August 1,
2007
Column #1,353
Advance for Aug. 4 2007
You, Too Can Fight Pornography
by Mike McManus
Robert Peters, President of Morality in Media, recently wrote a letter to J.W.
"Bill" Marriot Jr., a prominent Mormon, to protest the availability of hardcore
pornography in Marriott Hotels. If more of us would follow his example, there
would be less pornography.
He wrote that he avoided staying at Marriott Hotels, "despite their quality and
affordability, because Marriott Hotels is a major distributor of hardcore
pornography on its pay-TV channels." However, in visiting a family member, she
reserved a Marriott room.
While checking in, he noticed that four types of movies were available: Comedy,
Drama, Action and Adventure. "Hallelujah," he thought, "no porn." He made a
mental note to write Bill Marriott to thank him.
However, before checking out, he clicked on "Menu Options." There he found not
only a link to "Hollywood Movies" but also an "Adults Only" link touting such
titles as "Horny Housewife Auditions," etc.
Peters wrote, "You should be aware that distribution of such materials
contributes to the breakup of marriages, to prostitution, to sexual assaults
against both children and adults, to the spread of sexually transmitted diseases
and to the erosion of decency.
"You should also be aware that in the 1973 "Miller v. California" obscenity case
the Supreme Court said that persons who traffic in materials that `depict or
describe patently offensive `hardcore' sexual conduct are `subject to
prosecution for the sale or exposure of obscene materials.'"
Ironically, Morality in Media once gave an award to Bill Marriott's father for
his efforts to fight pornography. His son, however, decided to accept the income
that porn channels pay. Similarly, General Motors, whose car sales have
faltered, has a new revenue stream from its Direct TV that carries obscenity.
Therefore, Peters warned Marriott, "Morality In Media is of the opinion that a
criminal prosecution of a `mainstream' corporation that is in the business of
distributing hardcore pornography is long overdue."
To drive his point home, Robert Peters released his letter to the press last
week.
A Marriott PR man called Peters to say that the decision was a corporate one,
not a personal decision by Bill Marriott. Nonsense. Surely he has influence.
What if readers of this column added their voices by writing Bill Marriott
(Marriott Drive, Washington DC 20058)? You could say, as did Peters:
"It is my earnest hope that even after so many years of ignoring complaints
about the sale of pornography in your hotels, you will yet do the right thing
for your family, church and nation." Any loss of customers addicted to
pornography "will be more than offset by the gain in customers who want to stay
in nice but also pornography free hotels." You could pledge to stay in porn-free
Best Western Hotels.
The good news is that every state and the federal government have laws to
protect the public against this filth. The sad news is that so few citizens
complain that prosecutors concentrate their energies on other crimes.
In 1986 U.S. Attorney General Ed Meese released his "Final Report of the
Attorney General's Commission on Pornography." As one of few reporters covering
its hearings, I wrote columns about the Commission's difficulty in coming to any
conclusion.
The Commission had only four conservatives (Dr. James Dobson), three liberals
(Ellen Levine, then editor Woman's Day) and four middle-of-the-roaders. At one
point, the Commission voted 5-4 that the graphic material was "not harmful" to
families.
Stunned, I wrote a column noting the "Commission could not agree if it was
harmful, for example, for films to depict graphic portrayals of fornication, of
orgies involving a number of men and women, of homosexuals doing fellatio on one
another, or of incest."
I provided the names and addresses of the "libertarians" and suggested that
readers note that "Alaska and Nevada residents buy five times as many porn
magazines as North Dakota, and have a rape rate six times higher. More
coincidence? Nonsense," I argued. "An FBI study of 37 murderers confessing
multiple killings found 29 used hardcore and soft-core porn to fuel their
anticipatory fantasy."
That column sparked 1,000 letters, according to the Commission's staff. At the
next Commission meeting, Dr. Park Dietz, a psychiatrist and professor of law at
the University of Virginia, acknowledged the letters prompted him to switch his
vote:
"In the citizen mail, the concerns were overwhelmingly in the direction of
asking us "to do something about the problem." When he voted that the material
was "predominantly harmful" all other liberals and moderates who voted wrong,
switch sides, making it unanimous!
Your letters can make a difference. If you don't complain, you are the problem.
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