All right, who e-mailed "Two Girls and a Cup" to Rick Santorum?
His campaign website talks about his commitment to "vigorously enforcing" obscenity laws:
America is suffering a pandemic of harm from pornography. A wealth of research is now available demonstrating that pornography causes profound brain changes in both children and adults, resulting in widespread negative consequences. Addiction to pornography is now common for adults and even for some children. The average age of first exposure to hard-core, Internet pornography is now 11. Pornography is toxic to marriages and relationships. It contributes to misogyny and violence against women. It is a contributing factor to prostitution and sex trafficking.
Every family must now be concerned about the harm from pornography. As a parent, I am concerned about the widespread distribution of illegal obscene pornography and its profound effects on our culture.
For many decades, the American public has actively petitioned the United States Congress for laws prohibiting distribution of hard-core adult pornography.
I dunno. I'm part of the American public that has never gotten especially riled up over porn. I have real problems with some of the business end of porn and the exploitative nature of it on one hand, but the actual product usually strikes me as more quaint, occasionally fantastic (in the "that shit doesn't happen" sense) and tacky than actively harmful. I've always had an issue with with obscenity laws per se because of the kind of abstract, nebulous, "know it when I see it" nature of the "community standards" basis of what constitutes obscenity. Even within a community, standards can vary. I remember the full-scale freak-out some people experienced in this country over about five seconds of naked aureole during a sports entertainment intermission, whereas my first husband and I made up our minds to never buy porn videos if the jacket was in a language neither of us was especially proficient in only after one of our selections turned out a bit too involved. Reading subtitles--it just gets in the way.
Not everyone watches for the plots. I get that.
Anyhow, I just get the impression that Santorum's version of "obscenity" involves folks talking about separation of church and state too passionately, if you know what I mean. It plays well among the social conservatives, to an extent, but a lot of people like porn. My former senator, he is so awkward.
(Oh, the video--that's just cute. Also, I only bring the porn issue up because it irritates conservatives, apparently. Also, I couldn't let the title go to waste. And reading about Santorum decrying misogyny is fascinating.)
2 comments:
I eagerly await the response to Santorum proclaiming his intentions to wipe out pornography at the Republican Convention in Tampa this summer. Tampa being the acknowledged lap-dance capital of the US.
And - is that sound coming from the turtle or the shoe? If it's coming from the turtle it makes me sad....
Santorum just wants to cut into Romney's war chest.
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