Posted on 05/24/2005 1:42:28 PM PDT by CHARLITE
Warning: This article contains graphic descriptions that may be difficult for some readers.
A crowd of people gathered on Capitol Hill last Thursday to hear experts* in obscenity law and sexual crimes speak in recognition of Victims of Pornography Month.
What they said in that room should be heard by every American. (It just so happens that you can download and listen to the presentations, including one by CWA’s chief counsel, Jan LaRue, on our Web site by clicking here.)
First, if you aren’t convinced yet that we, as a society, should crack down on pornography, consider some of the facts presented at the summit.
Where should we start? Maybe with this statement from Phil Burress, president of Citizens for Community Values in Cincinnati, Ohio: “I’ve never met a police officer yet who investigated a pedophile that did not find pornography. Every one of them said pornography is always on the scene.”
Or perhaps that the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s (NCMC’s) Cyber Tip Line (http://www.cybertipline.com/) collected about 1,500 reports of possible child pornography being transmitted online in a seven-day period earlier this month (and 293,000 reports since 1998), according to Marsha Gilmer-Tullis, Director of the Family Advocacy Division at NCMC. They received 35 reports of adults trying to meet and greet children in chat rooms that same week.
Or, we could also consider facts presented by Dr. Jeffrey Satinover, a psychiatrist, professor at Princeton University and researcher at the University of Nice, that the sexual slavery trade is the third-largest source of funds for organized crime, right behind drugs and arms, and that pornography drives that trade.
Plus, Satinover mentioned studies showing that brain activity associated with craving pornography is “identical to any other behavioral or chemical addictions.” In fact, some have pointed out that pornography is as addictive as cocaine, but even harder to overcome due to the images burned into the user’s mind. “It is not an art form,” he said. “No one gets addicted to The Washington Post. No one gets addicted to James Joyce [author of Ulysses, a book with some erotic scenes].”
Satinover also had the courage to point out the motivation behind the porn industry: “Its purpose is not to entertain.” Its purpose, he said, is to lead the viewer to “achieve arousal and orgasm” as quickly and frequently as possible. There’s a financial interest – the more the buyer gets aroused by pornography and achieves orgasm, the more he will purchase. Comparing the purchasing frequency of mainstream movies and pornographic ones makes that clear.
When the movies, magazines and Web sites just aren’t cutting it anymore, the user moves to the final stage: acting out. Rep. Katherine Harris (R-Florida) read the following quote from serial rapist Ted Bundy, made one day before his 1989 execution:
“The purveyors of pornography repeatedly challenge us to prove that pornography causes violent crime,” said Rep. Harris. “I challenge them to prove that it does not.”
Likewise, John Richter, the Acting Assistant Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division, said, “Because obscene material is so accessible, many may fail to realize that availability does not equate to legality.”
Concerned Women for America (CWA) Chief Counsel Jan LaRue wrote an excellent, full-scale paper on this topic, Hard-Core Harm.
So, what can you, as a citizen, do with the information these knowledgeable presenters gave? Here are several ideas:
Start with your own home. Supervise your children on the Internet, and teach them how to safely use it. Read CWA’s brochure, 14 Ways You Can Protect Your Children Online, for help. Watch out for peer-to-peer file-sharing sites like Kazaa and Morpheus, as they are virtually unregulated – children can easily access pornographic files and even give away your household’s personal information. If you or your spouse is struggling with addiction, there is help (see http://www.victimsofpornography.org/ for a start).
Be aware of what – or who – is in your neighborhood. Check with local law enforcement to see if it maintains a sex offenders’ registry. Use the registry to find out if any convicted sex offenders live in your neighborhood. If your state doesn’t have one, lobby your officials to make this information public.
Encourage your local officials to prosecute obscenity. If juries never get the opportunity to set community standards, then pornographers will set them. In cities where prosecutors have gone after pornographic shops and other sexually oriented businesses, all types of crimes have dropped. Local law enforcement should be enthusiastic about cleaning up communities in this way.
Encourage your local and national representatives to make laws to protect Americans from obscenity.
Sign up for e-mail alerts from groups like CWA that are fighting pornography. We’ll keep you informed as to how you can act on the issue. Sign up at www.cwfa.org.
Vote! Watch how your officials and representatives are voting, acting and responding to your requests regarding obscenity. Register to vote, and encourage your friends and family to register as well!
Educate others. One voice can start a movement! Join an organized grassroots organization like CWA – we’ll be happy to tell you how you can become active at the state level (phone: 800-964-2203). Encourage your friends to join e-mail lists, or form one of your own to pass around vital information. Organize events in your community and bring in experts like the ones at this presentation.
Contribute to hard-working groups like CWA, CCV and others. We are dependent upon generous giving from people like you.
John Richter ended his remarks by asking for continuing support of American citizens:
We aren’t backing down to the purveyors of obscenity… we do not fight these battles alone. We know that folks like you here today – decent, honest Americans – support us. And it is my last privilege today to ask for your continued support as we continue to move forward. I want you to think of our team as I think of them: As those men and women, at Justice, who seek justice, by doing justice, for those who deserve justice.
*Among the presenters were Concerned Women for America (CWA) Chief Counsel Jan LaRue; Citizens for Community Values President Phil Burress; Reps. Katherine Harris (R-Florida), Mike Pence (R-Indiana) and Joe Pitts (R-Pennsylvania); Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas); Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, John Richter; Marsha Gilmer-Tullis, Director of the Family Advocacy Division at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children; Focus on the Family Media and Sexuality Analyst Daniel Weiss; Florida Deputy Attorney General George LeMieux; and Dr. Jeffrey Satinover, a psychiatrist, professor at Princeton University and researcher at the University of Nice.
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Children are in therapy at record levels, and younger ages, because of access to porn on computers. I heard a woman who is a children's therapist and some of the stuff she is seeing now is so horrific with respect to children masturbating at porn. They are addicted to the stuff. Sexual inuendos are everywhere and pulling our young children and young teens to it. The porn industry has moved from dark rooms, into their own AWARDS show on TV. A freaking porn star ran for GOVERNOR of California!!
Because it's so widely available and rammed down our throats as popular entertainment (no pun intended), we are seeing more and more people (mostly men) ADDICTED.
When us girls were in High School (I graduated in 1972) no one was having sex. BUT!! As soon as the free clinics became available for teens to get the pill.....man we ran out and got some and started having sex. It was becoming more "fashionable" and "widely accepted." Problem was.....STD's started showing up more often also. It's no different with porn, body piercings, and self mutilation.
LOL! As if I could've gotten away with it. ;) But, seriously, I have very little interest in nudie pics or flicks when I'm in a relationship. It actually surprises me because I can be quite content with them when I'm not. It's like night & day for me, but others are different, and for different reasons, as I'm sure you know.
As for the marriage, I always knew what the ultimate problem was but there was nothing I could really do about it, although I didn't recognize the futility of it all until afterward. She was convinced that I never 'got over' my first, and that she was just a placeholder until I went back or truly moved on. That was untrue, but it was very true in her head and governed all her actions in this regard. What was true, however, is that I never felt the same burning passion as I did with the first, so perhaps in some small way there was truth to it after all.
Whatever the case may be, and I very rarely revisit these things in my mind's landscape, we were certainly not meant to be. Once in a long while I can still feel that same fire about the first, but the other just leaves me totally cold. BTW, there will never be a third!
I absolutely agree with you. Pornography affects so many people, starting with the actors that end up committing suicide because they can't live with what they've done. Or maybe the kids surfing on their parents computer when a nasty picture pops up. How about the bookstore, such as Hasting's, that has the nasty magazine rack where you have to walk right by it to get to the kids books. It's everywhere.
With this much money floating around, anything can be corrupted. Including vetting processes.
Nope. You obviously didn't understand what I meant by saying if it's good enough for you, it should be good enough for your children. If you don't want your children watching porn, you as a parent shouldn't watch it either. A husband is the moral leader of the house and rolemodels God to his children. If you aren't a christian or a jewish person,even muslim then it doesn't apply.
Smart man...........too bad though. You sound reasonable and they're (obviously) hard to find. Stay happy in your solitude. I know others who are.
what a load of crap. How about listing among your categories "those who think they can handle it, and decades of moderate indulgence bears that assessment out."
I have indulged in alcohol since the age of sixteen. I never got hammered until my first year in college. I HAVE NEVER GOTTEN HAMMERED AFTER MY FIRST YEAR IN COLLEGE. Since that time, I have exercised enjoyable moderation. SIXTEEN YEARS of moderate enjoyment. True for one "vice" - true for others as well.
your all-or-nothing arguments are patently absurd.
One day I was riding my bicycle and there was a book right in the middle of the street. It had the most vile XXX porn I've ever seen, as if someone dropped it or something. I immediately threw it in the trash ripped it up beyond repair. Thankfully, many places either don't carry porn or they keep it in a backroom.
Anyone who honestly strives to find the truth of a matter soon learns to heavily discount the opinions of those who are emotionally involved in the issue.
"If you don't want your children watching porn, you as a parent shouldn't watch it either. A husband is the moral leader of the house and rolemodels God to his children."
Exacty right and well said.
Good grief. Just the thought of one of my kids getting ahold of something like that makes me ill.
You haven't the slightest idea what you are talking about.
I can't beleive so many people on this thread
are so simple minded they can't the point I am trying
to make.
That's what I honestly believe and what I want for my children, especially sons. I'm thinking ahead in choosing a husband because a father raises sons. Whether the feminists like it or not, it's still a man's world and the bible says a righteous leader is a blessing :-)
Thanks Cy
You did good.
Pornography serves a purpose in a civilized society. I have no problem with it. My husband watches, So what? I don't understand why women get so angry. And I do agree with you. Note to ladies: Unless you have sex everytime your husband wants it, what is the problem with letting him do it by himself? Are most women that insecure that they feel they are competing with porn stars for their husband's attention? It's crazy.
Thanks! Best wishes to you as well!
You're welcome. A man with morals is a blessing.
You were the one who made the comparisons to drinking, et. al. and used the term often enough. Care to actually answer my post?
idiot.
I never said it was good for me. I did say I don't use it or have it or rent it or anything else to do with it either.
But you need to know that it is ILLEGAL to show pornography to children in every state of the union.
It is also illegal to give them a shot of jack daniels, or let them drive in public, until they are old enough, whether or not YOU approve. Or to do a lot of things in the adult world for that matter.
part of being a role model is knowing what to expose your kids to, and what NOT to expose your kids to...
So,you think biblical sex is good? GREAT!
Would you and wifey even consider demonstrating it to the kids? Doubtful, and criminal in fact.
But since you want to push the dishonest 'role model' strawman, perhaps YOU should try and see what the police think about letting you keep your kids....
If not, by YOUR failed analogy, perhaps your sex life should be outlawed for YOU too... after all, the kiddies might ACCIDENTLY happen upon you and wifey or husband 'misbehaving' as well.
Live your own, and get out of other people's sex lives.
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