FOR OR AGAINST, THAT'S WHAT I'M ASKING

There is always something new to learn about. I guess that is one reason I am crazy about Google: I can hear or read something and immediately find out probably more than what I wanted or needed to know. In 99.9% of the cases, if learning about them meant I had to go down to the library to do some research on the subject, I'd figure it just wasn't worth the time and energy spent. Life with Google is, for me, the good life!

Until a week ago I didn't know about vuvuzelas. But the LA Times in their June 28 issue had an interesting article about them. As you can tell by the picture above, they are plastic horns, and in South Africa they are identified as a cultural object - a special kind of noisemaker that is blown into like blowing into a trumpet and what comes out the other end can be one of two things: something very good, or something very bad.

Music of sorts can be made on them. Here's a You-tube site where you can hear something agreeable and music-like sounds emanating from them (you'll need to cut and paste): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkN_PCsPl6w

Now that isn't actually symphonic music, but as a cultural offering it is not all that hard on the ears. But mostly the vuvuzelas are not used that way. It seems that in South Africa, blowing the vuvuzelas continually throughout an entire soccer game is "de riguer" and is actually used by the fans to give support to their home team.

As I read this article, for the most part the people quoted were in favor of a ban on the use of the horns anywhere but especially for the 2010 World Soccer Cup being hosted by South Africa. Those who oppose the ban say that blowing the vuvuzela is no different than cheering and no one would want to ban that. Those who believe a ban is definitely necessary says the only way they can stand the noise is if they watch the matches on TV and mute the sound.

As I read the article, I wondered just how bad the sound was. Surely the "ban-ers" were just purists who would prefer the type of participation one hears (or more accurately, doesn't hear) at a golf tournament. So I asked Google to give me a video that would let me decide where I stand on the issue. So I'll give you the link and let you decided, along with me, where on the ban/no ban continuum you would place yourself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCbP-iZb0D8

WELL?