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From: nazgul@apollo.uucp (Kee Hinckley)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.misc,net.legal,net.singles
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Attorney General's Commission on Pornography
Message-ID: <30210c17.46@apollo.uucp>
Date: Mon, 15-Sep-86 18:20:52 EDT
Article-I.D.: apollo.30210c17.46
Posted: Mon Sep 15 18:20:52 1986
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Reply-To: nazgul@apollo.UUCP (Kee Hinckley)
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Organization: Apollo Computer, Chelmsford, MA
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Xref: mnetor talk.politics.misc:134 net.legal:3577 net.singles:10363

I think it would be greatly appreciated (by me if no one else!) if we 
could limit the pornography discussion to the alleged effects (or is
that affects, I can never keep them straigh) of things OTHER THAN:

    o   Depictions of violence (eg. rape, torture, etc.)
        (Bondage is of course borderline, but let's not fuzzy up
        the picture with it for now.)*

    o   Depictions of sexual acts with [apparent] minors.

I don't think that there is too much (ie. any more than usual) disagreement
that those two subjects do not have potentially bad effects.

Given the exclusion of those topics, is there any meat to any of the
Meese Commission's findings, or anyone elses?

There are different kinds of pornography, even the Meese commission saw
that, although they had a great deal of trouble defining them.  There
are reliable studies indicating a connection between violent porn and
violence in viewers.  But the key word is 'violent', not 'porn'.

                                                     -kee

*  I call bondage borderline because it (as with some S&M) doesn't
   imply violence or non-consenting adults.  It could be presented
   in a way that made it clear that the participants were willingly
   involved.  I suspect that such a presentation would not have
   the same impact that might be found in more violent porn.


--

            ...{mit-eddie,yale,uw-beaver,decvax!wanginst}!apollo!nazgul
               Apollo Computer, Chelmsford MA.  (617) 256-6600 x7587
                   or 499B Boston Rd, Groton MA. (617) 448-2863

I'm not sure which upsets me more; that people are so unwilling to accept
responsibility for their own actions, or that they are so eager to regulate
everyone else's.