December 07, 2004

surprise me

The standards of decency on American telivision are going right down the toilet and people are outraged by this... OUTRAGE! Or maybe not.

The number of indecency complaints had soared dramatically to more than 240,000 in the previous year, Powell said. The figure was up from roughly 14,000 in 2002, and from fewer than 350 in each of the two previous years. There was, Powell said, “a dramatic rise in public concern and outrage about what is being broadcast into their homes.”

What Powell did not reveal—apparently because he was unaware—was the source of the complaints. According to a new FCC estimate obtained by Mediaweek, nearly all indecency complaints in 2003—99.8 percent—were filed by the Parents Television Council, an activist group.

I don't need the Parents Television Council playing decency watchdog for me. I have both a channel selector and an "off" button on my TV, and I know how to operate both. I resent any group that sets out to protect me from things I don't want to be protected from.

These people need to get a life.