To quote Dian Harrison, “Now THAT’S what I’m talking about!”

Awesome.

By Saint Kansas on Aug 11, 2005

The Planned Parenthood cartoon in its original form is disturbing to say the least, and revealed a lot about the organization.

But I have to ask, what’s the positive advantage of adding profanity-laced lyrics (that glorify getting high and drunk) on top of this already vile cartoon? Seems like taking a big step in the wrong direction.

By Jim Jefferson on Aug 12, 2005

Jim - To see the advantage, you have to have grown up like I did, ingesting a steady diet of pop culture, i.e., filth. Profanity laced lyrics? I know ‘em all by heart. And that’s the beauty of this video for me; it’s a nostalgia trip to when “Insane in the Membrane” seems like a kinder, gentler era. Juxtapose the authentic “coolness” of Cypress Hill with the warmed-over attempt to make the decaying corpse of the ’70s feminist movement seem “cool,” and you’ve got comedy gold…at least in my eyes. It beats PPGG at their own game, as things are played on my field.

By Saint Kansas on Aug 13, 2005

SK:

I too have experienced plenty of pop culture filth growing up. In fact, I used to own this Cypress Hill CD. Thankfully in my old age (28) I’ve discovered more positive things in life to be entertained by!

By Jim Jefferson on Aug 15, 2005

Jim, we’ve all experienced plenty of pop culture filth growing up. I came up in private Christian schools, but still caught plenty of flak for never having tried pot and for still being a virgin at age twelve.

Christians and Jews are enjoined by the scriptures to never take the name of the Lord God in vain. Outside of that, there isn’t a great deal of instruction on the proper use or disuse of specific words.

My concern is not that certain words never be spoken, but rather that we hold the culture to its own words. Words have meaning, and as such they are powerful. But there is a war on against language, and, I believe, against meaning itself. Thus I decry the overuse of the F-word; not because I wish to retire a vulgar word, but because overuse of the word strips it of its vulgarity, or, more accurately, breaks down the contrast between the vulgar and the sacred. When people use the F-word, they ought to do so in full awareness and acknowledgement of the concept and connotation it introduces; we must strive to hold the speaker who uses that word to be accountable for its meaning.

My point here, as pertains to my pernicious commandeering of Cyprus Hill’s rhythm and rhyme, is that words are useful; even, betimes, vulgar words are useful. To forswear the use of vulgar words altogether is to promise silence in advance of a time when only vulgar words will suit the subject matter. When American GI’s entered Auschwitz, pleasant, breezy understatement was no longer appropriate. When conveying the horror that occurred in a place like that to those who did not witness it, we do disservice if we shrink from telling it full strength. And to do so necessarily entails using vulgar concepts. And for that purpose we have vulgar words.

PPGG’s horrible and ill-conceived cartoon attempts to overuse the concept of violence: to break down the contrast between violence and reasonable dissent. I am offended, not chiefly at the fact that they merely depicted violence, but that they attempted to make the violence mundane. Their story of violence against pro-life demonstrators happens in a vacuum of consequences; no arrests are made, no inquests, hearings, trials, bail or jail. In a breezy, pleasant and understated tone they fantasize about killing people who do not agree with them. This is, in a word, vulgar. And we have words for that.

By Joel on Aug 17, 2005