You have to love the Federal Communications Commission — or hate them. The FCC is now proposing a $1.4 million indecency fine against ABC television because of a 2003 episode of NYPD Blue, which the Feds say crossed the line of decency, by exposing a partially nude woman.
Yes, this is how the American taxpayer’s money is being spent — by going after so-called “indecent” TV footage from five years ago. The episode of NYPD Blue in question aired February 25, 2003, and according to the FCC, contained “patently offensive” material. So what exactly was the “patently offensive” material that has led the FCC to pursue this case for five years and now threaten a million-dollar fine?
“The side view of a human female breast”
Yep, that’s it. The FCC has spent five years and millions of taxpayer dollars pursuing an indecency case over the side view of a female breast. And it’s interesting that the Federal Communications Commission considers the side view of a female breast to be “patently offensive.” I don’t think it takes a brain surgeon to figure out that the FCC is run and controlled by males of a “certain” age. I’m not sure how many women would consider the side view of the female breast to be “patently offensive.”
But the FCC sees themselves as a friendly watchdog, and they repeatedly claim their mandate is to “protect children” from being exposed to indecency on television. A logical question that arises from this thinking is, “are there any children in the world that have not seen the side of the female breast?” Of course not — the idea is absurd.
Along with Janet Jackson’s so-called “wardrobe malfunction” during the Super Bowl halftime festivities a few years ago, the 2003 NYPD Blue episode has remained a bone in the throat of the FCC, and the commission has spared no expense in pursuing the “breast incident.”
Meanwhile, you can practically hear the Europeans laughing all the way from here! The puritanical, and let’s face it, impractical, attitude of the Federal Communications Commission has now reached absurd proportions. The commission now appears to have the respect and relevancy of a heard of clowns filing out a Volkswagen.
Perhaps it’s time that American citizens realize that the FCC is an outdated, Victorian institution that no longer deserves federal funding. The Federal Communications Commission doesn’t add anything to our culture, and doesn’t “protect” anyone from anything harmful. Ergo, there is really no need to continue funding this bloated, patronizing institution.
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