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The Challenge: Pornography Pandemic
Townhall.com ^ | October 9, 2014 | Rebecca Hagelin

Posted on 10/09/2014 2:30:26 PM PDT by Kaslin

Pornography is everywhere. It’s an evil with far-reaching affects that damage many layers of society. But no one is hurt more by the overwhelming presence of pornography in our society than children.

According to a study by the London School of Economics, nine out of ten children who go online (by the way, many of them just doing their homework) will view pornography. Even when kids are acting responsibly and innocently, adults in the pornography business are so fixated on creating new porn addicts that they have made it virtually impossible for children to escape their grasp. Think about it—90 percent of all kids on the Internet will be subjected to the sexual images and values of perverted pornographers.

There should be a protected space in childhood where kids don’t have sex forced upon them—physically or mentally. Mere exposure to pornography inflicts a great deal of damage to developing attitudes, psyches and morality. Dr. Jill Manning, family therapist and author of What's the Big Deal About Pornography? A Guide for the Internet Generation, outlined the personal cost of pornography to children in a study she presented to a special U.S. Senate subcommittee. Her analysis of the peer-reviewed research reveals that pornography consumption by children is associated with the following trends (just to name a few):

Developing tolerance toward sexually explicit material, thereby requiring more novel or bizarre material to achieve the same level of arousal or interest.

Overestimating the prevalence of less common, harmful sexual practices (such as group sex, bestiality and sadomasochistic activity.)

Perceiving promiscuity as a normal state of interaction

Developing cynical attitudes about love

Developing a negative body image, especially for girls.

Donna Rice Hughes, CEO of Enough Is Enough (EIE), a non-profit organization determined to make the Internet safer for children and families, said, “For 20 years, children have been spoon-fed a steady diet of online pornography, with few laws or barriers of entry. Recent peer-reviewed research shows the extreme nature of Internet pornography is having a destructive impact on the mental, emotional and sexual health of adolescents, including addictive and even criminal behavior. “ (You can learn more about the work of Enough is Enough at www.InternetSafety101.org)

Many parents today know the sad truth and have already taken the necessary steps to protect their children when they are at home. (You can protect your kids by installing Internet filters on computers and mobile devices, by teaching them how to be safe online and by monitoring their online activity until they demonstrate the maturity needed to navigate the treacherous territory on their own.) However, when kids are out of the house, the protective barriers parents put up come down. Tech-savvy kids often figure out how to get around filters and, to further complicate the matter, public Wi-Fi in restaurants and cafes allows unprotected and unchecked Internet browsing.

But kids getting around filters or accidentally stumbling upon negative images isn’t all we have to worry about. Public Wi-Fi provided by many businesses also serves as a safe haven where perverted criminals can anonymously view, post and share child pornography, which only leads to further sexual solicitation and abuse of children.

As Mrs. Hughes said, “Now is the time for corporate America to take a stand against Internet pornography and child pornography that is damaging children. This is now a global public health issue that must be addressed holistically. Parents, corporate America and law enforcement must share the responsibility to protect the younger generations, and we must do so now—together.”

The Hope: Limiting the Reach of Pornography

EIE has been on the front-lines of Internet safety since 1994 and has recently launched a new campaign called “P*rn Free Wi-Fi” to encourage corporate America to join the fight to prevent the Internet-initiated sexual exploitation of children. (Rebecca served on the original steering committee of, and helped launch Enough is Enough way back in 1992 - incidentally, when she was pregnant with Kristin.)

Specifically, EIE is asking McDonald’s and Starbucks to start using pornography filters in their establishments across the United States, hoping that many other businesses will follow suit. Both companies have pornography filters in their establishments in the United Kingdom (due to a self-regulation initiative begun by Prime Minster David Cameron). Hughes said, “If McDonald’s and Starbucks can protect children from pornography and child pornography in other nations, they should do so here in the US. Offering safe Wi-Fi is in alignment with both McDonald’s and Starbucks’ corporate best practices and family-friendly policies. This would be a win-win for families and the companies’ respective brands. It’s not about censorship; it’s about corporate responsibility and good corporate citizenship.” (It’s worth noting that some conscientious companies in the U.S., like Panera Bread and Chik-fil-A, already have Internet filters to protect their customers.) Hughes continued, “We believe a united front of restaurants and retailers across the country voluntarily implementing filtering to block both pornography and child pornography will significantly remove much of the anonymity of this crime.”

Please join the fight to protect the innocence of America’s children. You can do so right now by signing the “P*rn-Free Wi-Fi” petition at friendlywifi.org, which will be sent to the CEOs of McDonald’s and Starbucks, and/or by donating to the effort. The short-term goal is to obtain at least 10,000 signatures by the end of November. Please help by signing the petition today and by forwarding the information to a friend.

As Hughes said, “Parents need to be the first line of defense to safeguard their children online. However, they cannot shoulder the entire responsibility alone. If parents understand that strangers can view hard-core pornography and child pornography in front of their kids in these establishments, I believe they would join us in saying, ‘Enough is enough!’”


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: corruptingaminor; culturewar; internet; parenting; pornification; pornography; sex; sexting
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To: brownsfan
I just looked up subliminal messages cartoons and saw some yucky stuff. Looked it up for my grandson the other day because he is addicted to cartoons and would watch them every waking moment if he could.

I don't know how much subliminal messages affect people and some are iffy anyway.

But I decided porn is not benign. If you need porn to get turned on, there is something wrong with you. I would not want a man I was interested in on the computer taking selfies of his privates and sending them to young girls (and undercover people).

And if either sex needs that stuff to stimulate their sex life, there is something wrong with their relationship.

I know I will catch some flak for this. To each his own.

21 posted on 10/09/2014 2:56:47 PM PDT by Aliska
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To: Diana in Wisconsin
I know the old gal is dead, but she remains in my FReeper heart...


22 posted on 10/09/2014 3:02:08 PM PDT by PROCON (I WILL NOT SUBMIT TO TYRANNY!)
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To: Secret Agent Man
sure it’s not cynical about women?

Uh, no.

Regarding the meretricious distinction between agape and eros, I reject it. Any love that doesn't seek the good of the other, instead of using him or her for one's own purposes, isn't worthy of the name.

23 posted on 10/09/2014 3:02:09 PM PDT by Tax-chick (Feeling fine about the end of the world!)
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To: FatherofFive
Taking the money out of it will help reduce this evil. Porn degrades women people and degrades a natural sexual relationship.

Corrected it for you.

24 posted on 10/09/2014 3:02:38 PM PDT by MrEdd (Heck? Geewhiz Cripes, thats the place where people who don't believe in Gosh think they aint going.)
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To: Tax-chick

God made the distinctions because the men he wrote the NT through used specific terms. The english translators were sloppy and used one generic word to replace three or four different words.

Not all love is unconditional. Not all love is the same. The love for a friend, or for a baby, or for mankind in general, are not the same. They have common aspects but they have different qualities that set them apart.


25 posted on 10/09/2014 3:05:45 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man ( Gone Galt; Not averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: MrEdd

Yup. It degrades everyone. In some cases nothing but a certain part of a guy is seen. Just a prop piece.


26 posted on 10/09/2014 3:07:37 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man ( Gone Galt; Not averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: Secret Agent Man
They have common aspects but they have different qualities that set them apart.

Yes, that's true ... but if they involve using another person as an object to serve you, that is not love.

27 posted on 10/09/2014 3:07:58 PM PDT by Tax-chick (Feeling fine about the end of the world!)
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To: Jack Black
How about this. We establish a .xxx domain and force all porno onto it. That will make it trivial for the rest of us to block it.

This idea got shelved when it was realized most porn sites are hosted outside the U.S. Creating .xxx domains would result in doubling the amount of porn with mirror sites; "porn.com" and "porn.xxx" for example. Furthermore, plenty of porn can be found outside of "traditional" adult sites on places like reddit and tumblr. Those sites are enormously popular and aren't going to get blocked by anyone anytime soon.

28 posted on 10/09/2014 3:08:32 PM PDT by Drew68
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To: Tax-chick

Yes. i agree.

none of these specific definitions have that in them.


29 posted on 10/09/2014 3:10:22 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man ( Gone Galt; Not averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: Secret Agent Man

it’s not agape (Godly) or eros (romantic), but sapphic (sexual).


30 posted on 10/09/2014 3:14:33 PM PDT by SpinnerWebb (IN-SAPORIBVS-SICVT-PVLLVM)
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To: PROCON

LOL!


31 posted on 10/09/2014 3:14:37 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set...)
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To: Kaslin

bookmark


32 posted on 10/09/2014 3:19:09 PM PDT by GOP Poet
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To: Jack Black
How about this. We establish a .xxx domain and force all porno onto it. That will make it trivial for the rest of us to block it.

How then do we block pornographic public school curriculums?

33 posted on 10/09/2014 3:20:16 PM PDT by MeganC (It took Democrats four hours to deport Elian Gonzalez)
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To: FatherofFive
I agree but outlawing porn is not the answer. The women doing the porn would become prostitutes instead. That is illegal and far more dangerous in most countries.

It is usually women that don't have many good options. No family, no skills, drug addicted and/or mentally ill.

And you will never stop prostitution of women attractive enough to do porn. Most of it is 1on1 private arrangements with rich guys. Basically dating that turns to “helping with bills”, etc. You'd be shocked at the high percentage of attractive poor women who receive compensation of some kind these days.

The only way to stop women degrading themselves is to increase economic prosperity for all.

34 posted on 10/09/2014 3:23:51 PM PDT by varyouga
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To: Kaslin

“Donna Rice” Hughes...

Isn’t that irony, with a capitol “I”...

The democrats are STILL hot under the collar about her...

She was a Bush plant!!! Designed to ruin the political career of their media darling at the time...

(or so some democrats believe...)


35 posted on 10/09/2014 3:25:20 PM PDT by stevie_d_64 (I will settle for a "perfectly good, gently used" kidney...Apply within...)
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To: Tax-chick
Often they don't even involve a person.

Just a replica functioning as genitalia. Making an idol out of a stylized body part. Or written words (which is what most people thought of when porn was mentioned when I was a kid) alone describing copulation in alluring ways.

All of it has multiplied exponentially. Porn aimed at women is written different than porn aimed at men, but so called women's erotica makes the best seller lists often. Fifty Shades of Gray and Anne Rice ‘ Sleeping Beauty trilogy made fortunes.

Sex toys alone are a multi billion dollar market sector .

Bakeries sell all the graphic pastries and Pintrest will teach you to bake them yourself.

Stopping Internet pictures is just trying to patch a broken window on a ramshackle tenement leaning ten degrees with age and misuse.

Maybe at this point societal collapse would be merciful for us.

36 posted on 10/09/2014 3:33:16 PM PDT by MrEdd (Heck? Geewhiz Cripes, thats the place where people who don't believe in Gosh think they aint going.)
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To: Secret Agent Man
don’t confuse agape love with romantic love. the stuff you’re describing in church is agape, not romantic

So called "romantic love" comes from the Greek word eros from which the word erotica is derived.

"Eros involved a loss of control that frightened the Greeks. Which is odd, because losing control is precisely what many people now seek in a relationship. Don't we all hope to fall "madly" in love?"Source

37 posted on 10/09/2014 3:33:21 PM PDT by slimer (“I hope that someday we will be able to put away our fears and prejudices and just laugh at people.)
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To: Secret Agent Man
It occurred to me (during my break to wash supper dishes and run the vacuum), that I don't know of any specific text in which the New Testament positively commends eros. I know that the distinction between phileos and agape is made in the, "Do you love me?" scene between Jesus and Peter, near the end of the Gospel of John.

However, before I accept that God has willed that the love of husband and wife is not to be agape but something else, I'd like see a Biblical text, if there is such a thing.

My son and I are studying Biblical Greek, but we're still at the stage of, "The brothers see the houses of the men," and stuff like that.

38 posted on 10/09/2014 3:48:13 PM PDT by Tax-chick (Feeling fine about the end of the world!)
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To: MrEdd

Excellent points. The baked-goods thing is really freaky.

Societal collapse hit Rome at about this point. Ebola, anyone?


39 posted on 10/09/2014 3:51:02 PM PDT by Tax-chick (Feeling fine about the end of the world!)
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To: PROCON
Some of those Russian women online give me wood...


40 posted on 10/09/2014 4:12:20 PM PDT by Hugin ("Do yourself a favor--first thing, get a firearm!",)
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