Word Criminals

Word Criminals

The other day I was enjoying the fine weather
during a walk near my home when I came across a
serious word crime etched in the sidewalk
cement. It seems that at some point in the
past a Word Criminal took advantage of wet
cement after a sidewalk repair job to write three
words that could result in hard prison time...I
laughed and went home, but since then I have
thought about what kind of Freedom we have
here in Amerika if a person can earn prison
time by speaking or writing three words. Just
three words will do the job.

But other countries have their own word prohibitions.
And I guarantee that various cultural word
prohibitions may be found across the world, from
Texas to Tehran. Conjure up the right series of words
to the wrong person in one of these cultural meccas
and, Abracadabra, you are a dead man, no need to
involve judges and juries.

A famous word criminal is featured in the article
below. He suffers from a certain dark charisma,
in addition to knowing prohibited words, so the
Canadian authorities are pants-crapping in
agitation until they can deport him to a place
where proper punishment can be meted out...yes,
you guessed: Germany! Harhar.

http://www.libertyforum.org/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=news_constitution&Number=1350003&t=-1

Howard Stern, a really famous word criminal, was
recently deemed guilty of using "obscene" words on
the "public" airwaves owned by Clear Channel
Communications. His crime? Saying the words that his
fans expect him to say, like "fuck". Whether or not
you are offended by the man and his antics, he is
now just another in a long series of Word Criminals.

http://www.howardstern.com/hsc.nsf/68fd29eeeca27d3985256df6004602dd/$Body/0.29EA?OpenElement&FieldElemFormat=jpg

Ironically, the most famous Word Criminal of all time
is now the star of a film by Mel Gibson. His crime? Was
it criminal to heal the sick on the Sabbath? Well, yes,
but that could be forgiven. But his heretical Words
-- He claimed to be the Son of God -- could not be
forgiven and he was crucified for them.

I wonder how many of the Thumpers who are campaigning
with the FCC to make the airwaves safe from bad
words realize that their own Savior was persecuted
for Word Crimes, and that the Pontius Pilate of our day
is their very own word champion, Michael Powell of the
FCC.