When is Censorship Okay?

Censorship is a worldwide issue that can become detrimental in extreme cases. I am mostly interested in government and religious censorship. I feel like these are the most extreme types that can have serious consequences on the person speaking out so it is good to learn what to try to avoid. I am definitely interested in learning more about how much power the government has if it does try to censor something. China is known for being the most extreme when it comes to the topic of censorship because they are tightly monitored. Every type of media that we share with them is changed dramatically to fit their beliefs because the government is very strict. Here are some baffling cases that I found mostly having to do with China: https://www.sixthcitymarketing.com/2017/07/25/winnie-the-what-7-unusual-cases-of-media-censorship/.

The most problematic type of censorship is religion based. It has become problematic in many countries and could even threaten the lives of those who speak against a specific faith. I believe in some cases it is acceptable to censor religion, especially having to do with the government because they are supposed to be completely separate entities. Many cases, however, seem very dramatic and irrational. There is an ongoing case of a little boy being censored in kindergarten for his religious drawings, while he is now in tenth grade. I do not believe that he should have been censored, but I also don’t think it is as big of a deal as they are making it because the school system is usually tightly censored anyway. Here is the article for those who want to look into it farther: https://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2009/04/peck_vs_baldwinsville_school_d.html.

I would like to learn more about every type of censorship, but government and media censorship are the most relevant to my interests. My interest/concern in media censorship stems from the amount of careers I’ve seen destroyed because I want to pursue a career in graphic design. I enjoy creating controversial work and it would be a shame to have it become censored because people take offense to it. Many artists have had their work removed, and the latest blasphemy was when Facebook removed very old pieces of art such as the Venus of Willendorf for being “pornographic” in nature. As an artist there is a fine line between art and just blatant nudity because most of the world is very sensitive about the human body. Here are two out of the many cases that Facebook has been involved in: https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-bans-venus-of-willendorf-photos-over-nudity-policy-2018-3, https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-44925656.