Posted on 05/24/2005 8:11:52 PM PDT by CHARLITE
OMAHA, Neb. -- Doug Hall's story is the story of an addict. Recovering for years from a drug addiction and alcoholism, his latest battle is pornography.
Hall said he went from Playboy, to videos, to online porn, to jail.
"My view of sex was all a skewed," Hall said.
Hall said his addiction began simply. Years ago he saw his father reading a Playboy magazine.
"First it was Playboy and then it's Penthouse, then it's Hustler, then it's -- you just name it. Name your poison," Hall said.
When Hall turned to videos, he said, he couldn't wait to get to the store to rent some pornography. Soon, that wasn't enough. He bought a computer and within days was searching for porn online.
"I entered, I don't know what keyword, I put in the search engine, but it was probably just 'pornography' or 'porn' or whatever. And there's just a flood of different Web sites," Hall said.
Next, Hall -- a married man -- started meeting women in chat rooms.
"That evolved to meeting some of them in person. There were sexual relations with some of these women," Hall said.
Hall ended his marriage. One night he went out dancing with one of the women he'd met online. They had some drinks, went back to his apartment and Hall said his companion passed out. But he wanted to continue the party.
"I wanted what I wanted, when I wanted it, and she seemed conscious enough to know what I was doing. In retrospect, it's clear that she wasn't, and I assaulted her," Hall said.
He even took pictures of the assault. That's how he was caught -- when workers at a photo lab thought something was wrong and turned him in. Hall was convicted of first-degree sexual assault and sentenced to five to 10 years in prison.
Now he says he realizes he's a porn addict.
"To say that I'm a porn addict, that has a social stigma," he said.
But he wants society to get past that stigma and see porn addicts like it does drug addicts or alcoholics -- people suffering from an illness.
Pam Kohll is a sex addiction therapist with the Center of Sexual Treatment and Recovery, or COSTAR. Kohll said a key factor in determining if someone is an addict is whether their need for pornography is persistent and escalating. Something to watch for is a person who spends hours on the Internet and hides what he or she is doing.
"Anytime you're hiding something, that's pretty much an indication it's a red flag," Kohll said.
But is it technically an addiction? Scientists are trying to determine that by scanning the brain. The areas that are stimulated by pornography light up in what is called the brain reward pathway. That's where the chemical dopamine is released when someone experiences pleasure. It's the same "feel-good" chemical that can lead to drug addiction.
"That's merging psychology and empirical science together and that's why I think that, yes. I think we're now understanding that all addictions come from the same place and they all should be treated the same way," Kohll said.
But there's a tremendous debate right now in the psychiatric world on whether to classify sex addiction as an addiction. If it is classified that way, insurance may cover the treatment. It's controversial because there's a wide range of opinions about what healthy sexuality is.
"A lot of it's affected by religion and by culture and so that's why it's hard to come up with one pat statement of what is healthy sexuality and what is addictive sexuality," Kohll said.
Hall said his life has improved tremendously. He and his wife are back together, he's getting counseling for his addiction and he said he has strong support from his church.
"I have way too much to lose by even allowing a hint of sexual immorality in my life at this point," Hall said.
Hall said he relies on books like "Every Man's Battle: Winning the War on Sexual Temptation."
"I didn't get screwed by the courts. This woman didn't do anything wrong," Hall said of his victim. "If I could undo that, I certainly would, but all I can do know is try to live my in a way that's pleasing to God."
Resources:
"CoStar" - Center of Sexual Treatment and Recovery Adlerian Center for Therapy Consultation and Education 11911 Arbor Street Omaha, NE 68144
"Every Man's Battle: Winning the War on Sexual Temptation"
Stephen Arterburn, Fred Stoeker, Mike Yorkey
He's a rapist first, sex addict or any other problem second. Of course the media portrays him as a 'victim' of porn.
It's dad's fault for reading Playboy. sheesh.
>>>people suffering from an illness.
Like Codey's tolerance for MENTAL ILLNESS
In another interview he said it was the underwear section in the Sears catalog that got him started.
Sure, call it an addiction cause then everyone has to feel sorry for you.. cause, you know.. an addiction is a disease..
>>>>The areas that are stimulated by pornography light up in what is called the brain reward pathway. That's where the chemical dopamine is released when someone experiences pleasure. It's the same "feel-good" chemical that can lead to drug addiction.
Enter influence a la David Mixner.
"Recovering for years from a drug addiction and alcoholism, his latest battle is pornography."
I would say he has been in a constant battle against himself. This guy has a lot bigger problems than porn.
There are of course many victims of porn. Most child molestors are porn addicts so there are victims, namely the children they molest.
Soon, the serial killers will use the defense:
Serial killer: It started when i was younger, I threw rocks at cats.. Then i accidentally killed my first one, it really got me going, it started out innocently enough.. I bought a gun, then went and shot some dogs. I left my family when they disagreed. One night, i went to the publik library, found a person to hang out with online, we had this disagreement and i blew their brains out. It's just an addiction, there are more i want to blow away, i know i can get better. I just shouldn't have taken those pictures.
It's everything elses' fault but his own!!!
"I started with playboy, then to penthouse, then hustler... From there I started watching naughty movies, then on-line porn... From there I started raping women, and then I started killing them, so I could have sex with their corpses, then I started eating their bodies, and then things started to get really nasty..."
But really, it's not my fault! I'm a victim of addiction!
Mark
He's blaming porn for his actions. He's a rapist and a coward.
It was my mom's Ladies Home Journal that got me started. LOL! Just kidding!
And free gubmint money, right?
There have been studies that show addiction problems can be hereditary. It could be gambling , alcohol, sex, drugs and yes even murder. Those that suffer from addiction do have a problem, some do not have the will to look for help, these are the problem cases and need to either be monitored or incarcerated if they have violent tendancies. In a sence it rely isn't their fault, it is their destiny. The trouble is society prohibits us from acting against them untill they cross the line, by then it is too late and someone is either dead or sexualy assaulted.
It's obviously ANYONE and EVERYONE elses fault instead of the rapist himself.
She got drunk with him, went to his apartment, passes out from too much booze, and comes out the next morning yelling rape--and society treats this seriously?
That is a good point, there are also people addicted to abuse.
Seventeen posts and nobody has posted a picture yet?
Uhh...yeah, they do.
When two people drink to the point that one is nearly passed out, why do we assume that the other one is sober enough to distinguish consent from more mumbled ramblings. I'm not particularly sympathetic to this guy, but neither am I sympathetic to his "victim." There has to come a time in our society when people learn that they shouldn't drink to the point of losing control unless they are really certain that they can trust their fellow revelers. Some women apparently like to go drinking to the point of diminished capacity and then have sex. In many cases, a woman has done exactly what this woman has done and gone home telling herself that she has made a conquest. I'm tired of society having to deal with the aftermath when one of them decides that she really wasn't happy with what happened. I'm not excusing the guy. I'm just saying that this kind of irresponsibility reflects poorly on both people involved. What consenting adults do is mostly their own business, but men and women both need to stop putting our society through this kind of nonsense.
I'm also curious about the timeline of the whole story. The article says that he was sentenced to five to ten years in prison, but the article also says that he is with his wife again. Does that mean that the assault happened five years ago and that he has finished his sentence? Does that mean that he was out in two years because he received time off for good behavior? Did he receive a suspended sentence for all of this sucking up? Blaming his father's Playboy magazine sounds like somethng that some church wanted him to do. Is he just parroting some church's line as part of a deal that allowed him to avoid prison? Is he sucking up to someone's idea of political correctness by pretending that one drunk having sex and taking pictures of another drunk is really worth five to ten years in jail?
The whole story just seems wrong.
Bill
"You watch your phraseology!"
See my post further down the thread, then make that same statement.
A steady diet of bad input into one's brain can be damaging, but the notion that his father's Playboys caused him to break the law (or fall into an irreversible downward spiral that led to law-breaking) is highly doubtful. If he has such a strong predisposition to act wrongly, he would have acted wrongly with or without that particular catalyst. Being aroused occasionally is not going to cause negative impacts later in life. A bigger danger is believing the extreme position that occasional arousal is realy dangerous. I'm not saying that a father having Playboys around the house is setting a good example. I'm just suspicious of extremism on either side of this issue.
WHAT A LOSER! But, hey, it isn't his fault. He once saw his dad reading "Playboy". He's an addict, you see. As helpless as a junkie or an alcoholic.
Yech!
Addiction comes in many colors and shapes. Some of our greatest CEO's in this country are addicted to power and are very good at it. Some of the best leaders in this country could also be some of the worst criminals if their efforts was directed at a young age toward criminal activity.
Read my post down thread cat, there is merit in the cause.
its the Ted Bundy excuse.
I never said it should give them a free pass, just an understanding as to how they got there.
Clearly this man has an addictive personality. If it isn't drugs, booze or porn, it will be something else and as long as enablers excuse him because he is "addicted", he'll just move on to the next thing to become obsessed with.
BTW, should we really care that psychiatrists are wrestling with whether porn is addictive when some are now claiming that gay marriage is "normal"?
Would your criteria for "violent tendendencies" be limited to violent acts; or are you talking about, say, a mental screening exam which could determine that someone has violent tendencies?
In a sence it rely isn't their fault, it is their destiny.
Rubbish.
The trouble is society prohibits us from acting against them untill they cross the line, by then it is too late and someone is either dead or sexualy assaulted.
How do we decide who the would be murderers are, and what sort of monitoring/treatment do you propose?
You have hit the nail on the head...
From the very first sentence in the article...
"Doug Hall's story is the story of an addict. Recovering for years from a drug addiction and alcoholism, his latest battle is pornography."
The subject simply transferred his addiction to substance(s) to activity... in this case, a sexual addiction..
There is no reason to expect him to change now that he is out, unless he can grapple with the truth and recognize his "addiction to addiction".. and understand there are consequences to his actions..
He will find another substance or activity to addict himself to..
Even if he selects something "constructive" to "devote" his life to, there is a (guessing) 50-50 chance he will end up turning it into another self-destructive one..
He will probably never learn that what he needs is self-control and a religious base to judge his acts by..
My addiction to junk food began with Twinkies. Before long (and 600 lbs. later) I was eating little children to satisfy my appetite.
Save the children! Ban Twinkies!!
Well stated.
BTW, should we really care that psychiatrists are wrestling with whether porn is addictive when some are now claiming that gay marriage is "normal"?
It is beyond me why anyone listens to social scientists spouting junk science.
The fact is this moron is trying to excuse his sex deviancies by blaming others. Ted Bundy tried to use the same excuse. There were plenty of sex maniacs in the world committing sex crimes before porno became widespread. What did they blame their crimes on ...nude paintings and sculptures? Gimme a break.
THE FACTS ABOUT RAPE
Since 1993, rape/sexual assault has fallen by over 65%.
Having sex with an unconscious woman is not rape? Fantastic. I look forward to dropping roofies in your daughters' drinks.
This is where porn leads.
This guy should have been put away longer, but at least he admits porn is evil stuff.
Carolyn
Uh-oh.
Bring back the seven deadly sins, please!
You decide what results you want, give me enuf free gubmint money and I will have 10 scientists ready to testify in court that your result is whatever you want it to be.
Because women have been educated about the subject and where the dangers lay.
Makes sense. In any event, it's pretty hard to make a case for porn causing sex crimes, when there's been a negative correlation between the two for the last 12 years.
I think the way sex is continually promoted in every magazine and on every TV show we are the ones at fault. By buying the magazines or watching the show and we are quietly saying that we all support this 24/7 sexy stuff.
If every guy who looked at Playboy raped a woman, there wouldn't be enough jails in the world to hold them all.
Hmmmm?
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