can we "own" language?

The power of language has been my stock-in-trade for decades. Now it seems that the "property " or "ownership", if you will, is a major contender. I mean to say that WHO says it now is another interloper. I witnessed 2 seperate messages about this power just yesterday. I am intrigued by the Don Imus situation. I no little about him except to think that its his job to fire people up and he has a large audience in which to do so. So he says what he says and much more if you look up some of the other gems that have come out of his mouth, and this shitstorm follows. Then I watch something I seldom usually watch, Dateline. Some undercover stake out and a Latino and African American male were with the undercover cop dealing for some hot guns. At one point, the latino guy won't accept the undercovers low ball offer so the Latino guy say " I won't take that price, I paid 800 for the 'ho".
Now I realize that calling a firearm a 'ho vs a basketball team is a different kettle of fish but it gets me to wonderin' just like so much of life does. Does who you are combined with what you say make the stew tastier? Apparently so...Can we censor language? Should we censor anything? I think this exposes something a little twistier...Imus is old, angry, entitled and oh yeah, white. Rap and hip hop artists (and people on survellance tapes) use words to describe themselves or others then roar when outsiders attempt the same. Am I the only one a little confused here. ? When a parent hears their child say "shit" for the first time they have to look to see if they say it themselves. Be the change you want to see in the world. Don't like the epithets, stop using them then. We don't need to censor language (as proposed in New Hampshire)we should exercise discretion when speaking. Maybe we should enact a law that you have to wait 10 seconds before activating the brain and jaw.. ...