Josh Powell’s insanity–was it linked to Child Pornography?

Jennifer Nash, in her article;  Making Women’s Place Explicit: Pornography, Violence, and the Internet, states:

“The most visible way in which the Internet has enabled violence against women by allowing for the proliferation of pornographic images.”

Unfortunately, the most vulnerable group and soon to be the most exploited group by internet pornography is children. Those who have followed the Josh Powell case, will know that one of the evil things associated with this case is internet child pornography. It apparently played a role leading to Josh Powell’s killing of his wife and later himself and his two children. It was reported that over 1,000 images of child pornography were confiscated from computers in the home that Josh Powell shared with his father.

Is Josh Powell a unique case? Research on this problem reveals that, it is not unique, but the number of incidents of this nature is growing.

A priest accounts a recent brush with the proliferation of child pornography on the web:

“Father Fortunato Di Noto counts himself as having once been among the innocent, or at least the blissfully ignorant. …He had begun to offer an Internet course to parish children, believing it was a vital learning tool. During one of the first meetings of his informal study group, a little girl said she wanted to search for “lollipops.” Using an Italian slang word for lollipop- slurpy – Father Fortunato punched the letters into the search engine. But slurpy is also slang for a sex act; what came back was a connection to an outfit called the Pedophile Liberation Front, which defends the lifestyle of pedophiles-people who are sexually attracted to children. Through that link, Father Fortunato found other sites, and discovered letters addressed to kids attempting to lure them into relationships. “I’m lucky because I have faith,” says the priest. “If I didn’t, I’m sure I would have gone out there with a machine gun and taken justice in my own hands.” http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/VAW02/mod2-2.htm

During the summer of 2011, the FBI busted a website called the Dream Board where members uploaded homemade child pornography. The FBI confiscated 6,000 videos and they noted that in most of the videos, physically violent acts were being performed on the children at the same time as sexual acts. They depicted acts of violence against children too horrific to release to the national news– and portrayed videos where children were beaten within an inch of their lives while also being sodomized. Apparently, the members of the Dream Board actually promoted such videos and provided special privileges to members who uploaded the MOST violent videos.

But, violence in pornography does not only affect children, it also affects women. Take the excerpt below taken from the following url: http://www.uri.edu/artsci/wms/hughes/rapecamp.htm

 ”In October 1999, an American living in Phnom Penh, Cambodia announced that he was adding a live bondage sex show to his Internet site (Deutsche Presse-Agentur, 14 October 1999). His pornography web site, “Rape Camp,” featured “Asian sex slaves” who were used for “bondage, discipline and humiliation.” The women on the web site were blindfolded, gagged and/or bound with ropes while being used in sex acts; some had clothespins clipped to their breasts (Xinhua News Agency, 8 November 1999). Viewers were encouraged to “humiliate these Asian sex slaves to your hearts content” (Welcome to the Rape Camp, March 2000). Expanded service was to feature live interactive Internet transmission of bondage sex shows from Cambodia with pay-per-view access in which customers could relay requests for torture that would be fulfilled within seconds (Deutsche Presse-Agentur, 14 October 1999). The fees were US$15 for 10 minutes, US$40 for 30 minutes, and US$75 for 60 minutes (Fees to see Asian bondage, March 2000).

The pornographer justified his venture in sexualized torture by saying, “I wanted a niche that I knew would sell” (AP World News, 22 October 1999). He explained, “There is a big market in the U.S. for Asian women. … And when I start making money, I’ll pay 10 percent in taxes. If I’m successful, I could get a lot of other guys doing it and get a lot of tax revenue” (Associated Press, 14 October 1999). He told the English-language newspaper Cambodia Daily that women were the “biggest asset to export to the U.S.” (Agence France Presse, 7 November 1999). His website also promotes prostitution tourism to men visiting Cambodia.”

The website named above further explains that mixing sex and violence increases a man’s desire to use acts of sexual violence as entertainment:

 ”Tolerance and dejure and defacto legalization of prostitution and pornography have increased men’s demand for women and girls to be used as sexual entertainment or acts of violence. The demand is met by increased recruitment of women and girls into the sex industry, usually by violence, deception or exploitation of those made vulnerable by poverty, unemployment and prior victimization.  The United Nations estimates that one million women and children are trafficked each year for the purpose of sexual exploitation (Xinhua News Agency, 21 September 1999). “

What does this do to men’s attitude towards women? As one American man stated after visiting Cambodia:

 “I hate American women. I hate those bitches … they’re out of line”

 ”Misogyny and promotion of violence against women knows no boundaries—national, racial, on or offline. He said he hoped that his “Rape Camp” bondage and torture service would incite violence against women in the U.S. In fact, Asian bondage pornography does promote violence. An anti-pornography activist testified in a public hearing that Asian-American women reported to her that they had been raped after the men told them had used pornography with Asian women (Transcript, 16 March 1992).”

Some American men provide an invitation for men to come to Cambodia as “prostitution tourists”, and even encourage violence against the white women living there.

They claim:

 “Cambodia (is) the land of impunity. No stalking laws here. If you see some white bitch doing aid work in the provinces…. it doesn’t involve us. It is just a foreign matter. Go for it! In our country a female must serve a man on request. Go to the _____ Bar at ___ Street. Most of the foreign aid and NGO ladies are dirt broke. They will except [sic] a drink from anyone. A motto driver told me that for 30 dollars they would slip a chick 10 tabs of Ecstasy and drop the girl off anywhere you like. Rapecamp recommends the trash pits a few kilometers from _____. There is plenty of bondage and forced encounters. You can make these girls do any disgusting thing you like or want to try. If you want piss in there [sic] mouths” (Sex Tourism Cambodian Style, March 2000).”

And of course this attitude can also be reflected in the multitude of pornographic images available at the click of a finger on websites.

One can’t help but wonder how much of this corruption has transferred to the psyche of these predators and how much of it has served as the causative force behind the scenes that lead to crimes like those perpetrated by Josh Powell against his family.

You be the judge.

(This article was submitted by an anonymous author).

 

My Comment to MyNorthwest.com and Komo News

Here are some questions for those who justify the current issue in Seattle of public libraries allowing pornography on their computers:

“Since when does the first amendment allow for the free use of an addictive substance? (Pornography is a proven addiction for many, there are 12-step programs, psychologists and counselors which treat those who seek to overcome their addiction).

If pornography is a recognized addictive “substance” should it not be treated equally to the other drugs and alcohol which is available on the streets or with ID proving age? Shall we make opium and heroine available at the local library? What about gambling, perhaps gambling should be available at the library too. Some gamble and are not addicts, so why not have a slot machine at libraries? I speak tongue in cheek.

Pornography may be considered literature to some, but what is the definition of “literature” and free speech originally intended by the first amendment? When literature becomes dangerous to or society in general, to certain groups in society, or to underage children, should it not have the same rules as a controlled substance?

And what about the fact that libraries are supported by tax dollars, which may be paid by people who are against the use of pornography or its free accessibility in public places? If this downward spiral of justifying what is not justifiable continues, people who have moral values and stand against indecent exposure in public places will vote out the support of institutions that allow it.

And speaking of that, couldn’t the use of pornography in libraries be regulated as indecent exposure in pubic places?

What is it going to take to assure that this country is a safe place to raise our children and grandchildren? Are we going to give in to the will of every pervert out there that wants to justify that his addiction needs be met of at the expense of those who want a standard of morality in this country? Do we have to put up with this?

If we opened up the subject of pro-terrorist literature, I wonder if that should be allowed under the same reasoning. What about hate-mail? Should that be allowed also? Should we allow Adolph Hitler to stand in the town square and brainwash our young people? Where are we going to draw the line?

 Smoldering in Tacoma”