant these days as the High Anglican Church, while I guess citizens do have the right to have moral panic attacks, and if their elected representatives react reactionarily then it’s really still up to the calmer minded amongst us to be the voice of reason.
The Bill Henson scandal though, that was a really sorry state of affairs, and thank God the ACB saw reason and rated his work “PG”, which kinda made all the damning loudmouths from politicians to the media to smart ass commentators the nation over just look pretty dumb in the end – note how quickly the furore died away once the works were rated innocent enough for kids to see.
One thing I would cynically conclude: unreason triumphs over yet another year.

By: little green chicken

little green chicken — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 19:22:56 +0000

I am so disgusted and ashamed at the state of my country. The people who are supposed to be representing our interests are only spewing the expected, comfortable, ignorant propaganda of those ugly, reactionary types that litter our society. These people do not want to see the world as it is and are highly threatened by those who question their narrow set of ideals, as to the way the world, life and other people should be. One of these people is clearly our new prime minister Kevin Rudd and the attorney general. They are dull-minded, duplicitous men, who thrust internet censorship up our backsides as a side-note AFTER winning the election with barely a mention of this ridiculous plan (which has been UNIVERSALLY panned by experts).
A teenager, if not a child these days can understand why an internet filter is a terrible, terrible, IDIODIC thing to try and implement.(especially in a time of economic downturn). Not to mention the sperm in the eye of democracy! I THOUGHT WE WERE AT “WAR” WITH THIS SHIT?????
Those who wish to keep their office feel they must pander to those ideals, OR are simply (and more likely) the very embodiment of those ideals they strive to defend in the name of the “Australian people”. Essentially, they cut out the middle man, which is reason and maturity. We must be able to see the difference between art and porno, and rate accordingly. We must NOT disallow grown adults from viewing the creations of their fellow human beings, no matter how ugly or scary.
This brings me to a point that never seems to be argued, or even mentioned regarding censorship; Australian adults are not allowed to play games, or see movies, or learn certain information(i.e wikipedia censorship) BUT it is FINE and GREAT for our young guys to get sent to war with a random country essentially, to DIE and be MAIMED. But fucked if they can watch a porno, or play a fucking video game where you can blow a game character’s head off, or even see a real woman’s vagina in a porno mag…THAT’S RIGHT AUSTRALIA…V-A-G-I-N-A! Let’s drop this Victorian nonsense, we’re not in the colonies anymore!
And would the pro censorship lot PLEASE stop talking about children, they have NOTHING to do with this issue whatsoever. All we ask is to be allowed to view adult content as it stands, as the rest of the world sees fit to create it.

To the reactionaries whose fear and ignorance have degraded and pissed on democracy and freedom in Australia, your time of power is coming to an end…this is one thing that is inevitable, as hopeless as the situation seems to normal people right now. The kind of person that thinks the internet is a bad idea (I swear on my life that I met an Australian, middle class woman who actually said the internet was a bad idea…for serious) simply illuminates the backwards and arbitrary nature of their own moral “lines”. Do not penalize the ideals this country was founded on just to impose repressed, muddled notions of indecency on the rest of the population. It is only because of the internet that we have any freedom of speech and free media at all.
It is only because of the internet we can trade effectively ANYTHING we want, all around the world. Most importantly, it is the only place we can hear the voices of the world, see and hear and read what is going on, the terrible and beautiful and amazing things that humans do and create.

There is anger and violence and ignorance spreading like a plague in Australia. A beer swilling, woman hating, ugly minded, nasty, tempermental slob, who goes out to pubs and clubs looking for fights, instead of fun. A man who is disgustingly arrogant and opportunistic, not to mention ignorant and small minded. This man is many men in our land. This man is caused by censorship and let me tell you how. Lack of culture. Lack of curiosity about the world. Dull minded spouting of whatever opinion is the most acceptable. Making strong assumptions about subjects, without any knowledge, or care for knowledge about said subject.

Without a sense of the value of variation in opinion, people fall behind, they give up on dignity and pride and creativity. Take away scary “adult” influences, but we all still must live in a world that is filled with them. We have the compulsion to make media that pushes our own boundaries because that is what surrounds us and we want to make sense of it.

Tell me how people are supposed to make sense of life, when the least talked about parts are not even allowed to be viewed remotely in the form of a movie, or a book. How are supposed to see what we are, who we are?
Australian people, we are lost. Adrift in a sea of misinformation, but unable to see, hear or speak of it. We have become disconnected, apathetic and now the minority opinion rules. The only thing that these people understand is popular opinion. So make your outrage at censorship public knowledge, DO NOT stand for those who try to shut you down, they stand on a pillar of sand, held together with contradictory propaganda.
Those who think they know the absolute truth are already wrong. Those who KNOW they know the absolute truth are fucking SCARY!

p.s. the latter are in charge.

thanks for reading

p.p.s i’m a 23 year old female from Perth, WA (for your own interpretation of what I have just said, I thought it would be nice for you all to know what demographic was talking)

By: Kerry

Kerry — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 02:58:09 +0000

When younger I spent too long in the company of religious types. What did I learn?
1. The most powerful force the preacher has is guilt – make a person feel guilty and you can then control them.
2. There tends to be more mental illness in congregations than in the general population.
3. Be very wary of those preachers who make the most noise about deviants in the community.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10335782

By: Glenn Petrie

Glenn Petrie — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:55:47 +0000

"2008 set a new record for Australia, with five notable video games banned." I don't think that this is right. A record was already set in 2004, where five games were also banned. This include Shellshock: Nam '67, Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude, Singles: Flirt Up Your Life, The Punisher, and one other game that I can't think of. Only The Punisher was awarded MA15+ later when an edited version was submitted. There is a pattern here. If a R18+ rating still hasn't been introduced, I am expecting five other games banned in 2012.