Yes, we know.

I'm not comfortable being controversial and my last post was my first real foray into strong opinion and divisive topic. It's making me squirm, and brace myself every time I log onto my computer. Not only that, people are talking to me in PERSON about the blog, and they make good points. Here are some of them that have come up conversationally (since now the topic of porn is taking over my life)

1. What about “Ladies' Porn” a.k.a. Romance and Erotica novels? Are you pissy about those too? (from a near, dear, and unnamed source)

Er. *blush* Ok. Somehow romance writing and erotica just seem less tacky (but I know that makes no sense). In fact,  if they work to get the ladies in the mood, I've not heard too many dudes/husbands complaining. But, it's a good point. It just seems more private and less…erm. “In your face” than visual porn. Opinions?

2. Porn is big business. It's driving a depressed economy on a global scale. What would we replace it with?

Yes, yes it is. Porn brings jobs to young, hot, poor ‘actors', videographers, computer people, ‘directors', and believe it or not some writer writes scripts involving pirates, Tinkerbell and Mongolian hordes. What would we replace this cash cow with?

You know what, I got NO IDEA.

3. Your blog implied everyone who watches porn may turn into a violent sex offender.

Citations and debates later, I stand corrected. I will say there's a strong CORRELATION between porn and sexually violent crime- how it got there and which came first is tough to study for obvious reasons.

4. What about REAL problems in society, like drugs, violence, the economy, global warming, the failure of the education system and the rise of the Republicans? Why are you picking on our porn, one of our few “happy places” that doesn't hurt anybody?

There's a lot of what they call “victimless crime” out there, like prostitution and drug use. I contend it's actually not victimless–the victims are all around. They're family members, children, and participants on both sides. What little girl grows up and says, “I want to be a hooker or a porn star when I grow up” or little boy says, “I want to have to pay for sex”?

Really? There are no victims here? As to why I'm picking on porn–it's easier to pick on than some other things that also frighten and irritate me, and are scary. answerless, powerless conundrums: BP starting drilling again  (NO!) at the same time as the crazy price of gas (again, NO!)*pulls hair*

Porn is more fun to pick on, honestly.

You don't think this guy's kids, his exes, even these 'goddesses,' aren't paying some kind of price for his choices?

5. Porn is driving the expansion of the Internet! Porn is freedom of speech in a language the world understands. Porn is progress!

Yes, yes, and a most dubious yes. What kind of progress though? That's what I'm worried about! See other blog.

6. Porn can be educational! How else are young people going to learn how to “do it”?

Somehow the human race functioned for millions of years with very little porn and we figured out how to have sex, and pretty darn well too if Shakespeare, Song of Solomon and the Kama Sutra are anything to go by. Yes, it's educational all right, but is it a good education? Do we really know how to have sex and please each other from watching some porn? Doubtful at best, though you'll doubtless see things you might never have thought of on your own. *smiley emoticon*

One commenter who sent their comment on email said it this way:

“The kamasutra, the Greeks, the Chinese and so on had pretty racy stuff to them but ho-hum to us (nowadays).  We've become inured to it I think.  Wouldn't it be nice to go back to simpler “porn”, but it is not to be.  I wonder if people understand the difference between eroticism and porn?  Erotic literature, movies, photography etc is a whole nuther issue and lots of fun in my opinion.  Most people survive all the negative crap out there, except when they don't survive it.”

Even cats like porn. It must be okay!

7. Porn is not harmful in small doses. Many people can recreationally use porn to enhance their lives and don't become addicted, divorced lonely people with a squirt bottle of lube OR violent sex offenders. (implied: “You're a judgmental prude!”)

To this I say, maybe. People can also smoke a few cigarettes, and some of them don't get addicted and can stop, and it enhances their lives. Some people can drink and not become alcoholics, and some people can smoke a little grass and not get any harder in drug use.

I want to return to the simile I floated in my other blog, that of arsenic.

Arsenic has a “beneficial” beauty effect in small doses, it was used by Victorian women in a paste with chalk to enhance their skin. It was used for 2400 years in Chinese medicine, and was also used to treat syphilis until the discovery of penicillin. It's the length of time used, the strength of the formula, the amount, that make it toxic.

These early medical pioneers may or may not have paid the ultimate price, (a citation would be good here but I'm too lazy) but nowadays no one uses arsenic for health benefits. There will be a time when we as a human collective look at this phase of our history and go, “What were we thinking?” with a collective head-slap.

At least I hope so.

This topic has been very stimulating to explore, and it's just that exploration, getting people thinking and talking, that helps us grow and change. Weigh in on any and all of the points, and who knows you might get me to cede a point or two!

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