We need to stop accepting such values and themes in music in the name of freedom of speech and expression because freedom is not meant to rob another person of his rights to live peacefully and securely. If my freedom hurts the rights of someone else, it means there is something wrong with the freedom granted to me. Similarly if a person encroaches upon the rights and happiness of another person and then justifies it with freedom of speech, such a person needs to seriously reflect upon his definition of freedom.
It would be wrong to assume that people are so influenced by such lyrics that they would go around killing other people and adopt anti-social behavior but they would certainly be at risk of developing such an attitude which could prove detrimental in the long run. Secondly we must understand that artists have wider acceptance and impact among impressionable youth than print media and for this reason, the public opinion among young people can be influenced by these artists. Youth is impressed by these people who appear cool and in, and thus they follow their ideals and values which is dangerous for the society itself since it breeds hatred, violence, discrimination...
This regulation of print media makes its contents suitable for most communities and on occasions where the print media tries to transcend these boundaries, it is usually taken to task by the target audience. On the other hand, no such regulation is available for music which breeds hatred for such artists among those who were offended by his songs. For example Eminem would consistently lash out at homosexuals, a point that was raised in 'When Hate goes Pop' as well. Yet the artist refused to accept that there was anything wrong with his lyrics and conveniently concluded that these words were used because they are not as seriously racist or sexist as they once were. And hence no apology was ever offered to the public. On the other hand, if such an instance was found in the print media, it would result in serious uproar forcing the author to apologize to those he offended. This is the difference between racist and sexist themes used in media at large and music in particular.
