Back in 1987, Stanley Kubrick came out with a film called Full Metal Jacket. Ironically, it’s about a pointless war, in a foreign country, not unlike what we are going through right now with Iraq.

There is a line from that film where a Da Nang Hooker approaches a couple of soldiers selling her wares with the lines, “Me love you long time, me sooo horny and Me sucky sucky.” Unforgettable.

So unforgettable in fact that a rap group called 2 Live Crew sampled it, turned it into a song and it climbed up the Billboard charts 1989. The notion of black people saying whatever they wanted and the white media having no control over it really scared a lot of people. They were protected by the First Amendment.

Not having any legal options of stopping rap music, a group called the Parents Music Resource Center came to the forefront with a sticker so that parents would know what their kids were listening to. This was also known as the “Tipper Sticker” because of Tipper Gore’s(Yes, Al’s wife) association with the PMRC. In fact I remember seeing her on Donahue getting her ass handed to her in an argument with Frank Zappa. She was saying something along the lines about kids being alienated and some other psychological nonsense when Frank says, “You should be talking to your kids, not putting labels on their music!”

Music has always been a scapegoat for irresponsible parents. This is where Jack Thompson(yes that one) gets involved. In fact this is where he first becomes famous on a national level.

So in the 2000 election, when kids of that era had their first opportunity to vote, are they going to choose Al Gore? The guy who’s wife wanted to censor their music? Or are they going to choose a drug using party boy son of an ex-President? Remember, at the time, most of the country didn’t know much about George W. Bush other than he was the son of the previous president.

So while much of the country lamented over having to choose between Gore and Bush, it was close. I feel that Gore would have won if not for the actions of his wife. Nancy Reagan was harmless when she tried to tell the children to “Just Say No.” But Tipper actually took action to limit and censor our freedom to hear music. I think the notion of having a woman like that in the White House was a very scary prospect.

So instead of voting for the Devil that You Know, the country ended up voting for the Devil that You Don’t. So here we are.

If Stanley Kubrick, who was thinking of making a film about the holocaust, but instead switched to Vietnam, had never made that film, we would never have had 2 Live Crew, Tipper Gore and the PMRC, Jack Thompson.

I seriously doubt that Gore would have any sort of hard-on to invade Iraq. He would have zero ‘daddy’ issues with Saddam. It’s funny, we were so afraid of Tipper Gore limiting our freedoms, but now we’ve got Bush and less freedom that we could have ever possibly imagined (we're living in a police state where people are afraid of water and powder).

Granted, Tipper’s heart was in the right place, but we could all see what was coming. We would end up with a nutjob like Jack Thompson in some position of power in our country. We all know how he lives in his own reality, and he would try to make his reality become our reality.

However, if not for her role in the PMRC, I think more people would have voted for Al Gore, thus making it a much clearer victory, that wouldn’t have had to have been decided by the Supreme Court, and we would never have had George W. Bush.

Even if Al Gore was in power and Jack Thompson was in charge of something, I doubt the country would take him any more seriously that James Watt and his hatred for the Beach Boys.

Al Gore has re-invented himself from wooden presidential sidekick to global warming guru. I don't care if his kid drives a Prius faster over 100 miles per hour, at least he's never strangled a dog. If Al had run, I'm sure that he would have easily secured the democratic nomination. One only has to look at McCain and know there would be more dark days ahead if he becomes president.

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SoupNumber5 - I loved Full Metal Jacket IP:66.10.99.45 | 2008-03-12 10:46:48 Now I see it in different eyes. Damn him. I also had a copy of a cassette tape of that 2 Live Crew album. I was in middle school at the time. How did I get my hands on that album? My sister bought it for me. Are we contributors of the downfall of society. sniff... Maybe we are. I don't like the Tipper. she needs to shut it. God bless Frank Zappa. Reply | Quote

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