59 lines
3.3 KiB
Plaintext
59 lines
3.3 KiB
Plaintext
FBI out of line
|
|
|
|
|
|
A California congressman blasted the Federal Bureau of Investigation for
|
|
violating its charter after the bureau took an official position on the
|
|
controversial rap song "Fuck the Police", by NWA (Niggers With Attitudes), a
|
|
group from Compton, California. The congressman's move came in the wake of
|
|
an FBI letter sent to NWA's label, Priority Records, that condemned the song
|
|
for "advocating violence and assault" against police.
|
|
"This smacks of censorship, and the FBI shouldnt be in the business of
|
|
censorship", said Congressman Don Edwards, Democrat of San Jose, California,
|
|
who is chairman of a House subcommittee that monitors the bureau's
|
|
activities. Edwards -- a former G-man himself -- contacted the FBI on
|
|
October 10th, objecting to its letter about NWA and demanding a full
|
|
explanation. In addition, the American Civil Liberties Union in Washington,
|
|
DC, protested the FBI's action and called on the Justice Department to
|
|
retract the letter.
|
|
Members of NWA would not comment on the issue, although group member and
|
|
songwriter Ice Cube previously called the track a "revenge fantasy" stemming
|
|
from what NWA views as repeated police harassment of young blacks. Priority
|
|
--More--
|
|
Records chief Bryan Turner said, "We dont advocate violence in any way, shape
|
|
or form, but we do advocate freedom of speech." Turner recently returned
|
|
from the Soviet Union, where he lined up a Russian distribution deal for
|
|
Priority albums that could include "Straight Outta Compton", which contains
|
|
the inflammatory tune.
|
|
The FBI's letter, signed by assistant director and bureau spokesman Milt
|
|
Ahlerich, claimed the angry rap number "encourages violence against and
|
|
disrespect for the law enforcement officer", describing the "unprecendented"
|
|
surge in violent crime and detailing statistics of police murders during
|
|
1988. Concluding that "music plays a significant role in society", the
|
|
letter ended on an ominous note, warning Priority "to be aware of the FBI's
|
|
position relative to this song and its message."
|
|
Earlier this year, the song became subject of an intense fax campaign
|
|
among local police departments, with the lyrics transmitted to cops in cities
|
|
where NWA toured. The number was deliberately excluded from the tour's
|
|
regular set list, but when a few lines of "Fuck the Police" were chanted at a
|
|
Detroit concert, a scuffle broke out, and group members were later briefly
|
|
detained by local authorities.
|
|
- Jeffrey Ressner, Rolling Stone Magazine
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
X-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-X
|
|
Another file downloaded from: The NIRVANAnet(tm) Seven
|
|
|
|
& the Temple of the Screaming Electron Taipan Enigma 510/935-5845
|
|
Burn This Flag Zardoz 408/363-9766
|
|
realitycheck Poindexter Fortran 510/527-1662
|
|
Lies Unlimited Mick Freen 801/278-2699
|
|
The New Dork Sublime Biffnix 415/864-DORK
|
|
The Shrine Rif Raf 206/794-6674
|
|
Planet Mirth Simon Jester 510/786-6560
|
|
|
|
"Raw Data for Raw Nerves"
|
|
X-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-X
|