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Mr. Fuck Censorship

topic posted Mon, June 30, 2008 - 2:22 PM by 
"SANTA FE, N.M. - A New Mexico appeals court on Friday ruled against a Los Alamos man who wanted to change his name to a phrase containing a popular four-letter obscenity.

The man appealed after a state district judge in Bernalillo County refused his request to change his name to "F--- Censorship!"

Judge Nan Nash ruled that the proposed name change was "obscene, offensive and would not comport with common decency." "

---- oh, the irony


"The man — whose current legal name is Variable — argued on appeal that it was improper government censorship to deny him the name change.

"We do not believe that the district court's action infringes on petitioner's right to free speech," a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals said in its ruling.

The man has the right to call himself whatever he wants, unless there's fraud or misrepresentation involved, the judges said.

But once he seeks court approval for a name change, the court has the authority to turn him down on several grounds, including if the name is offensive to common decency and good taste, the judges ruled.

That law was clarified in a 2004 case in the same court that apparently involved the same petitioner. In that case, an Albuquerque man whose name was Snaphappy Fishsuit Mokiligon got the go-ahead from the appeals court to change his name to Variable "

news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080...name_change

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  • Re: Mr. Fuck Censorship

    Mon, June 30, 2008 - 3:54 PM
    Awww. I love that. It makes sense that the court couldn't approve of it, though: think of the children!! The children, always. What if one of the little bastards started asking questions? Why then, an adult (especially an adult who is a judge) might feel discomfited, and we could not have that.
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  • vari...
    variable
    offline 0

    Re: Mr. Fuck Censorship

    Sat, July 5, 2008 - 8:58 PM
    I don't know what to say here, since I've had bad experiences defending my chosen name online. So, I just thought I'd introduce myself. Here's my youtube channel. youtube.com/user/variablast
    I think the court screwed up here. I could have had a passport that suggested to every country I visited that they should Fuck Censorship!. That'd be a fairly easy way to spread the idea, it seems. I don't see what's obscene about opposing censorship and being for free speech.
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    • grou...
      grouchosuave
      offline 50

      Re: Mr. Fuck Censorship

      Sat, July 5, 2008 - 9:18 PM
      Welcome!!
      (if this the real deal.)

      Stop bothering people with your stillborn alt baloney!!
      ( if you are a poseur.)

      Anyways, "...That'd be a fairly easy way to spread the idea, it seems."

      Well, you can still tattoo it on your throat. That way it would be modest as compared to being on your forehead. Everybody everywhere you went would get the message.
      And wow! The commitment to your message would come across loud and clear.

      I'll do it if you do.

      You first.
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      • vari...
        variable
        offline 0

        Re: Mr. Fuck Censorship

        Sun, July 6, 2008 - 1:48 PM
        I've already got some face and throat tattoos. They aren't as important as names, I find.
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        • Re: Mr. Fuck Censorship

          Sun, July 6, 2008 - 1:52 PM
          yeah, moving is a bitch

          thankfully, i've been around tribe long enough to be perfectly comfortable
          with posting random nonsense all over the place.



          throat tattoos?


          i'm craving a scorchingly wonderful vindaloo...
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          • grou...
            grouchosuave
            offline 50

            Re: Mr. Fuck Censorship

            Sun, July 6, 2008 - 4:50 PM
            OK, wild is losing her mind.

            Even if there was something to do to help from this far of a remove, I don't know if I would: It's kinda charming.
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            • Re: Mr. Fuck Censorship

              Sun, July 6, 2008 - 5:07 PM
              XXO

              you cookie thing, you..
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              • Jaybird
                Jaybird
                offline 43

                Re: Mr. Fuck Censorship

                Mon, July 7, 2008 - 8:10 PM
                speaking as someone who has legally changed her first name, i get why variable puts the emphasis on names over tattoos.

                ***Warning! Rant coming! Danger!! Turn back now!!!****

                In the real world my legal first name is Jaybird, its not just a handle folks, and its the name i've used for most of my life. My close friends call me "Bird" or "birdie." My parents call me "Jay " or "birdie" as well, in fact it was my dad who first gave me that nickname when i was a little girl.

                And yet, i would be an obscenely rich woman if i had a dollar for every time i had someone demand to know what my "real" name was. And they don't just ask once. They ask over and over again like impatient toddlers. It doesn't matter that i answer that Yes, this is my real name, and yes, it is my legal name: they chase their tails in circles to figure out what name is on my birth certificate.

                i find it ironic that in such an individualistic society my own self knowledge that surfaced by the time i was five (literally true, i started introducing myself as different names by first grade, and it was set in stone by middle school) is less valuable that some name plucked out of the ether by two people who haven't even met their child yet.

                And yet, despite the fact that its no longer uncommon for women to keep their maiden names, we're still in a society where the expectation is that *if* i get married i will easily and giddily give up my last name (a gift from my father) as if the wedding liscense is a change of ownership. Yes, i know how feminazi that sounds, but its true of our society and i'm not blaming anyone.

                So lets take a moment and ponder this, shall we? How is it that the first name that my parents gave me is so damn important, and yet the same people have no issue whatsoever with changing my name in marriage! WTF, Seriously!

                *** We now return to your regularly scheduled programing***

                Look! A bunny fucking a chicken! Fuck censorship indeed!
                people.tribe.net/c373336f-...af45d090ce

                ~birdie.
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                • Re: Mr. Fuck Censorship

                  Tue, July 8, 2008 - 11:33 AM
                  There are gravity wells of expectation everywhere around us in which we all reside, and even the most normal of us have experiences that totter above and between where others live.

                  My name is balanced between 'Randall' and 'Wendall', and I constantly have to correct folks who have fallen into one or the other of their preconceptions. I've learned to do it deftly and kindly, and I have noticed nothing that distinguishes those who get my name correctly the first time from those who mistake it. I think it's just a matter of how much they have going on in their heads at the moment they first hear my name.

                  People who legally change their names are unusual, Jaybird, and outside of the bounds of expectation. I'm definitely curious about what motivated Variable to change his name to Variable, and finding out what his name was before his change is a first step. Not the most important step perhaps, but one of them.

                  Like it or not, you are connected forevermore to the name that your parents gave you. By hiding it, or not answering it, or getting defensive about it, you give it a power over you that you obviously don't want.

                  What if, when someone asks your 'real' name, you say 'Jaybird'. But what if, when they ask what name you had before that (or you were born with, or your parents gave you, etc), you just gave them what they want and move on? Or even added something like 'But that was never my real name, and I knew that from when I first heard it.'



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