I don't think people do it because they can't do anything else anymore (or come from disturbed family backgrounds), I think its more of a choice now.
So what's the attitude? It's a 3 billion dollar industry, obviously in demand and very accessible to the point where some people are actually getting addicted. I think i've mentioned this before, but theres AA type programs for this type of addiction
Besides that, its still the elephant in the room.
As for child porn, its common everywhere...theres supposedly millions of child pornographic pictures circulating the internet every day, according to Lisa Ling (my absolute favorite journalist evarrr)
I am not sure why you guys have made it into an East vs West issue!
Pornography occurs everywhere. And it is considered immoral,dehumanizing, taboo in all the societies. The difference lies that in the US and some of the European countries, it has been legalized. That is the issue i want to explore.
I totally agree with you Aish. It appears to be becoming more of a choice now
Just curious, where do you see this industry headed in a few years from now? Will the child porn too become a normality?
Hey All,
I have been exploring this issue for last few days and the more you read, the more complex it gets!
I watched the movie “People VS Larry Flynt” and I Hated it! The Director portrayed Larry Flynt as some kind of a saint who has just been misunderstood by people all his life Never once, did the director bother to consider the consequences his business produced on the american society and his employees/artists.
Yes, this pecisely is the reason why it is legal in US, Australia and some european countries.
But there is such a thin line between the legal and exploitation side of things. Along the similar argument, one might say legalize drugs. What then?
I totally agree with you Aish. It appears to be becoming more of a choice now :(
Just curious, where do you see this industry headed in a few years from now? Will the child porn too become a normality?
I don't think the child thing will ever be "normal"...like never ever ever. It's on strict watch here in the US and other places too, I'm sure. Child marriages are a different story. But as far as adult stuff goes, I'm not sure. There's increasing awareness but at the same time its a huge industry and I don't think it's gonna die down anytime soon
Yes, this pecisely is the reason why it is legal in US, Australia and some european countries.
But there is such a thin line between the legal and exploitation side of things. Along the similar argument, one might say legalize drugs. What then?
I won't go too much into the idea of legalising drugs as that will just split the thread however as you've asked I'll answer your question as someone who has previously been effected by drugs in their community.
Personally I would never ever ever support the legalising of drugs such as crack cocaine, E and so on. Why? The brutual honest truth? More people die from the misuse of drugs/overdosing than watching porn. There I've said it. The truth is yes there is exploitation going on, possibly of young girls entering the industry, however there is a lot of laws to protect people too who enter the industry. How wouldyou govern the underworld drug dealers/manufacturers-no government could be expected to do that without spending millions on the idea, millions quite frankly that money is best spent on things like developing cancer treatment.
As a lot of drugs (if not all) are illegal there is no protection for anyone and to be quite honest it would be hard to govern a drugs world by making it legal. The amount of drugs that are 'cut' with things like chemical/rodent killer is very high hence the price drop in drugs resulting in the shock increase of drug taking/common knowledge amongst a lot of youngsters on where to get drugs.
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where do you see this industry headed in a few years from now? Will the child porn too become a normality?
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I don't think so either. I think the majority of people are clear about the difference between things which are 'offensive' - which vary from one person to another and change over time - and things which are exploitative/harmful/dehumanising/cruel etc., the boundaries of which seem to actually be getting tighter in terms of law. The 'west' is becoming LESS tolerant of the latter, especially as it's not as easy to ignore any more. In the US there is a huge religious revival going on which could even result in tougher laws.
I don't think porn will ever go away though, or not while people demand it and can make money from it. You can change the law but it's hard to change the way people think and behave.
FYI, this is often mis-quoted and I think the original sources are much nearer the truth:
Geoffrey Chaucer said "Greed [or desire for gain] is the root of all evil" - often Latin phrase used = Radix malorum est cupiditas "
This was based on the Bible, 1 Timothy 6:10, "For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows."
Mark Twain (and George Bernard Shaw) said: "Lack of money is the root of all evil."
I.e. it's not money that's the problem per se, it's what people will do to get it.
The only worry I have about porn is that now that it is so accessible to new markets due to the internet, the expectations of people when they get into relationships is all messed up.
Like your average guy from the village in Pak will expect his wife to do all sorts of things - because he saw it on the internet.
And that will only dehumanise woen in the long run
^I kind-of agree with your Paijee although I'm not aware of anyone I know who is married in the West (where said Porn is readily available) having an issue with their husbands accessing porns and wanting to recreate them in their bedrooms (the women I know wouldn't discuss this so openly but would ask for advice for 'a friend'-if that makes sense).
Self control, self respect and a knowledge of religion is what is needed to keep away from such things and if in a village these things are not in place then we're doomed on many levels as there are many evils available online.
I'm not saying its as big a problem as some of the other things going on, but it's still a problem, you can't just shrug it off like eh...whatever. It has a way of creeping into marriages, especially when the women say "I can't compete with her, she's a pornstar"
nobody ever really talks about this subject cause its taboo, but from what i've seen going on around me, it does put a strain on the relationship. The only reason I'm so openly saying this is because I've seen it happen to people....but yeah...
Never once, did the director bother to consider the consequences his business produced on the american society and his employees/artists.