I received another email today from the EFA stop censorship list pointing to Yet Another Call for Censorship (YACfC) and rating of Internet sites. It’s rather ironic that these calls receive any airtime, because they are essentially pointing to the criminalisation of large portions of the population and the infantalisation of us all.
In relatively recent times, in Australia, we have had changes in copyright law which resulted in the criminalisation of a large proportion of the population because it’s now against the law the watch a recorded video more than once (among other things). How many of us record something and just watch it once? But, with the wisdom of ages, it was deemed that this activity was not lawful. Time shifting of content is only a once off affair. How could anyone think that a recording of a TV program which one day could be kept indefinitely and watched frequently while the next was illegal was worthy of a legislative change?
We’re now facing a global challenge to what is considered okay. Going is our ability to choose what we do when we use the Internet, most notably the World Wide Web (which is not equivalent, but let’s not let technicalities get in the way). Why does anyone think it’s appropriate to restrict what is available on the web – which, I might add, is a grown ups place! The majority of internet users are adults[1]. Why is it that we, the adults of the world, get to surf a kiddy internet instead of the real internet?
It struck me this morning that there has been a trend in parenting that is perhaps partly responsible for the current shifts. Helicopter parents try to control every aspect of their children’s lives, every decision, every mistake. Children (and we’re talking about 20 somethings here) need to have their parents ring their employer, their bank, their credit agencies, because they are children and cannot make decisions. This is the kind of thinking that we are dealing with. These Helicopter Parents, grounded in the benefit of growing up making their own mistakes, want to save their children from the pain of those mistakes[2]. Why would anyone want their children to remain children for so long? Is this a response to empty nest syndrome?
But the thing that really struck me as I contemplated censorship and helicopter parents is that we are now entering an era of Helicopter Governance.[3] Gone will be our ability to make mistakes and to learn from them. No more will we be at risk of losing, of being hurt. In its place will be laws for our protection, laws that make adults criminal.
I often contemplate what I would do if I ever did happen to find some child sexual abuse material[4] on the internet. Would I be able to report it? Would I be able to do anything to protect that child? Can I safely report that to the Police for investigation? Or will I be investigated for viewing child p0rn? Will I have my life turned upside down in an effort to save the children from being saved?
Please, I’m 47. I’m an adult. I want to take risks. I want to learn from my mistakes. I want to push the boundaries of what it is to know, what we can learn from each other. Don’t make me a criminal for doing my that!