The real Assman was denied his personalized license plate

“ASIMIL8” was also cancelled.

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I don’t know much about Canadian law, so I’ll take your word for that. In the US, though, it seems like Cohen v. California (1971) might well apply, in which the Supreme Court upheld Cohen’s right to wear a jacket in public that said “Fuck the draft” on the back. The reasons given in the majority opinion included several that are relevant to this situation:

“[T]he mere use of an untoward four-letter word did not place the speech into a category of speech that has traditionally been subject to greater regulations by the government.”

And, maybe most relevant: “[T]he Court was unwilling to give credence to the idea that the government could suppress the type of speech at issue here in order to protect the public at large, as any observer offended by the speech could simply look away.”

While Mr. Assman wasn’t trying to express a political opinion, he was trying to express the actual name he was born with (unless I’m missing something). It’s hard for me to imagine any sensible rationale for preventing him from doing that. If he can’t say his own name on his license plate, can he say it in an advertisement for a business? What if he puts that ad on his truck?

So… This is a good point. But I wonder the constitutional justification that the FCC has to fine broadcast stations for curse words and such. Surely this isn’t much different.

ETA: I just looked it up, a good explainer on the FCC constitutionality is here:

Seems similarly relevant

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Could be worse. He could be an ass, man.

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It’s Asssweeeepay!!

Hmmmm, that didn’t work. It’s the Nicolas Cage SNL skit

Mr Asswipe Johnson

This will make him much more recognizable from behind…

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Well, not exactly. Personalized license plates are government speech, and therefore subject to content restrictions.

A real live assman i found in the wilds of Portland way back in 2003:

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Your own jacket is different than a billboard or a government-printed licence plate. The Supreme Court of the US recognizes time and place distinctions as valid.

ETA: He’s got “ASSMAN” printed on his truck above the licence plate and the government isn’t stopping that. There’s no speech issue.

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I guess he should have just put some 5s in there.

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It’s spelt Raymond Luxury-Yacht, but it’s pronounced Throatwobbler Mangrove.

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So in addition to life imitating Seinfeld, it imitates MAD (sort of): in issue #220 there was a catalog from the Amalgamated Student Supply Co., or A.S.S.

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I remember we had an insurance salesman in our hometown whose name was Tittsworth. Had a big ol’ lit sign on his storefront and everything. I don’t think there was any issue.

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Used to be a vacuum sales and repair shop behind a local hardware store owned by one Dick Sampier, however, a quick take on his sign always lead to a reading of “Dick Sampler” because that “i” didn’t have much space between the stick and the dot.

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In jr. high I knew a couple of Titsworth siblings. I currently have a Glasscock as a work colleague.

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I don’t envy the Marketing and Sales department:
“Uh… How about: Assmann Components: Always a Good Connection?”


http://www.assmann-wsw.com/us/en/

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In a maternity ward I once saw that some people named Hiscock had named their baby Holden.

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