AARP Mag: A Little Porn's a Good Thing
by Jason Collum and Rusty Pugh
April 5, 2004
(AgapePress) - An American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) magazine reader seeking advice on whether she should be concerned that her husband is viewing pornography online was told she should not be concerned.Columnist Hugh O'Neill told writer S.S. that, "level-headed adults can enjoy erotic pictures in private without undermining their relationships, their immortal souls, or the republic." O'Neill went on to suggest that the woman, in a nonjudgmental manner, approach her husband about his web-surfing habits and "reassure him that you don't think he's doing a bad thing, or that you're living with the devil." He suggested S.S. and her husband could use the pornography to improve their sex life.
The head of the American Family Association (AFA), reacting to O'Neill's response, says the columnist gave what was "probably the worst advice the reader could have gotten."
"Pornography has led to the breakdown of too many marriages and families for this columnist to suggest there is nothing wrong with viewing it," says AFA president Tim Wildmon. "There is clear evidence and research showing viewing pornography is harmful to relationships.
"Handing out advice that a little pornography is good for a marriage and a couple's sex life is absolutely reckless."
A Michigan pro-family group has a similar take on the negative effects of pornography and has decided to take the fight against hotel pay-per-view porn to a new level.
Hampton Inn the Crosshairs
A Michigan attorney has filed suit against a Hampton Inn on behalf of a family whose ten-year-old son briefly saw a pornographic movie in the hotel's exercise room. While they await a settlement, Gary Glenn of the American Family Association of Michigan has another plan. He plans to file a formal complaint against the hotel with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) because that pornography is received by the hotel via satellite -- which Glenn says is a violation of broadcast indecency rules.
That is why he plans to file the complaint against the Hampton Inn of Mount Pleasant, Michigan. He says he also plans to file a criminal complaint with the U.S. Attorney's office. Glenn says pornography is now a big-time, white-collar business, and innocent families should not have to suffer for it.
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Gary Glenn |
"We think that's outrageous," the Michigan family advocate says. "We hope the Department of Justice and now the FCC will crack down on these white-collar pornographers from the corporate boardroom who are pumping obscenity and pornography into our communities all across America."Despite the big business entities behind the hotel porn, Glenn believes it could feel the heat from the FCC.
"It used to be that if you wanted pornography, you had to go off to some place with painted-over windows and carry it out in a plain, brown wrapper," he says, "and now the biggest purveyors of pornography in our country are white-collar, high-class hotels."
Offering an example, Glenn notes that in Midland, Michigan, where his group is headquartered, the highest-class hotel is the only one in town that shows X-rated movies. That hotel, he says, is a Marriott affiliate.
Glenn says he met recently with FCC commissioner Michael Copps, who indicated that the material being offered by Hampton, Marriott, and others is prosecutable pornography.
