Barbara Amiel responds to Steubenville.

[Hyena Dandy]

I was going to post this in the thread on Steubenville, but... Just... Wow.

I normally don't put trigger warnings in forum posts, but... This is just... Like... If there is an article I have read that needs trigger warnings, it is probably this one. She talks about the Steubenville rape, a politician groping a former rival, and

http://www2.macleans.ca/2013/03/23/l...ual-landscape/

I am going to quote Barbara in this post.


On what should have happened in Steubenville, she says

In a normal society, the girl’s mother would have locked her up for a week and all boys present would have been suspended from school and their beloved football team.

On sexual harassment (the phrase)

a term invented in the 1970s that ought to have been strangled at birth.

On sexual harassment (the pinching of a fellow politician's bottom)

Ford allegedly had a lapse of incredibly bad taste and clasped the bottom of Ms. Thomson during a photo lineup at a party.This happened on the eve of International Women’s Day, which Ms. Thomson felt made it all the more degrading for her buttocks.

On child pornography

I always thought rounding up people for what they privately watch on their computers was a stomach-churning breach of civil liberties far more damaging than the private contemplation of squalid pictures.

And in her concluding paragraph, she says she doesn't understand why we're allowed to have premarital relationships, same sex relationships, transgendered relationships, and 50 Shades of Grey, but still care about the 'minor vices' like child pornography.

[lordlundar]

I.. but... how... AARRGGH!

Now see, this is where I'm in favour of firing someone


Out of a cannon



Into orbit.

[protege]

Pardon my French...but fuck that. Fire her into the sun instead

[BlaqueKatt]

And in her concluding paragraph, she says she doesn't understand why we're allowed to have premarital relationships, same sex relationships, transgendered relationships, and 50 Shades of Grey, but still care about the 'minor vices' like child pornography.

What gets me is she's defending the rapists with the "boys will be boys", um no back in high school I got drunk at several parties, worst that happened at most of them was I was put in a bed(room was locked), given a bucket, and checked on every 15-20 minutes, oh and my shoes were filled with shaving cream, by the "teenage boys".

bonus victim blaming

one of the girls ended up sans her clothes, of which there were not many to begin with[talking about her college days in the 60's when sexual assault wasn't talked about due to attitudes], The girls wore more clothes, flip flops had not been popularized and, crucially, no such thing as cellphones and social media existed.

And she forgot, if a female was sexually assaulted, she didn't dare report it or she'd be run out of town on a rail for being a slut.

And apparently in her world, rape isn't "sticking a finger in a girl's vagina", and grabbing someone's butt isn't "sexual assault"(apparently in today's "sexualized society" those are the new form of handshake?). Well golly gee, I guess those are just things we as society should accept, because being more liberal sexually means you no longer have any right to say who touches you, because morals don't exist anymore, or something

Also I think her "child porn is a minor vice", has to do with equating abortion to "society doesn't care about "murdering the unborn" so why does exploiting children bother them". She's trying to pretend that society has degraded to animals in regards to sex(because we don't follow the bible anymore), and somehow she's on the only moral high ground and can't understand the fuss.

This is low Victorianism: quietly murder your unborn child but put dust covers on your computer screen should a child’s photo arouse you. Beats me.

Sanctimonious twat.

[smileyeagle1021]

The one thing I will half way agree with her on is the child porn. The people viewing it on their computers at home really aren't the problem. Do they need help? Oh absolutely and they should get it. But, ultimately, it is the people producing the child porn that are harming the children, they are the ones we should be going after in force. I know there is the argument that if the viewers weren't creating demand, then no one would produce it, but it still comes down to personal choice, no one forced the people who produced the child porn to molest the children (or arrange for the molestation of children) for the sake of the camera.
Sorry for the slight tangent.

[TheHuckster]

The one thing I will half way agree with her on is the child porn. The people viewing it on their computers at home really aren't the problem. Do they need help? Oh absolutely and they should get it. But, ultimately, it is the people producing the child porn that are harming the children, they are the ones we should be going after in force. I know there is the argument that if the viewers weren't creating demand, then no one would produce it, but it still comes down to personal choice, no one forced the people who produced the child porn to molest the children (or arrange for the molestation of children) for the sake of the camera.
Sorry for the slight tangent.

They are actively paying these producers for their "services" and to make more films. You seriously don't think they are a critical part of the problem there? Seriously?

I agree that the producers should be the ones we focus our attention on, since the are the ones who are actively abusing the children, but the people who consume their products are still guilty of a crime, and should be prosecuted.

[Seifer]

They are actively paying these producers for their "services" and to make more films. You seriously don't think they are a critical part of the problem there? Seriously?

I agree that the producers should be the ones we focus our attention on, since the are the ones who are actively abusing the children, but the people who consume their products are still guilty of a crime, and should be prosecuted.

We should have more programs that help pedophiles deal with their lusts and control them in a healthy way. I'd say that the majority of pedophiles knows that it's wrong, but have a hard time keeping themselves in check. The main issue is that they can't go to anyone for help, because the moment they tell someone they're a pedophile, they're immediately turned in to the police.

We actually had a pedophile call into a talk radio station in our area a few years ago. He talked to the hosts for 3 hours and explained how he was afraid to go to a psychologist or mental health center because he knew he would immediately be added to the sexual predator list. At that moment, a person's life is ruined, so I can understand his fear.

Maybe if there were an anonymous place for pedophiles to go to for help, it might help cut down on the problem.

[Rageaholic]

Oh yeah punish the victim when she already faced the humiliation of being raped. Is it any wonder why victims are afraid to speak out? Because of dumbasses like Barbara Amiel.

[protege]

They are actively paying these producers for their "services" and to make more films. You seriously don't think they are a critical part of the problem there? Seriously?

Yep, if there was no demand for kiddie porn, nobody would make it. As long as someone wants to see that shit...some pervert will produce it.

[Ree]

I can't stand Barbara Amiel anyway.

(She probably thinks her hubby, Conrad Black, was being picked on over a minor social faux pas.)

[Jaden]

....

I...

....

But...what?

There's no rational reaction to this. This is just...amazing on every wrong level.

[draco664]

They are actively paying these producers for their "services" and to make more films. You seriously don't think they are a critical part of the problem there? Seriously?

Are you sure? Purchasing something like child porn would leave a pretty big trail for the police to follow. I might be naive, but I can't see someone making it for money. Too risky. Making it for their own perverted desires, I can believe.

Have people convicted of possession of CP bought it or just shared/downloaded it?

I agree that the producers should be the ones we focus our attention on, since the are the ones who are actively abusing the children, but the people who consume their products are still guilty of a crime, and should be prosecuted.

This. A million times this.

[smileyeagle1021]

I agree that the producers should be the ones we focus our attention on, since the are the ones who are actively abusing the children, but the people who consume their products are still guilty of a crime, and should be prosecuted.

We should have more programs that help pedophiles deal with their lusts and control them in a healthy way. I'd say that the majority of pedophiles knows that it's wrong, but have a hard time keeping themselves in check. The main issue is that they can't go to anyone for help, because the moment they tell someone they're a pedophile, they're immediately turned in to the police.

Seifer beat me to it, but you have to wonder at how people can be surprised that these people turn to kiddie porn. The moment they try to get help they are labeled a predator and punished for it even if they have done nothing wrong at that point other than admit that they have a problem. The way we treat pedophiles would be akin to an alcoholic asking for help and being charged with drunk driving just because they are a drunk. And then we are surprised that they seek an outlet through porn?

I know we can go round and round making the chicken and the egg arguments on who is responsible (which we already have established, I lay the blame on the producers, demand or no demand, they still make the choice to become producers), but the cycle won't be broken until both the producers are stopped from creating the content and the consumers are given a safe and healthy alternative that isn't going to get them placed on a sexual predator list.

[TheHuckster]

Seifer beat me to it, but you have to wonder at how people can be surprised that these people turn to kiddie porn. The moment they try to get help they are labeled a predator and punished for it even if they have done nothing wrong at that point other than admit that they have a problem. The way we treat pedophiles would be akin to an alcoholic asking for help and being charged with drunk driving just because they are a drunk. And then we are surprised that they seek an outlet through porn?

I agree, but is there any proven treatment for this kind of problem? Perhaps more research should be done to find one, but until then, I can't think of any effective help one can get by going into a clinic... unless we can conclude that a problem like this is as simple as a gambling or alcohol addiction. I tend to think it's a little more complex than that.

[Greenday]

Who the hell is Barbara Amiel? She doesn't seem like the sharpest tool in the shed whoever she is.