PORNOGRAPHY, OBSCENITY ON SOCIAL MEDIA WEB SITES ::: Once a glitch, twice a trend? ::: When it comes to the subject of "erotica", "pornography", "obscenity" the lines in some people's minds have become so fuzzy that they can no longer distinguish between any of them. They have been inculturated by mass media, overexposure in all forms whether it be the print media, television, fashion which continues to stretch the lines of decency, hard core pornography, soft core porn, porn directed by women for women, violence that is every bit as pornographic and obscene as it is pernicious as anything Larry Flynt of Hustler Magazine ever conceived in his twisted mind the effects that have trickled down into a kind of "What the hell you can see it anywhere and everywhere so why not on my blog? My personal responsibility ends where writing a little bumper that runs along the lines of imitation: " Warning - this blog contains adult material which may offend some..." and variations on that theme. ::: In a galling response when I politely requested that a certain blogger of obscene material not subscribe to me, this was his answer: "Well you don't have to look at it. I like reading your blog." Some kind of selective bargaining in those two sentences? I waited for a couple of weeks, seeing him still there in my list of subscribers, I wrote again and this time demanded that he remove me from his list. There is no mechanism in place for me to block him. ::: Now I am stuck with a second guy who has subscribed to me who has stooped to even lower standards of morality and subscribed to my blog. ::: I couldn't tell you if he is a "he", a "she" an "it" or what, but you can take it to the bank that I am not subscribed to porn anything. ::: Just because the statue of David is an exceptional piece of marble carving, the Birth of Venus is a classic work of fine art, that does not equate with you having intercourse with your horse and posting pictures of it in a blog that is open to anyone with a computer and a modem. ::: Most offensive are photographs by the hundreds of what are obviously girls under the age of 18 made up to look like they are 40 in sexual situations of violence and sodomy and worse that ought to scare any parents out of their wits. ::: When such bloggers link themselves to any of my blogs, I am made guilty by association through no choice of my own. It is is the equivalent of giving tacit approval to something that to me is degrading, demoralizing, hatred towards anything female, perpetuates myths of women that still pervades the lives of young women everywhere by objectification, reducing them as mere objects to be used, abused, disabused and not infrequently murdered in cold blood. ::: I object to the desensitizing of pubescent boys who are large consumers of pornography both on and off the internet. :: It is a massive problem for the lawmakers everywhere as it is a contentious subject and laws are written by men most often favouring men. ::: The United States laws governing pornography are singularly different than the same laws in Canada. Community standards in both countries are as wide and long as the borders we both share. ::: I have a very simple way of sorting out the boys from the men and it goes like this: never tell a joke that you couldn't tell in front of your own mother - even if she has a sense of humour. That pretty well covers a lot of issues surrounding smut. ::: This diatribe began when I woke up this morning feeling angry because I am on the horns of a dilemma faced with with Hobson's choice: do I delete my Categorian blog? My ethics says "Yes. If I am to be consistent." My heart says, "How sad, I'll miss a few people who blog there who have wonderful uplifting blogs." ::: I suspect my ethics will win. :::