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TONIGHT’S CNBC FAMILY HOUR SPECIAL: “P_rn: Business of Pleasure”
July 15, 2009-- My how far we’ve fallen. Tonight at 8 pm Central Time NBC presents its ‘family hour’ special, “P_rn: Business of Pleasure” on its CNBC cable network channel.
Outraged by this horrific broadcasting decision, Morality in Media President Robert Peters is conducting a national Talk Show Tour with a clarion call for the return of family values and morality in America before we breed a generation of children who will grow up to a world that knows not decency.
Said Peters, “The Whole Truth Were To Be Told, This Evening’s CNBC family hour Special would Rather Be Entitled: ‘Adult P_rn: The Sordid Business of Exploitation, Misery and Crime’ which according to promotional material on the CNBC website will take a ‘behind the scenes look inside the multi-billion dollar p_rn businesses, from the threats to its profitability to exclusive behind the scenes interviews with the industry’s biggest stars.’ ”
Peters asks: If NBC if flaunting such garbage during prime time family viewing tonight, what might we expect to see in two or three years? Perhaps a news program on mainstream television entitled: ‘Child P_rn: Business of Pleasure.’ It’s a slippery slide indeed into the abyss.
And why not? People view television for escape and for pleasure—until—as Robert says, “Undoubtedly, individuals who create and view child p_rnography do obtain pleasure from their sordid efforts, at least until they are apprehended, publicly humiliated and sent to prison.” So is the next logical step to legalize what imprisons one today but is common viewing tomorrow? Isn’t it time someone draws a line in this video quick sand?
But even if child p_rn never becomes legal, there are plenty of ill effects on society from adult obscenity, according to Peters who warns, “Similarly, individuals of all ages also derive pleasure from viewing ‘adult p_rnography,’ at least until their exposure or addiction to ‘adult p_rnography’ leads to an ‘unwanted pregnancy,’ a sexually transmitted disease, the loss of a job, a broken marriage or a prison sentence.
“Some who participate in the production of ‘adult p_rnography’ may also derive pleasure from it, but the reality is that for most female ‘participants’ there is little pleasure in being degraded and abused in order to appeal to the prurient interests of the largely male audience who view it. Nor is there pleasure in contracting a sexually transmitted disease, including AIDS, as many ‘participants’ have done.
WE CAN WIN THE P_RN WARS IF WE ENFORCE THE LAW!
Reagan/Bush I Administrations Rigorously Enforced Decency Laws
Robert Peters reminds your audience that we can win the p_rn wars if we apply pressure on our elected officials and law enforcement officers to ENFORCE THE LAW!
“But, some will say, unlike individuals that create, distribute, view or possess child p_rnography, businesses that create and distribute ‘adult p_rnography’ are not breaking any laws.
“Ignorance of the law may indeed explain why some seemingly reasonable people turn a blind eye to the problem of ‘adult p_rnography.’ The truth is, however, that criminal laws prohibiting distribution of obscene material have been on the books at the federal level since 1842 (and before that at the state level), and in the 1973 Miller v. California case the U.S. Supreme Court said: ‘This much has been categorically settled by the Court, that obscene material is unprotected by the First Amendment.’
“The Miller Court went on to define the term ‘obscene’ in a manner intended to restrict the reach of federal and state obscenity laws to ‘hardcore’ p_rnography. And today, most p_rnography distributed commercially, whether online or on cable TV or elsewhere, is ‘hardcore.’
“Admittedly, our nation’s constitutional obscenity laws have not been enforced vigorously since the Reagan/Bush administrations, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be successfully enforced again. Paul Little (‘Max Hardcore’) can testify to that. According to its promotional material, CNBC ‘caught up’ with him ‘just days’ before he began serving a prison sentence for violating federal obscenity laws.
“But, some will say, the p_rn business is thriving, which is an indication that the average American no longer deems hardcore p_rnography unacceptable.
“P_rnography defenders overlook at least three factors. First, much if not most p_rnography is consumed by a relatively small percentage of individuals who are addicted to it. Second, just because a person experiments with p_rnography or succumbs on occasion to the temptation to view it does not mean he is a devotee of it. And third, many visitors to ‘adult websites’ are minors.
In 2008, Morality in Media commissioned Harris Interactive to ask a question about enforcement of federal obscenity laws in a national opinion poll. Three out of four (75%) adults said they would support the next President were he to do all in his constitutional power to ensure that federal obscenity laws are enforced vigorously. And according to a survey conducted by Pew Research Center (‘Trends in Political Values and Core Attitudes: 1987-2007’), 70% of adults disagreed with the statement ‘nude pictures and X-rated videos on the Internet provide harmless entertainment for those who enjoy it.’
“But, some will say, ‘Mr. Peters is complaining about a program he hasn’t even seen.’
“It is true that I haven’t seen the program and that it isn’t always possible to judge a book by its cover (so to speak),” said Peters, adding a clarifier, “But if the promotional material available on CNBC’s website is any indication of what tonight’s ‘P_rn: Business of Pleasure’ program is all about, I think I am on safe ground in saying that the purpose is not to expose the dark underbelly of the hardcore ‘adult p_rnography’ racket.
ABOUT ROBERT PETERS…
Robert Peter is President of Morality in Media. He has been a guest on many television programs including three times on Larry King. He has been a diligent warrior in the fight against indecency for over two decades.
Headquartered in New York City, Morality In Media (MIM) works through constitutional means to curb traffic in illegal obscenity. MIM operates the www.obscenitycrimes.org website, where citizens can report possible violations of federal Internet obscenity laws.
Established in New York City in 1962 to combat p_rnography, Morality In Media works to inform citizens and public officials about the harms of p_rnography and about what they can do through law to protect their communities and children. MIM also works to maintain standards of decency on TV and in other media. Contributions are tax-exempt.
Morality In Media works through constitutional means to curb traffic in illegal obscenity. It operates the www.obscenitycrimes.org website, where citizens can report possible violations of federal Internet obscenity laws.
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