Ashkkkroft
I guess my status as a consumer and sometimes publisher of porn requires me to talk about John Ashcroft's crusade against porn.In general, I think he's a good man. Despite the image often portrayed in the media and by the democrats, he's not a racist. Also, I don't think he has "trampled" the bill of rights in his response to terrorism. Unless you want to suggest that the great liberal icon FDR was twice the fascist Ashcroft is (detaining innocent Japanese Americans in camps!), then you should just get over using overheated, indefensible language.
I do think Ashcroft is grossly out of step with most Americans in his day-to-day life. For religious reasons he does not dance, drink alcohol, or consume caffeine. He covered statues in the Justice Department that showed nudity. Yeah, he's a nob. But I don't think he's evil.
Now he's aggressively going after porn. What the Bush administration needs to realize is that a lot has changed in the last 5 years.
I had never owned a piece of pornography in my life until I purchased a Playboy in 1994-5 with a Drew Barrymore spread in it because I had a little crush on her at the time. Friends of mine might remember that period. I was not anti-porn, but because I did not own it or use it in any way, I didn't really care if people railed against it.
In fact, I tended to believe the women's groups who suggested that porn is related to violence against women and deviancy.
Maybe that was true in the past. Think about it, in the past it was relatively hard to get porn. The only people who would go through all the trouble to get a hold of a reel to reel projector, drive to the edge of town to rent a flick, and set it up in their basement, ...well those people were not "normal". Batchelor parties aside.
Nowadays, porn is so common that I'm convinced it's a daily part of life for many people, myself included. It's easy to get, so more people will seek it out. That makes sense.
But that means that a whole new population is partaking in it and the old myths no longer hold up.
The world has changed. Porn is ubiquitous, but violence against women is on the decline.
So, someone should reign in Mr. Ashcroft. He's certainly welcome to live in the 20th century, ...but he might be surprised to get resistance when he tries to drag the rest of us back with him.
In that spirit, check this out.
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