Howl Against Censorship
I saw this story on BoingBoing and had to comment. Apparently, we are traveling back in time. Fifty years ago this month, a San Francisco Municipal Court judge ruled that Allen Ginsberg's Beat-era poem "Howl" was not obscene. Yet this month, a New York public broadcasting station decided not to air the poem, fearing that the Federal Communications Commission will find it indecent and impose massive fines.
Ironic? I think so. The poem is a statement against American consumerism and conformity and still rings true today. However, the only way you’ll be able to hear it is on the Internet at www.pacifica.org. Once again, thank goodness for the Internet.
In the words of Ginsberg, “I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness.” Indeed.
