This is in regard to two stories: Edward Oser’s piece (“Porn star Ron Jeremy visits local adult store” ODE Jan. 8) and Calvin Hall’s piece (“Adult store, preacher face off in court” ODE Jan. 24). I am continually put off by the fact that your paper runs ads for adult stores, let alone the fact that you actually had one of your writers cover the visit of a porn star. But much to my relief you covered the issue of someone protesting pornography.
In Oser’s piece, he hardly touched on the fact that pornography exploits women, and in all likelihood doesn’t care. Hall, on the other hand, says how it is damaging, in summing up why Jack Wilcoxson is protesting. There is an entire book on the subject. In 2005, author Pamela Paul wrote “Pornified: How Pornography is Destroying Our Lives, Our Relationships, and Our Families.” In her book she interviewed both users and nonusers of pornography. One user actually compared women in porn to ice cream and how they are just the right product for him to pick off the shelf.
In 2003, a study showed that 47 percent of families said pornography was a problem in their home, and another said that the Internet was a significant factor in two of three divorces. Pornography is also a leading cause of rape. More than 70 percent of convicted rapists admitted to usage of pornography. Pornography also often invokes the “rape theory,” which is that when a woman says “no” she means “yes.” Users also develop unrealistic views of sex and unrealistic expectations for sex and women, ultimately leading to what they believe is an unsatisfying sexual life, and that is where it can result in rape. These are just a few of the shocking, disturbing and frightening statistics of what pornography leads to.
Wilcoxson does not seem to be pressing the religious aspect on the owner and customers
of adult shops, but rather the moral issue of it. And before I get labeled as a conservative Christian as some might label Wilcoxson, I am not. I do not attend church, or believe in any sort of religion. In addition, I am a very liberal Democrat. The issue of pornography is not a free speech issue, it’s an issue of morals, values and lives. And the question is what good does pornography do? Obviously, the answer is none.
Janey Ellis | University student