Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!lll-crg!nike!sri-spam!sri-unix!salem
From: salem@sri-unix.ARPA (Bruce B. Salem)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.misc,net.legal
Subject: Re: pornography privacy Mahoney
Message-ID: <120@sri-unix.ARPA>
Date: Thu, 11-Sep-86 16:44:58 EDT
Article-I.D.: sri-unix.120
Posted: Thu Sep 11 16:44:58 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 11-Sep-86 21:54:54 EDT
References: <665@mit-vax.UUCP>
Reply-To: salem@sri-unix.UUCP (Bruce B. Salem)
Organization: SRI, Menlo Park, CA.
Lines: 22
Keywords: fasten your seat belts
Xref: mnetor talk.politics.misc:39 net.legal:3513


   The catch in Mr. Mahoney's remark, with which I agree, is  the
notion that a crime is the fault of the person who does it. For a long
time people with liberal politics have argued that social forces cause
crime, and that if we clean up a person's environment, he does not
commit the crime. The Meese Comission has tried to use this argument,
but on behalf of people who think liberal causes have gotten out of
hand. If we had not been making excuses for criminals in the first
place, maybe the Commission wouldn't have met. Sex Offenders would
have gone to jail under existing law, as they will anyway. That is
NOT to say that the anti-porn people wouldn't have been raising hell,
but they wouldn't have got to such a prestigious forum.
   In saying this, I believe that the Meese Commission had little
credibility for objectivity from before the day it released its report,
nor can I see that it has had any lasting effect beside causing debates
like this one.


Bruce Salem


(default disclaimers)