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From: hollombe@ttidcc.UUCP (The Polymath)
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Re: re possible ban on pornography
Message-ID: <732@ttidcc.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 24-Sep-85 13:26:43 EDT
Article-I.D.: ttidcc.732
Posted: Tue Sep 24 13:26:43 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 27-Sep-85 06:33:27 EDT
References: <731@ttidcc.UUCP>
Reply-To: hollombe@ttidcb.UUCP (The Polymath)
Organization: The Cat Factory
Lines: 42
Summary: 

In article <731@ttidcc.UUCP> regard@ttidcc.UUCP (Adrienne Regard) writes:
>                                        ...  Better if you must, to compare
>pornographic pictures with pictures of guns in use, and compare merely the
>consenting adult to the possessor of the actual weapon.

Bravo!  I agree entirely.  BTW, there's _a lot_ of  psychological  evidence
that  watching  "pictures  of guns in use" can lead to violent behavior and
desensitization to violence.  There is _no_  evidence  that  watching  non-
violent pronography leads to violence of any kind.

Taking an  informal  survey,  I  found  that  most  people's  attitudes  on
pornography  are  something  like  "I  like to watch what I like to do".  I
don't think anyone is inspired to go out and beat up people by watching S&M
on  screen.  Rather, they watch it because _they're already into it_.  I've
sat through and read  some  porn  along  those  and  other  unusual  lines.
BORING!  It's not something I like to do and watching others do it holds no
interest or excitement for me.  The same goes for gay porn, B&D,  and  most
of the more obscure kinks (ok, so I have a dull sex life (-: ).

Whether we like to think about it or not, there _really  are_  people,  men
and  women,  who  _like_ to be tied up and beaten.  They're the ones who go
out and buy S&M oriented pronography because that's what they like  to  do.
As  long  as  they  don't  force  their  practices on unwilling or underage
partners _it's none of our business_.

The tiny minority who do  force  unconsenting  people  to  participate  are
labeled "sick" or "rapist" and put away when caught (a mild punishment, but
the best we're willing to do).  There's  no  evidence  at  all  that  these
people  would  reform  in  the  absence of pronography.  On the contrary, a
friend who, until recently, was a  clinical  social  worker  at  Atascadero
State  Hospital  (for  the  criminally  insane), where there's certainly no
pornography to be had, tells  me  that  many  of  the  inmates  are  simply
incorrigible  under  any  circumstance. (She was quite an idealist when she
first went to work there.  Now she favors the death penalty in such cases).

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
The Polymath (aka: Jerry Hollombe)
Citicorp(+)TTI                    Common Sense is what tells you that a ten
3100 Ocean Park Blvd.             pound weight falls ten times as fast as a
Santa Monica, CA  90405           one pound weight.
(213) 450-9111, ext. 2483
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