See, I'm having major culture clash issues with this and not just because TV is one of those wonderful things that entertains you for free. I get the notion of superior, ad-free programming that you have to pay for. That's HBO and Showtime in the US, which most people, including me, do consider to be a bit too expensive, but considering the quality of their programming (I'm a huge fan of these channels), I have no problem paying for them (provided I have the money, of course). But those are Premium channels. They're not even part of the regular cable package (and don't get me started on how ridiculous it is that there are private companies charging for channels that are as ad-ridden as the basic ones). But the basic channels (NBC, CBS, Univisión, etc.) are precisely that: basic. Yes te ads are annoying as hell and I hate how much of a stranglehold the advertisers have over the shows, but if it keeps them free, then it's a necessary evil. But if you want to fund yourself through people's money, then do the HBO thing and become a separate service that people have to pay to get and leave other channels free for people of low means to watch.
It's not just the irritating tone of the TV Licensing letter that has me mad. Even if this had been announced in the most polite way ever, I'd still be offended by the fact that you need permission from the government to watch television. I've had enough of American governments devising schemes that benefit themselves and companies while taking away money and revenues from regular people, a huge amount of who end up getting fined or imprisoned because they can't afford to go along with the new law. If this thing existed in Puerto Rico (not that it ever could as any politician who brought it up would be committing instant career suicide), a huge amount of the population would end up becoming "criminals" just because they couldn't pay up. My grandmother wouldn't be able to watch television.
Coming from a third world country, I notice that many people in the first world take for granted things that are either rare or unexistent in Latin America. It's not surprising, but when people assume that "most" people can afford certain not so affordable things, it rankles at me.
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Date: 2009-01-29 02:34 pm (UTC)It's not just the irritating tone of the TV Licensing letter that has me mad. Even if this had been announced in the most polite way ever, I'd still be offended by the fact that you need permission from the government to watch television. I've had enough of American governments devising schemes that benefit themselves and companies while taking away money and revenues from regular people, a huge amount of who end up getting fined or imprisoned because they can't afford to go along with the new law. If this thing existed in Puerto Rico (not that it ever could as any politician who brought it up would be committing instant career suicide), a huge amount of the population would end up becoming "criminals" just because they couldn't pay up. My grandmother wouldn't be able to watch television.
Coming from a third world country, I notice that many people in the first world take for granted things that are either rare or unexistent in Latin America. It's not surprising, but when people assume that "most" people can afford certain not so affordable things, it rankles at me.