From: Chuck.Lavazzi@bbs.oit.unc.edu (Chuck Lavazzi)
Subject: Re: [Republicans] On Pornography
Organization: Extended Bulletin Board Service
Date: Fri, 9 Oct 1992 17:37:31 GMT

In article <1992Oct8.103139.11289@waikato.ac.nz> sma@waikato.ac.nz (Stephen Anderson) writes:
>
>In article <1992Oct7.165817.29077@news.iastate.edu>, tarjan@iastate.edu 
>(Scot 'ONE T!' Kight) writes:
>> 
>> 
>> I myself am a pacifist, I dont hurt anything (except maybe playing football..)
>> 
>> I coud never Kill anything or abuse any one, I have friends who have been
>> abused and every time I hear of it it sickens me, But I also like 'Porn'
>> I have no problem with it and I appreciate it, Who are you to tell me what
>> I may like and not like. I dont care about what you feel should be my family's
>> values, I know my own values and will teach those to my children.
>> 
>Fine.  I (and I hope most others) do not care what your personal values are,
>provided that it does not impact on anyone else.  You are probably like many
>people for whom porn is pure entertainment and will not be lead to lower your
>opinion of women, or to rape, kill etc.  But there are a large number of men
>out there for whom pornography lowers their respect for women, thus lowering
>the standards by which women are treated, and there are a very small number
>who will be lead to violence by pornography.  I would be prepared to forego
>some minor entertainment to prevent women getting raped - how about you?
>
	No, not really.  I am *not* willing to allow The State to determine
what I may or may not see, hear, or read in the privacy of my own home on the
shaky premise that it *might*, maybe, in some circumstances, lead to a
possible reduction in one type of crime.  The precedents set by that logic are
appalling.  Here are a few examples:
	- handguns are demostrably *at least* as much a contributor to murder
as pornography or erotica are to rape.  By your logic, the State should
immediately ban all handguns.
	- knives and other sharp implements are routinely used in murders.
Aren't you willing to give up a little kitchen implement to to prevent a
woman being stabbed to death? >:-)>
	And so it goes.  The notion that anythin that *might*, in the hands
of an unbalanced person, assist in the commission of a crime ought to be
banned requires a large, powerful, paternalistic State.  It's not the sort of
State envisoned by the founders of this country, and not one in which I'd
care to live.
>> Where does anyone else get off saying 'Pornography causes violence'
>> 
>Oh, probably someone who has been looking at some evidence, rather than just
>supporting one's self-interest.
	More like the opposite.  Or did you miss the rather lengthy post here
recently that summarized a couple of decades' worth of behavioral science
research into links between pornography and violence?  The connection which
you and other Statists seem to take as an article of faith has proven to be
tenuous and highly conditional at best.  Repeatedly asserting that it is 
anything else won't change the facts.
>
>
>Stephen..
Chuck
No .sig, no frills, no foolin'



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