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What the ‘Average Joe’ Can Do About Porn…and Why - (caution; for adult readers only)
CONCERNED WOMEN FOR AMERICA.ORG ^ | MAY 24, 2005 | SARA BRODE

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:

"[I]t happened in stages, gradually. . . . My experience with pornography that deals on a violent level with sexuality is that once you become addicted to it . . . I would keep looking for more potent, more explicit, more graphic kinds of materials.

Like an addiction, you keep craving something that is harder, harder. Something which gives you a greater sense of excitement. Until you reach the point where the pornography only goes so far."

“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.

Recent Articles

What the ‘Average Joe’ Can Do About Porn…and Why CWA Sponsors Capitol Hill Summit on Pornography Penny Nance on Pornography and Women on National Review Online CWA’s Jan LaRue Speaks on Victims of Pornography Porn, the Io-way: University Of Iowa Offers Porn Class CWA’s LaRue Addresses Obscenity Enforcement at Victims of Pornography Summit on Capitol Hill Hyundai Owners Cool to Howard Stern CWA’s LaRue to Speak on Capitol Hill Indicted King of Porn Runs Charity for Needy Kids May is Victims of Pornography Month


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events; Philosophy
KEYWORDS: 1stamendment; aliciario; business; censorship; children; concernedwomen; corruption; fascism; fighting; filth; foramerica; freespeech; garbage; nannystate; perversion; pornography; ronjeremy; schlafly; seka; sexslaves; sextrade; unwadthepanties; vanessadelrio; youth
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To: Bella_Bru
Couldn't resist huh?
I quit commenting on these threads because the only argument one sees from the terminally clueless is "So, you are defending pedophiles, huh?", no matter if the comment was, "Oranges are sour, sometimes".

Makes you wonder who the real freaks are.

41 posted on 05/24/2005 2:06:24 PM PDT by Publius6961 (The most abundant things in the universe are hydrogen, ignorance and stupidity.)
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To: Dallas59

I knew clicking on that link was going to make me feel like an idiot...


42 posted on 05/24/2005 2:06:25 PM PDT by WhistlingPastTheGraveyard ("We'd rather have you dead than incapable" - The Church of Scientology)
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To: CHARLITE

Porn is one of the biggest problems and causer of problems in our society today, largely because so many use the erroneous excuse, "I like it, and it's not harming anyone."

This kind of attitude can only be turned 'round by Jesus.


43 posted on 05/24/2005 2:07:52 PM PDT by k2blader ("A kingdom of conscience ... That is what lies at the end of Crusade.")
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To: Publius6961

No, i couldn't resist on that comment. Saying that a fleeting thought leads to rape is just beyond the pale.


44 posted on 05/24/2005 2:08:04 PM PDT by Bella_Bru (In Mercuristan, such questions are not tolerated.)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum
Do I have that right?

More or less. All rottweilers are dogs, so all dogs must be rottweilers.

45 posted on 05/24/2005 2:08:09 PM PDT by Modernman ("Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made. " -Bismarck)
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To: Blood of Tyrants

Plenty of RINO porn apologists on this thread, as expected. Good to see at least few common sense posters.


46 posted on 05/24/2005 2:08:22 PM PDT by balch3
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To: WhistlingPastTheGraveyard

Well.....Just say no.


47 posted on 05/24/2005 2:08:26 PM PDT by Dallas59 (" I have a great team that is going to beat George W. Bush" John Kerry -2004)
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To: freebilly
I like having real sex

You better not like anything other than male-superior missionary position without barriers, or they'll be coming (so to speak) after you next.

48 posted on 05/24/2005 2:08:43 PM PDT by Larry Lucido
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To: JusPasenThru

I'm all for rounding up sickos who sexually exploit minors, but 'protecting Americans from obscenities' is a bit much. If one adult wants to look at another adult naked, with their consent, in private... I might not care for it, but using resources to prosecute it is a waste.


49 posted on 05/24/2005 2:10:15 PM PDT by MitchellC
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To: Bella_Bru

Paris Hilton is worth drooling over. She is physically repulsive in my book.


50 posted on 05/24/2005 2:11:16 PM PDT by tomahawk (http://tomahawkblog.blogspot.com/)
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Comment #51 Removed by Moderator

To: k2blader

It's easier to ignore the inherent evil in something you enjoy rather than admit you're weak. That's what this is all about.

And I've watched plenty of the stuff. I just refuse to lie to myself about what it is.


52 posted on 05/24/2005 2:11:42 PM PDT by WhistlingPastTheGraveyard ("We'd rather have you dead than incapable" - The Church of Scientology)
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To: Bella_Bru

I meant to say "isn't" worth drooling over.


53 posted on 05/24/2005 2:11:48 PM PDT by tomahawk (http://tomahawkblog.blogspot.com/)
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To: Bella_Bru

I meant to say "isn't" worth drooling over.


54 posted on 05/24/2005 2:12:00 PM PDT by tomahawk (http://tomahawkblog.blogspot.com/)
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To: Strategerist

Did I say that? Did I even INFER that?


55 posted on 05/24/2005 2:12:00 PM PDT by Blood of Tyrants (G-d is not a Republican. But Satan is definitely a Democrat.)
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56 posted on 05/24/2005 2:13:20 PM PDT by evets (God bless President Bush and VP Cheney)
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To: Blood of Tyrants

No, you didn't. Not even close.


57 posted on 05/24/2005 2:13:43 PM PDT by WhistlingPastTheGraveyard ("We'd rather have you dead than incapable" - The Church of Scientology)
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To: Blood of Tyrants

Considering multiple people independently took you to infer that, then I'd say you inferred that.


58 posted on 05/24/2005 2:13:52 PM PDT by Strategerist
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To: Blood of Tyrants
moron jerkKeep bringing on that Christian love.

Yep, I'm a G-d hater. We Jews killed your Jebus, remember?

59 posted on 05/24/2005 2:13:56 PM PDT by Bella_Bru (In Mercuristan, such questions are not tolerated.)
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To: WhistlingPastTheGraveyard
I just refuse to lie to myself about what it is.

Don't be coy. 'What is it?'

60 posted on 05/24/2005 2:14:02 PM PDT by AntiGuv (™)
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