regard@ttidcc.UUCP (Adrienne Regard) (09/24/85)
>>> Pornography does not, in and of itself, cause violent and anti-social >>> behavior. >>I agree with your argument but this is vaguely reminicent of the NRA -- >>"Guns don't kill..." [I favour much stronger gun control.] >To the extent that it goes, the NRA argument is accurate. However, there >is a very fundamental difference between pornography and guns: guns can >be dangerous simply because someone doesn't understand them, whereas porn >is only dangerous in the hands of a (mentally) sick individual -- be they >male or female. First, let me say that I'm not interested in banning pornography. Second, let me say that the above comment is absurd. Does a 13 year old "understand" all the implications of what s/he sees in pornography, especially pornography that depicts degrading or dangerous sexual practices? That's a rather large assumption to make. It is one of the basic assumptions of the anti-porn movement that people sub-consciously "see" much more than consenting adults doing what they enjoy -- which may also be incorrect, but errs on the side of care rather than neglect. There is very little fundamental difference as you cite it above. The _real_ fundamental difference is that a gun is a weapon that can be used harmfully on another human being (for protection or harm. I don't support stronger gun control), whereas it's a little difficult to imagine someone harming someone else using porn material as the actual agent -- stuffing a magazine down a throat? Using film to hang someone? Better if you must, to compare pornographic pictures with pictures of guns in use, and compare merely the consenting adult to the possessor of the actual weapon.
hollombe@ttidcc.UUCP (The Polymath) (09/24/85)
In article <731@ttidcc.UUCP> regard@ttidcc.UUCP (Adrienne Regard) writes: > ... Better if you must, to compare >pornographic pictures with pictures of guns in use, and compare merely the >consenting adult to the possessor of the actual weapon. Bravo! I agree entirely. BTW, there's _a lot_ of psychological evidence that watching "pictures of guns in use" can lead to violent behavior and desensitization to violence. There is _no_ evidence that watching non- violent pronography leads to violence of any kind. Taking an informal survey, I found that most people's attitudes on pornography are something like "I like to watch what I like to do". I don't think anyone is inspired to go out and beat up people by watching S&M on screen. Rather, they watch it because _they're already into it_. I've sat through and read some porn along those and other unusual lines. BORING! It's not something I like to do and watching others do it holds no interest or excitement for me. The same goes for gay porn, B&D, and most of the more obscure kinks (ok, so I have a dull sex life (-: ). Whether we like to think about it or not, there _really are_ people, men and women, who _like_ to be tied up and beaten. They're the ones who go out and buy S&M oriented pronography because that's what they like to do. As long as they don't force their practices on unwilling or underage partners _it's none of our business_. The tiny minority who do force unconsenting people to participate are labeled "sick" or "rapist" and put away when caught (a mild punishment, but the best we're willing to do). There's no evidence at all that these people would reform in the absence of pronography. On the contrary, a friend who, until recently, was a clinical social worker at Atascadero State Hospital (for the criminally insane), where there's certainly no pornography to be had, tells me that many of the inmates are simply incorrigible under any circumstance. (She was quite an idealist when she first went to work there. Now she favors the death penalty in such cases). -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ The Polymath (aka: Jerry Hollombe) Citicorp(+)TTI Common Sense is what tells you that a ten 3100 Ocean Park Blvd. pound weight falls ten times as fast as a Santa Monica, CA 90405 one pound weight. (213) 450-9111, ext. 2483 {philabs,randvax,trwrb,vortex}!ttidca!ttidcc!hollombe