And yet his popularity grows. Throughout this controversy, Stern has maintained that if the FCC would hand him a list of words he could and could not say on the radio, he would obey their rules. Stern argues that his sense of decorum may not match that of all the listeners out there, but they can turn the dial. Many broadcasters distance themselves from his antics by saying he goes too far, but this year the nation's radio personalities celebrated G. Gordon Liddy for speaking his mind even though that included instructions to shoot federal agents. Somehow advocating violence is a clearer representation of personal freedom than discussion of human anatomy.
Film ratings provide another level in the problem.
The film, which tells the story of a Texan trying to make a career as a male prostitute in New York, has little nudity or graphic violence, though sex and violence are both present as themes. The ideas in the film are simply too intense for children. This idea is not problematic in and of itself, adults are certainly better prepared to face some ideas than children. The examples bring us no closer to understanding. The context in which the violence occurs may indeed determine the dangerousness of the violence, but then it is difficult to argue that violence itself is dangerous.