I really don't know how to add to the discussion on offensive language because, no matter what I say, there will always be many sides to the issues.
I come from a biologist standpoint where I write using passive sentences all the time. For me, the question really is "Who does this affect?" In regards to Imus, it affects the players on the basketball team. In regards to rappers (whether Black or White), it affects the people they degrade. But, I'm sure other people are affected as well, like the children who listen to the "bad songs." Geez, I think everyone is affected, especially since we devoted blogs to the issue. And, I'm sure that this discussion isn't limited to Imus and rappers.
It comes down to rights and responsibilities. Yes, people have a right to free speech, but people also have to take responsibility of that speech. But, people also have a right (I think) to censor that speech to protect their children.
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I agree with your comment on how parents should have a right to censor speech (or anything) for the sake of their children. I think it just blows up into a big free speech censorship mess when people try to do that because there are now so many things that are acceptable in terms of the general public that still aren't acceptable for children (depending on who you ask, I guess).
In one of my classes, we got to discussing how even media sources like CNN will print the words "faggot" and "nigger," but still shy away from curse words like "fuck." If the media is willing to print the word in a reporting context, does that send the message that it's acceptable to use in certain contexts, even if that means exposing it to children?
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