A Little Note to the YouTube Team

As we know, I bristle at hypocrisy. I find it in so many places, that I accidentally bristle when I don't mean to. Then, I find myself apologizing to the person in line behind be, as they accidentally brush up against my bristle.

Anyway, the bristling hypocrisy to which I refer is the video going around of the Saddam Hussein hanging. It's all over Google, and it's corporate little brother YouTube. Where's the hypocrisy, you ask?
The hypocrisy lies in the fact that the YouTube has an anti-nudity policy.
They have this Community, and a subsequent Code of Conduct.

Here is what they deem as their Code:

Don't Cross the Line

Here are some common-sense rules that will help you steer clear of trouble:

• YouTube is not for pornography or sexually explicit content. If this describes your video, even if it's a video of yourself, don't post it on YouTube.
• Don't post videos showing dangerous or illegal acts, like animal abuse or bomb making.
• Real violence is not allowed. If your video shows someone getting hurt, attacked, or humiliated, don't post it.
• YouTube is not a shock site. Don't post gross-out videos of accidents, dead bodies and stuff like that. This includes war footage if it's intended to shock or disgust.
• Respect copyright. Only upload videos that you made or that you have obtained the rights to use.
• We encourage free speech and defend everyone's right to express unpopular points of view. But we don't permit hate speech which contains slurs or the malicious use of stereotypes intended to attack or demean a particular gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, or nationality.
• There is zero tolerance for predatory behavior, stalking, threats, harassment, invading privacy, or the revealing of other members' personal information. Anyone caught doing these things may be permanently banned from YouTube.

Don't Cross the Line? Common sense? Where is the "line", exactly? The third code says that videos with real violence are not allowed. What then, is a hanging, if not real violence?

So, I can't show tits, Britney's up-skirt no panties video (more Google hits coming), crotchless panties (in general), breasts, vagina, masturbation, flapping penis, pussy (cats excluded) or anything that may be considered pornographic by the Judeo-Christian ethically-too-moral-for-the-room yahoo's that complain about such things ...

... but I can show Saddam Hussein getting hanged? It is odd, in this so-called moral society, that violence is acceptable on TV, on the Internet or otherwise searchable Googles by kids and grandparents ... but if we dare show nudity or two people making love on those same media outlets, harsh fines, letters and other such punishments will be handed down by people with initials in their names, like the F.C.C. And we all know what the "F" stands for.

I bristle.

So, here ... cartoon violence is totally acceptable under the YouTube Niceness Guidelines.