That's what they make these for LOL!
Posted on 12/09/2004 1:16:14 PM PST by Lindykim
Pornography is Anything But a 'Victimless Crime' 12/8/2004 By Cheri Pierson Yecke How many more expert studies do we need to convince ourselves of this fact?
Jud Fry -- one of the characters in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Oklahoma! lives in a shack that is papered with pornographic images. He is a loner, lacks social skills, and is feared by his neighbors. He is clearly capable of murder. This insight into the character of a porn addict hit the Broadway stage in 1943.
Fast forward to 2004. A sexual assault and several attempted abductions of girls in the St. Paul, Minnesota, area are allegedly the work of 19-year-old Ryan Mely, who has been charged (for starters) with second-degree criminal sexual conduct. He apparently was a loner who was feared by his neighbors. Jud Fry is a fictitious character who bought his porn from an itinerant peddler. How did Ryan Mely get his start? Apparently, pornography was a family pastime. While some dads bond with their kids by fishing or playing hockey together, it appears that Mely and his father (a convicted sex offender) shared an interest in pornography. It was reported that sexually explicit material was found at the family home and on their computer.
Is anyone really surprised that pornography is involved here? It has been 60 years since a Broadway musical portrayed what social scientists and criminal analysis have now found to be true -- addiction to pornography can lead to violent sexual behavior. Dr. Victor Cline, a clinical psychologist and expert on sexual addictions, has identified four stages of progression among his patients.
The first stage is addiction, where the attraction to porn is overpowering and the viewer keeps craving more. The next stage is an escalation to more shocking and deviant images, as the earlier ones have lost their power to stimulate. Third is desensitization, where anything earlier seen as disturbing and repulsive becomes viewed as commonplace. Finally, satisfaction cannot be reached unless the perpetrator begins acting out the activities witnessed in the pornography. In effect, fantasy must become reality.
The events in which Mely was allegedly involved appear to follow this pattern. Perhaps the same is true for Alfonso Rodriguez, the man who allegedly abducted and murdered Dru Sjodin. Rodriguez apparently had an infatuation with Dru, who worked at Victoria's Secret, an upscale lingerie shop. On several occasions he allegedly called the store where she worked, asking for her by name.
Victoria's Secret is well known for its racy, soft-porn "fashion show" where voluptuous young models strut the runways in revealing lingerie. The liberal National Organization for Women called it "exploitative" and the conservative Concerned Women for America condemned it as a "high-tech striptease." Regularly protested by both sides of the political spectrum, the company announced in April that it will no longer air this event
The last Victoria's Secret "fashion show" aired on network television November 19, 2003. Dru was abducted three days later. Could it be that Alfonso Rodriguez, a convicted sex offender, watched the show and was propelled into Dr. Cline's fourth stage of sexual deviance? This is a question his judge and jury may consider.
In an interview the night before his 1989 execution, serial killer Ted Bundy revealed the influence of pornography on his life.
A case study for Cline's four stages of addiction, Bundy started his descent into sexual deviance and murder with magazines he found in the neighbor's trash. His addiction escalated until he felt compelled to act out his desires in more than 30 murders that were accompanied with violent sexual acts.
He warned Americans: "There are those loose in [your] towns and communities, like me, whose dangerous impulses are being fueled, day in and day out, by violence in the media, in its various forms -- particularly sexualized violence ... . There are lots of other kids playing in the streets around the country today who are going to be dead tomorrow, and the next day, because other young people are reading and seeing the kinds of things that are available in the media today."
Abundant evidence has demonstrated the tragic impact of pornography. How many more expert studies do we need to convince ourselves of this fact? The elections of 2004 have sent politicians the message that morals matter, so now is the time to focus on the impact of pornography -- the so-called "victimless crime."
Cheri Pierson Yecke is a Distinguished Senior Fellow for Education and Social Policy at the Center of the American Experiment, a conservative think tank in Minneapolis. She is a former Minnesota commissioner of education and is author of The War Against Excellence. This article first appeared in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Used with permission.
Concerned Women for America 1015 Fifteenth St. N.W., Suite 1100 Washington, D.C. 20005 Phone: (202) 488-7000 Fax: (202) 488-0806 E-mail: mail@cwfa.org
But what about the cost to society of treating the carpal tunnel syndrome that results from the first activity?
That's what they make these for LOL!
It isn't.
You're free to do what ever you please. You were created as a free moral agent ... for reasons I can't begin to understand God took this risk with all of us.
In our (western) society, to quote C. Wright Mills:
"Freedom is not merely the opportunity to do as one pleases; neither is it merely the opportunity to choose between set alternatives. Freedom is, first of all, the chance to formulate the available choices, to argue over them -- and then, the opportunity to choose."
If you choose behavior outside the bounds society see's fit to impose (i.e. those they've argued over and agreed to) you either willingly or unwillingly may have to accept the consequences of those actions or you in fact live outside the camp as an outlaw.
I think you misunderstand where I'm coming from. I don't think pornography is a good thing. I merely entered in to the fray because your arguments were weak.
I quiver in the presence of such an intellectual colossus such as yourself.
Stop quivering now and do the hard work of adequately defending your position.
Ken, thanks for the laugh, I needed it
Porn should just be left alone. It's already a self-regulated industry and there are strict laws on the books against child pornography and other deviant styles of porn, as well it should be. But you can't just ban the stuff, you know. It'll just go underground and become more seedier than it already is.
The problem is:
"...but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire."
"Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?"
Whoa! what makes you think that God took risk? Does God play dice?
Amen
Fine, my half-assed attempts at sarcasm didn't go over very well.
The objectivist, egoist, whatever they like to call themselves, argues that it boils down to consent.
That's it...consent. Oh yeah, and whether it is in your own self interest.
No other moral component is required to make your decision. They wouldn't even cop to that.
The less porn there is in a country, the worse women are treated. There is a stronger correlation there than between porn consumption and murder.
You're either a free moral agent or not .. which is it?
If you're a determinist then your choices shouldn't matter, it's all already decided ... which leads to the question .. do you think your choices matter?
The man just shot his credibility in the foot:
Sexual Assaults Down by Half Over Last Decade
Overall Decline from 1993 through 2002:
Rape down by 60% (from 1.0 per 1000 persons age 12 and older to 0.4 per 1000)
Attempted rape down by 57.1% (from 0.7 per 1000 to 0.3 per 1000)
Sexual assault down by 62.5% (from 0.8 per 1000 to 0.3 per 1000)
See post #138 for link to USDOJ figures.
Did you look at my #265 reply to you? Divorce has fallen since 1990, as have teen pregnancies, if I'm not mistaken.
oh puhleeze. Well practiced.
You sound exactly like the analysis-paralysis faux intellectual liberalism (blah blah woof woof)that is undermining this country--try this:
Apply some STARK common sense!
Pornography, (NOT NUDITY..there is a difference, got that?) Pornography--imagery that seeks to humiliate, degrade, incite agression/exploitation toward the most intimate and personal aspects of a person's being (usually a female) for the tawdry pleasure of another is anti-empathetic.
That leads to dehumanization, that leads to disposable people, souless 'using', and inevitably cultural breakdown.
If you are a systemic thinkewr at all, this is patently obvious.
Nothing AT ALL positive about porn. The real deleterious fallout from it are legion--I have friends that have left porn addicted husbands that have become virtual pod people (porn zombies) and are disinterested in anything but the most extreme sexual antics--increasingly focused on the degrading stuff.
But you'd have to distance yourself from your habit in order to see the true face of your much coveted pornography.
Substitute the 'religious zealotry' for 'pornogrpahy' in your sentence. Which do you think has caused more harm? I personally don't know anyone ever harmed by porn, but I do know many that have had their lives harmed by being sucked into religious zealotry.
And apparently it is being discovered that it is psychologically addictive. CSI dealt with this in an episode last season. Guys who couldn't 'perform' with a live woman (or man, even...) and who spent hours dialing it up on the computer or through other means. In addition to turning the 'stars' of the movies into meat. Empty, meaningless experiences that make it difficult to establish 'real' relationships, at least ones devoid of porn, and unnecessary to even try since the quick fix is always there, more than ever lately. Recently, my son said some of his friends (teens) were talking about how 'successful' Jenna Jamison (sp?) has become. I pointed out she is the exception, if it's true. My son and I discussed it, I know he sees the dangers, and a few of his friends do, as per the discussion, but the rest? Most thought it was cool. I pointed out the usual. If she has managed to stay above the ugliness that is so degrading, she is one in a million or more. She is not the one success story, she is the one miracle, if it's true. But the kids see it a little differently, like everyone has a chance to 'make it big'. I was quite disheartened and am hoping their opinions change with experience, and not through learning it the hard way.
Our choices don't matter becuase they are determinative. They matter because they are indicative. Addiction to porn is a devestating indictment of lust.
That's it...consent. Oh yeah, and whether it is in your own self interest. No other moral component is required to make your decision
That's probably a corner someone might pinned in and made to squeal a bit
got sign off now .. to the house. Be back tomorrow - same time, same station.
Religious zealotry is evil too.
Hmmm,
Well, on my long drive tonight, I realized that there are actually 3 kinds of basic porn available-- Male, Gay (male)and Female (Soft core). The male and the gay are emotionless driven passion with multiple partner, no-ties sex, lots of visuals etc. With the male (or dominant male) being the center of attention.
The female version of fluff porn, which is a big seller on the net(not that I am an expert mind you ;) usually has a lock-in on the relationship (situational monogamy), sex driven by passionate emotion, usually single partner (secondary partner is always transient) and more description than visuals. (Sorry, but parts of you guys are ugly when nekkid). A lot goes on, but the woman and her needs are the focus off all the attention. Even weirder, the L word gets used alot! :0 Oh dear, come to think of it, there is even a fairy tale, happy ever after ending. EEEK!!!
BTW, don't dismiss this as video versions of the bodice rippers of the past. The same things are happening, just the focus and dialogue are extremely different.
Granted,this is development of the last 15 years or so. Before, the 'tarty' stuff for women was written based on the Playboy template, and while guys ate it up in droves, women just went "ick". Because the basic components of single partner binding and emotion driven passion wasn't there. The two genders are wired very differently.
We were making fun on another thread about Liberal females unrealistic expectations of the ideal guy. Same can be said for porn--- it makes reality the way both genders would like it to be, and neither has much in common with the other. The definer being that it should always be seen as total fantasy, and not something to be transposed into/onto reality.
I do need to write a research paper. :)
So, at some point in the future will we be seeing a collection of rape victims file a class action suit against Larry Flint?
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