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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nng...
I prefer not to engage in such speculation concerning folks who are in most things my allies.
it is rude and not necessary.
Ok. I'm exhausted anyway. I'll see ya later.
This same rationale can be applied to the guy who may be too busy watching football,etc. while the wife may have the desire.for sex. And maybe that's why the wives read those novels, watch those shows, etc.
It's a two way street. Maybe it isn't a difference in a level of desire, but a lack of communication?
There's nothing graphic in here!
I demand restitution.
Oh, oh...now you did it! I'm over fifty and you forget that we're part of the Summer of Love/Woodstock generation. We were reading the KamaSutra before you were born. LOL! Trust me, that's probably just something your parents keep to themselves. And that goes to the whole point of this thread. There are some things that adults do that they don't have to tell their children. It doesn't make it wrong. And would you really want to know?
if you think garbage-collection is ok, then you must think it's ok if your son or daughter wants to work as a garbageman in that industry. If it's not ok, you're a hypocrite.
if you think an empty septic-tank is ok, then you must think it's ok if your son or daughter wants to work as a >ah< "pumper" in that industry. If it's not ok, you're a hypocrite.
if you think porkchops are ok, then you must think it's ok if your son or daughter wants to work as a slaughterer in that industry. If it's not ok, you're a hypocrite.
if you think Alaskan King Crab is ok, then you must think it's ok if your son or daughter wants to work as a short-haul harvester in that industry. If it's not ok, you're a hypocrite.
porn is just smut.
Which is one of its denominational temples...
Honey, sex, drugs and rock n' roll was your parents generation. No kid even likes to think about his parents having sex. Hate to burst your bubble!
Nope. Don't think I know him and I'm def not him! Guess there's just alot of fierce people on FR.
All of those industries that you quoted are good, hard honest work. I would not be embarrassed to tell anyone that a child of mine worked in any of those industries. I would, on the other hand, be mortified to tell anyone that my kid was a porn star.
Try again.
You forgot "The Joy of Sex"........which lived in the dark recesses of our basement for years until my adolescent son hit pay-dirt!
you missed the point: lots of folks would not like it if their kids went and did those jobs... are they hypocrites?
Parents have sex?
Not mine!!
Now that's funny. I'd be very surprised if there is anything you know about bedroom behavior that we didn't know about as teenagers in the late 70's or early 80's. I'd be further surprised if there is anything about sex that that I know, that some of the more libidenous guys in the bible didn't know about thousands of years before my own birth. There is nothing new under the sun.
imputing violent or malicious tendencies to inanimate objects and attempting to get the governemnt to infringe on the rights of the private individual to quietly, judiciously, and privately indulge in them... that is a major altar of the Leftist creed.
This reminds me of the bumper sticker "Hire a teenager while he still knows everything"
Gee, even my 24 yr old son now admits that I DO know everything!! LOL
LOL! I found out that my son had stolen a soft- porn video from my single brother.......but only AFTER every boy in his class had passed it around for viewing. I was HYSTERICAL!! Somehow we tracked it down and got it back. That was so damn embarrassing! Junior High boys were almost the DEATH OF ME!
All men are mortal.
Socrates is a man.
Therefore, all men are Socrates.
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