Pearl Jam Concert Censored by AT&T August 12, 2007 – Posted in: Aberrant Normalcy

I’ve always been a fan of Pearl Jam, and so the following news that suggests they were censored by AT&T for saying, “George Bush, leave this world alone,” and “George Bush find yourself another home,” is quite disturbing.Â If I had AT&T, I’d switch plans right now.

Here’s the full story.

6 Comments

Kristin August 13, 2007 - 20:31

I agree, this is very disturbing.

But I wonder what we do when there is no other provider to switch to?

Bob August 13, 2007 - 23:58

This may be disturbing, but is not too surprising. Remember that AT&T is the current name for Southwestern Bell which rolled up a lot of the regional Bells, like Pacific Bell, Ameritech, and Southern Bell along with the badly floundering long distance provider AT&T. They are mostly Texans who take umbrage with anyone who criticizes their home state, or one of its native sons. Would you expect any thing less from Rupert Murdoch if one of his pet causes were criticized on a Fox broadcast?

Matthew Kressel August 14, 2007 - 09:28

I’ve met a lot of Texans recently and none of them have been the gun-toting, Red-State stereotypes we associate with that state. Not proof, of course, but evidence that Texas is an amalgam of beliefs.

Should we simply roll over because this is to be expected of this company? I say, no way. If you use AT&T products, I would stop using them. They are one of the largest carriers of information in the country and they have overtly censored media that they found objectionable to their political beliefs.

To answer Kristin, if you can’t change your service because it is the only one in your area, then write a letter to them expressing your outrage at their actions.

Corporations are very sensitive to customer sentiment. If they see harm (usually in the amount of $$) done because of their actions, they won’t do it again.

Kristin August 14, 2007 - 23:13

I actually don’t use AT&T as a provider, and even if I did, there are other options where I live.

I meant my question as more of a philosophical one. As corporations become more powerful, and ownership of media outlets becomes more consolidated, and Rupert Murdoch takes over the Wall Street Journal … what do we do when we wake up one morning and realize that there is no provider that doesn’t censor their content?

Matthew Kressel August 14, 2007 - 23:19

I’ve never thought TV was a reliable medium, and I think an increasing number of people growing up in this era just don’t give TV the power it had over us as kids. The internet is their TV, and it’s an incredibly open forum. I say, blog.

Kristin August 15, 2007 - 22:16

I think that’s a good point. But I worry about the future of the internet, and how long it will remain such an open forum. It isn’t quite as open in China, for instance. (Have I gotten your website banned in China just for saying that?)

You can already set parental controls to block objectionable content from your children with standard firewall software.

And then there’s the whole question of net neutrality, and how long that will continue.

I’m not optimistic.