{"id":1296,"date":"2013-05-10T05:37:13","date_gmt":"2013-05-10T05:37:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/web02.carmelss.edu.hk\/buddingwriters2\/archives\/1296"},"modified":"2015-05-24T07:07:14","modified_gmt":"2015-05-24T07:07:14","slug":"a-letter-to-the-editor-about-songs-containing-foul-language2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.carmelss.edu.hk\/buddingwriters\/archives\/1296","title":{"rendered":"A letter to the editor about songs containing foul language"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Dear Editor,<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 It is regrettable to see that one of your readers has made a serious accusation that songs containing foul languages are exerting an adverse influence on society. \u00a0He has unfortunately overlooked that freedom of speech and expression is one of the core values of the Hong Kong society.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 According to the Basic Law, all Hong Kong people are entitled to the right to freedom of speech and expression. \u00a0In other words, we should not be prosecuted or threatened for expressing our ideas in any means, as long as we say nothing that is unlawful. \u00a0The lyrics of songs containing foul language virtually contain no messages that would constitute to a breach of the Hong Kong laws or the songwriters would have already been arrested. \u00a0Hence, why should we deter people from using swear words in songs?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Swear words, like the \u201cnon-swear words\u201d, are vocabulary of our treasured language and they help us communicate ideas more effectively and fully. \u00a0Although swear words may not be considered as proper or decent in many people\u2019s mind, they can add colours or a special flavour to the language all because of the unique associations that they can evoke. \u00a0Therefore, the use of foul language should be not condemned, even if it may not be culturally acceptable to some people.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Songs, as a form of art, are often created in response to phenomena in society and the inclusion of foul language can aptly reflect the dark and negative sides of our world. \u00a0For instance, in the last thirty years or so, people in the United States considered \u201crapping\u201d as an immoral type of music, because the rappers use foul language, or include sexual and violent scenes in their songs. \u00a0However, why has this immoral type of music gained popularity in recent years, instead of slipping into a trench in the course of history? \u00a0This is because the raps are the means through which the songwriters condemn the injustice in society: discrimination against black people, the lack of education opportunities, and, perhaps more importantly, the pent-up anger of these people. \u00a0Using foul language in songs enables the rappers to communicate their thoughts using everyday language, and therefore to express their true feelings towards the unfair world. \u00a0In light of this, why can\u2019t a different form of expression be allowed? Why is criticizing social injustice a bad influence?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Certainly, the hatred among people in Hong Kong may not be as strong as those in the United States, but undeniably, some of our people do use foul language in their everyday speech, which is the same as using foul language in songs to express thoughts. \u00a0The question is, why do the songs have a \u2018so-called\u2019 undesirable effect on society, but not our everyday speech? \u00a0There are radio programmes and films that contain even more foul language. \u00a0People in Hong Kong understand that the songs are simply an art of expression. \u00a0Therefore, venting one\u2019s feelings using foul language will not lead to any moral degradation in our society.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Some people, without doubt, worry that Hong Kong\u2019s youth will imitate the singers. \u00a0However, we have to understand that swear words in songs, like graffiti, symbolize a new form of culture among Hong Kong people, and anyone should have the freedom to express their thoughts in any language and any means if they do not violate rules in Hong Kong. \u00a0We should not therefore senselessly regard foul language as the root cause of any bad elements in Hong Kong. \u00a0We have to accept this: this is simply something deviating from the norm.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Yours faithfully,<\/span><\/p>\n

Chris Wong<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dear Editor<\/span><\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 It is regrettable to see that one of your readers has made a serious accusation that songs containing foul languages are exerting an adverse influence on society. \u00a0He has unfortunately overlooked that freedom of speech and expression is one of the core values of the Hong Kong society.........<\/span><\/p>Read More<\/a>","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":8474,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","language-en","schoolyear-34"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.carmelss.edu.hk\/buddingwriters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.carmelss.edu.hk\/buddingwriters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.carmelss.edu.hk\/buddingwriters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carmelss.edu.hk\/buddingwriters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carmelss.edu.hk\/buddingwriters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1296"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.carmelss.edu.hk\/buddingwriters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1296\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3200,"href":"https:\/\/www.carmelss.edu.hk\/buddingwriters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1296\/revisions\/3200"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carmelss.edu.hk\/buddingwriters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.carmelss.edu.hk\/buddingwriters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carmelss.edu.hk\/buddingwriters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carmelss.edu.hk\/buddingwriters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}