Obscenity and "Howl"

I read the article about Howl being obscene.

Honestly...

I became very ticked after reading that article. Not for the sake of it not being censored but it doing so. I am a conservative, I mean with all the things I believe and like it’s a shock, but in certain aspects I am. HOWEVER, that stuff about censoring is honestly crap to me. Ok since the beginnings of art and literature, the ‘f’ word has often been used, I mean c’mon duh. It’s just, with all the stuff ‘accepted today, how is it obscene? From what I had perceived it was really filthy… well honestly Bret Michaels on rock of love and in his music is much MUCH more filthier and it’s played every Sunday night… what the hell? On comedy central they have secret stash where they play a lot of very dirty, raunchy movies (which are funny by the way), but still… it just pissed me off beyond reason. And the Internet, tch I like what that one person said, “not everyone has a computer” …are you nuts? Maybe the Amish (ok that’s a horrible joke, but in the states there is an extreme ability to access the net, on your phones, libraries, school, home, it’s everywhere. Plus if one person hears it, they’ll another person and another person. If it was as ‘obscene’ as they felt it was, they should have had a “well the following is material that is not appropriate for a certain audience or etc” and its people’s responsibility to know when to turn off the music, radio or what not. So don’t blame someone else. There will always be ‘inappropriate’ things going on, as individuals it’s your place to tell yourself to stop and smell the roses, or blur out the negative noise. Hey we have Howard stern on the radio... I think he’s’ still on but the point is that it was silly. The poem, sure talks about sexual positions and situations, I mean when haven’t we heard this? Even as college students, adults, even when we were barely legal this stuff was exposed to us. I mean the younger generation, may have more open boarders to explore, however I was raised in a way where at 12 I had seen “Mulholland Drive“ I know that movie is crazy, but still. It’s all about how you take the situation. Just turn off the radio! Or if you feel your child or whomever is going to look at it, just let them listen to it and explain to them “this is foul language please do not use it” or etc. I have no control how you control your children or your personal life, but I will say if it happens you deal with it, don’t blame someone else.

Other than my outrage to such stupidity, I thought it was extremely tasteful. I loved it, it was very powerful even with the language it sent out this huge “f you” to the people in suits (The stereotype of ‘going against the man’ how cliché) but in a really powerful way, not juvenile things that most people use in excuse to making art that makes no sense (which I have seen lately in a few of my students in a few of my classes, which is sickening really, if your going to us foul words or obscene images, make a real shocking statement that splits all of us up in a artistic way that sends shocks through hour spine and causes outrage that sparks revolutions, not a “what are you on?”, but just using it and be like “omg It’s expressive” when you just put it on their for the sake of an excuse, it takes older artist and says a ‘f-you’ to them. For those of dada, surrealists, expressionists, modern artists, and whomever who made a segway for you to be able to be expressive as you are. Even if you don’t respect them, it’s like dishonoring your parents who gave you a home to live and live a wonderful, carefree life. I’m not saying don’t use it, I want everyone to use it hell I use all those words a lot but I mean keep revolutionizing art, I’m saying don’t use it because you can and its an ‘easy a’ by using it. Make a point, a powerful statement, please I beg of everyone! Piss everyone off to the point it really starts something new, not a sill debate whether or not to use the f word and censor it, its stupid.

Anyhow ignore me I’m not a rant tonight; I guess that article really ticked me off. It's so silly, but anyhow I liked the poem a lot. I might look into Allen Ginsberg a bit more. His work was really touching as an artist; I felt his words reach down into my soul. I may not be a druggie or experimented with drugs, but I felt those experimental words run through my veins, take over all internal beliefs and flip them around and feeling like a prostitute walking out of a church after being baptized. I want to explore literary artists like them so much.

This was my favorite quote:

“who threw potato salad at CCNY lecturers on Dadaism and subsequently presented themselves on the granite steps of the madhouse with shaven heads and harlequin speech of suicide, demanding in-stantaneous lobotomy”