Name: Biting Beaver 2006-08-02 13:07
You know, there are times when I grow tired. Times when it seems that there is little to be done for my sisters who so desperately wish that men would stop hating them.
I awoke this morning at 6:00 am and saw, in my email, a newsletter from a wonderful activist regarding the No Porn Pledge. The No Porn Pledge is a website that I have signed as well as many others, it is a voluntary pledge you sign in which you agree not to use pornography. This is not a website that speaks of legislation or even political rallying, it is simply a website for people who do not wish to use pornography to show their stance by signing a pledge.
It was hacked on Friday by a forum/blog for aficionados of anime, hentai and general pornography. The name of the site responsible is 4chan.org.
We oftentimes hear porn apologists going on about their rights to free speech, but where was the right to free speech for the No Porn Pledge site? A site which has no political affiliations, no desire to legislate against pornography and no wish to do anything other than allow like minded people to sign the same pledge. They replaced the many signatures the site had amassed with penis and vagina photos. They also placed sentiments such as "Irapekids" and "Ifuckedacow" on the site amoung others.
This site meant to do nothing other than offer anti-porn people a place where they can sign a pledge and in that way 'state' their beliefs once and for all and yet, it was still too much of a threat for the porn apologists at 4chan.org.
It brings into sharp focus the recent influx of trolls I have received. Indeed, as many of you have no doubt noticed, I have been very quiet as of late. Part of this is simply because I am frustrated and angry.
Last week I was in contact with a reader who pointed me to a forum at which she had been discussing pornography. She sent me an email and provided a link to the board. She wished to know if I had some statistics etc. to help her in her debate on the message board. I followed the link to the boards and read the thread.
As many of you know I generally tend to stay here, on my own site, or other sites that are friendly to an anti-pornography mindset. I've argued before with pro-porn folks and since I value my sanity and am not a big lover of masochism I simply don't even bother anymore. However, this debate appeared to be rather civil and so I joined the boards and posted several fairly neutral posts. At the point in the thread where I posted there was a demand for proof about the harms of pornography. I posted proof in the form of studies, numbers, and other such statistics that I have amassed through the years. At no time was I nasty (well, ok, I pushed the bounds of civility towards the end because I was frustrated). I didn't curse, I didn't insult, I didn't degrade the users of the forum. All I did was post numbers and ask questions in a debate that I assumed (wrongly so it would seem) was rather civil and friendly.
However, it became clear that when faced with numbers and so forth the pro-porn crowd became very angry with me. I bowed out of the discussion entirely after several posts that were becoming more and more hostile and I came back here, to The Den.
That afternoon the comment spam started and it hasn’t really stopped. It seems that even in posting numbers and studies I have threatened the porn-apologists from this board entirely too much. Since then I have been busy logging and deleting comments ranging from, "Just because you're a dyke doesn't mean you have to hate men" all the way down to such witty responses as "You are such an obnoxious cunt".
Which brings me to the point of this post: Free Speech.
Free Speech is the rallying cry of the pornographers and their fans. Free Speech is what they indignantly scream at us when we point to the hatred and raw misogyny in their preferred jerk-off medium. They point and scream "Free Speech!" and yet, they believe it just as much as many hard-core bible thumping Christians believe in an afterlife (which is to say they don't *wink*)
I post that pornography causes men to dislike, be apathetic towards and indeed even hate women and I am laughed at and ridiculed and then I'm followed home where I am greeted by such woman loving sentiments as "Cunt", "Bitch", and "Stupid dyke". The tragic irony does not escape me.
If you believe that porn-apologists are simple believers in Free Speech then I want to debase you of that notion right now. Porn apologists fly the banner of Free Speech but only really believe in it as it pertains to them. The Free Speech argument is a farce which they hide behind while secretly they are just too terrified to face the fact that they get off to something that causes recognizable and documented harm.
The people who launched an attack on the No Porn Pledge site were no advocates of free speech, they were frightened children who were caught pulling the cats tail and told that this is a bad thing. They were so threatened by people voluntarily putting their names on a list that they had to take action to make it stop. The simple act of people speaking out to sign a pledge was too terrifying for them to handle. Now mind you, this wasn’t a group of radical womyn who were launching an all out war on pornography. This wasn’t a group of hard-core activists throwing Molotov cocktails into the windows of porn shops (although wow, that would be a good time! *grin*), no, this site was simply a space where normal, everyday folks could come together and show their solidarity in standing firm against pornography. It was simply a space where people promised to not look at porn, where they came voluntarily and signed their names.
Likewise the people who came here to leave me comment spam because I was uppity enough to post facts, figures and studies were also scared. They acted as scared little boys who were chided by their mother. Why is it so easy to incur the seemingly endless wrath, rage, and misogyny presented so vehemently by porn apologists? I posit that it has everything to do with the fact that, on some level, probably closer to the surface than one would think they understand the images for what they are: Woman hating.
The reaction mimics, almost completely, the reaction I have gotten from my kids when I 'catch' them doing something that is bad but which they enjoy immensely.
The reaction of the porn-crowd to the slightest perceived provocation gives them away. It is a fear reaction, one which is driven by shame.
After I left the site I watched it for a few minutes while the bashing of my character, credibility and so forth began. I watched as the people on that message board began touting the now familiar lines of "She just hates men" and, "Obviously she's just had some shitty relationships and can't see clearly" and so on and so forth. After about 20 minutes of watching I shook my head sadly and clicked the X to make it disappear.
The No Porn Pledge site was hacked by people who advocate hentai pornography. The fact that people existed who believed that pornography is dangerous and misogynist terrified them to the point that they felt the need to illegally hack a site where people could sign a pledge. Their hatred it not surprising. The fact that they left messages such as "Irapekids" and "Ifuckedacow" is the textbook defensive stance that all porn apologists appear to have.
When it comes to pornography there is no such thing as a civil debate. They are far too invested in the outcome to remain civil and unaffected. If porn is bad and if the numbers are right then what does that make them? Telling someone that their porn isn't, in fact, all peaches and cream will instantly make you subject to ridicule and rage which is steeped in guilt and fear.
Free Speech is truly an anathema to these folks, they believe in Free Speech only for the hatred of women.
The next time they begin saying how they love Free Speech show them the example of the No Porn Pledge site which has to be recreated and reorganized. Understand that there is no such thing as a civil debate with most of these folks; they simply have too much invested in it. Anyone stating that porn is a 'bad thing' is looked upon with suspicion and fear because they challenge the mindset of what the apologists may already know is a harmful thing to women. This fear is oftentimes driven by guilt. The porn-apologists are well aware that we do not have the power to make pornography illegal yet their fear is still palpable. It is not legal repercussions they fear, it is not that they fear that we will be able to actually do anything to take it away from them, it is the guilt and the knowledge that resides within them that they fear.
Remember this the next time you're talking to someone about pornography. Remember that many of them have far more to lose than you or I believe they do. Remember that they will oftentimes become nasty, argumentative and just plain cruel when you challenge their ideas of right and wrong. Many of these folks have a very vested interest in being a 'good person' and you stir something which lives very close to the surface when you begin to tell them that porn is dangerous and misogynist. You stir up what they know to be true but as anyone who is doing something they like they will fight you because to 'beat' you is to prove to themselves that they were right.
Porn-apologists believe only in their 'right' to degrade, harm and cause harm to women. They cloak this right in 'Free Speech' while simultaneously having no concept of what Free Speech actually entails.
You know, in the Christian faith there exists many who like to tell us of heaven. They like to tell us how wonderful and amazing and peaceful heaven is. Sometimes this concept of heaven becomes little more than a rallying cry and their words of "Know God and Know Heaven" become rather empty. This becomes apparent when we look at the actions of some of these folks. If these people, who purport to believe with all their heart and soul in heaven, actually believed it then why do they fall to pieces over an abortion? Why do they fight to keep brain dead people alive? Why do they fight, tooth and nail, against death of any sort? Why does it scare them so? If heaven and the concept of an afterlife with eternal peace, tranquility and serenity have really been integrated into their belief system then why do they not recognize that death is a gift rather than a sentence?
We see this same phenomenon with the pro-porn crowd, particularly among those who scream "Free Speech!" loud enough to drown out even the most hardened protester. They go on and on about the sacred nature of Free Speech they threaten you with fascism, calling you Hitler and likening you to Big Brother and yet, if the concept of Free Speech was as deeply imbedded as they wish you to believe it is then there would be no 'retaliation' for hosting a site that collects signatures of people who voluntarily wish to say that they opt out of pornography. If Free Speech was the true crux upon which they stand then we wouldn't see the sort of backlash that we do now. If Free Speech were that important to them then they would wish it for everyone. Not just the misogynists and the pornographers.
They believe in Free Speech as a banner, not a belief.
~BB
http://bitingbeaver.blogspot.com/2006/08/free-speech-and-no-porn-pledge.html
I awoke this morning at 6:00 am and saw, in my email, a newsletter from a wonderful activist regarding the No Porn Pledge. The No Porn Pledge is a website that I have signed as well as many others, it is a voluntary pledge you sign in which you agree not to use pornography. This is not a website that speaks of legislation or even political rallying, it is simply a website for people who do not wish to use pornography to show their stance by signing a pledge.
It was hacked on Friday by a forum/blog for aficionados of anime, hentai and general pornography. The name of the site responsible is 4chan.org.
We oftentimes hear porn apologists going on about their rights to free speech, but where was the right to free speech for the No Porn Pledge site? A site which has no political affiliations, no desire to legislate against pornography and no wish to do anything other than allow like minded people to sign the same pledge. They replaced the many signatures the site had amassed with penis and vagina photos. They also placed sentiments such as "Irapekids" and "Ifuckedacow" on the site amoung others.
This site meant to do nothing other than offer anti-porn people a place where they can sign a pledge and in that way 'state' their beliefs once and for all and yet, it was still too much of a threat for the porn apologists at 4chan.org.
It brings into sharp focus the recent influx of trolls I have received. Indeed, as many of you have no doubt noticed, I have been very quiet as of late. Part of this is simply because I am frustrated and angry.
Last week I was in contact with a reader who pointed me to a forum at which she had been discussing pornography. She sent me an email and provided a link to the board. She wished to know if I had some statistics etc. to help her in her debate on the message board. I followed the link to the boards and read the thread.
As many of you know I generally tend to stay here, on my own site, or other sites that are friendly to an anti-pornography mindset. I've argued before with pro-porn folks and since I value my sanity and am not a big lover of masochism I simply don't even bother anymore. However, this debate appeared to be rather civil and so I joined the boards and posted several fairly neutral posts. At the point in the thread where I posted there was a demand for proof about the harms of pornography. I posted proof in the form of studies, numbers, and other such statistics that I have amassed through the years. At no time was I nasty (well, ok, I pushed the bounds of civility towards the end because I was frustrated). I didn't curse, I didn't insult, I didn't degrade the users of the forum. All I did was post numbers and ask questions in a debate that I assumed (wrongly so it would seem) was rather civil and friendly.
However, it became clear that when faced with numbers and so forth the pro-porn crowd became very angry with me. I bowed out of the discussion entirely after several posts that were becoming more and more hostile and I came back here, to The Den.
That afternoon the comment spam started and it hasn’t really stopped. It seems that even in posting numbers and studies I have threatened the porn-apologists from this board entirely too much. Since then I have been busy logging and deleting comments ranging from, "Just because you're a dyke doesn't mean you have to hate men" all the way down to such witty responses as "You are such an obnoxious cunt".
Which brings me to the point of this post: Free Speech.
Free Speech is the rallying cry of the pornographers and their fans. Free Speech is what they indignantly scream at us when we point to the hatred and raw misogyny in their preferred jerk-off medium. They point and scream "Free Speech!" and yet, they believe it just as much as many hard-core bible thumping Christians believe in an afterlife (which is to say they don't *wink*)
I post that pornography causes men to dislike, be apathetic towards and indeed even hate women and I am laughed at and ridiculed and then I'm followed home where I am greeted by such woman loving sentiments as "Cunt", "Bitch", and "Stupid dyke". The tragic irony does not escape me.
If you believe that porn-apologists are simple believers in Free Speech then I want to debase you of that notion right now. Porn apologists fly the banner of Free Speech but only really believe in it as it pertains to them. The Free Speech argument is a farce which they hide behind while secretly they are just too terrified to face the fact that they get off to something that causes recognizable and documented harm.
The people who launched an attack on the No Porn Pledge site were no advocates of free speech, they were frightened children who were caught pulling the cats tail and told that this is a bad thing. They were so threatened by people voluntarily putting their names on a list that they had to take action to make it stop. The simple act of people speaking out to sign a pledge was too terrifying for them to handle. Now mind you, this wasn’t a group of radical womyn who were launching an all out war on pornography. This wasn’t a group of hard-core activists throwing Molotov cocktails into the windows of porn shops (although wow, that would be a good time! *grin*), no, this site was simply a space where normal, everyday folks could come together and show their solidarity in standing firm against pornography. It was simply a space where people promised to not look at porn, where they came voluntarily and signed their names.
Likewise the people who came here to leave me comment spam because I was uppity enough to post facts, figures and studies were also scared. They acted as scared little boys who were chided by their mother. Why is it so easy to incur the seemingly endless wrath, rage, and misogyny presented so vehemently by porn apologists? I posit that it has everything to do with the fact that, on some level, probably closer to the surface than one would think they understand the images for what they are: Woman hating.
The reaction mimics, almost completely, the reaction I have gotten from my kids when I 'catch' them doing something that is bad but which they enjoy immensely.
The reaction of the porn-crowd to the slightest perceived provocation gives them away. It is a fear reaction, one which is driven by shame.
After I left the site I watched it for a few minutes while the bashing of my character, credibility and so forth began. I watched as the people on that message board began touting the now familiar lines of "She just hates men" and, "Obviously she's just had some shitty relationships and can't see clearly" and so on and so forth. After about 20 minutes of watching I shook my head sadly and clicked the X to make it disappear.
The No Porn Pledge site was hacked by people who advocate hentai pornography. The fact that people existed who believed that pornography is dangerous and misogynist terrified them to the point that they felt the need to illegally hack a site where people could sign a pledge. Their hatred it not surprising. The fact that they left messages such as "Irapekids" and "Ifuckedacow" is the textbook defensive stance that all porn apologists appear to have.
When it comes to pornography there is no such thing as a civil debate. They are far too invested in the outcome to remain civil and unaffected. If porn is bad and if the numbers are right then what does that make them? Telling someone that their porn isn't, in fact, all peaches and cream will instantly make you subject to ridicule and rage which is steeped in guilt and fear.
Free Speech is truly an anathema to these folks, they believe in Free Speech only for the hatred of women.
The next time they begin saying how they love Free Speech show them the example of the No Porn Pledge site which has to be recreated and reorganized. Understand that there is no such thing as a civil debate with most of these folks; they simply have too much invested in it. Anyone stating that porn is a 'bad thing' is looked upon with suspicion and fear because they challenge the mindset of what the apologists may already know is a harmful thing to women. This fear is oftentimes driven by guilt. The porn-apologists are well aware that we do not have the power to make pornography illegal yet their fear is still palpable. It is not legal repercussions they fear, it is not that they fear that we will be able to actually do anything to take it away from them, it is the guilt and the knowledge that resides within them that they fear.
Remember this the next time you're talking to someone about pornography. Remember that many of them have far more to lose than you or I believe they do. Remember that they will oftentimes become nasty, argumentative and just plain cruel when you challenge their ideas of right and wrong. Many of these folks have a very vested interest in being a 'good person' and you stir something which lives very close to the surface when you begin to tell them that porn is dangerous and misogynist. You stir up what they know to be true but as anyone who is doing something they like they will fight you because to 'beat' you is to prove to themselves that they were right.
Porn-apologists believe only in their 'right' to degrade, harm and cause harm to women. They cloak this right in 'Free Speech' while simultaneously having no concept of what Free Speech actually entails.
You know, in the Christian faith there exists many who like to tell us of heaven. They like to tell us how wonderful and amazing and peaceful heaven is. Sometimes this concept of heaven becomes little more than a rallying cry and their words of "Know God and Know Heaven" become rather empty. This becomes apparent when we look at the actions of some of these folks. If these people, who purport to believe with all their heart and soul in heaven, actually believed it then why do they fall to pieces over an abortion? Why do they fight to keep brain dead people alive? Why do they fight, tooth and nail, against death of any sort? Why does it scare them so? If heaven and the concept of an afterlife with eternal peace, tranquility and serenity have really been integrated into their belief system then why do they not recognize that death is a gift rather than a sentence?
We see this same phenomenon with the pro-porn crowd, particularly among those who scream "Free Speech!" loud enough to drown out even the most hardened protester. They go on and on about the sacred nature of Free Speech they threaten you with fascism, calling you Hitler and likening you to Big Brother and yet, if the concept of Free Speech was as deeply imbedded as they wish you to believe it is then there would be no 'retaliation' for hosting a site that collects signatures of people who voluntarily wish to say that they opt out of pornography. If Free Speech was the true crux upon which they stand then we wouldn't see the sort of backlash that we do now. If Free Speech were that important to them then they would wish it for everyone. Not just the misogynists and the pornographers.
They believe in Free Speech as a banner, not a belief.
~BB
http://bitingbeaver.blogspot.com/2006/08/free-speech-and-no-porn-pledge.html