"friday five" ... who are YOU ?

... safe harbour for the big issues

Published on July 15, 2004 By mignuna In Philosophy

(the following issues inspire such debate and stir such emotion that it's almost impossible not to give them at least some consideration. so, in the "safe harbour" of friday five, i thought we could share our opinions on the current "big issues". hopefully we may end up with a general "consensus" or majority view in some very interesting areas).

... do you approve or disapprove of ...

1/ prostitution ?

2/ drugs ?

3/ pornography ?

4/ censorship ?

5/ pre-marital sex ?

(note: as usual, please give your reasons if you are willing, and skip or alter any question as you choose, as they're only guidelines. everybody is welcome to participate ... and yes, i did avoid politics and religion (amongst others) on purpose. i may be curious, but there are places even i'm too scared to go

)

Comments (Page 2)

notsohighlyevolved

on Jul 16, 2004

Questions 1 to 3: All should be legal and heavily regulated.

Prostitution - to protect the rights and safety of the women who work in the profession, and to disintangle the sex industry from the modern slave trade economy.

Drugs - so what is basically a medical issue isn't clouded with issues of criminality. There are too many, basically decent, people taking up resourses and wasting lives in prisons, prisons that should be protecting the community against violence, not recreational, individual drug use. If you want to eliminate drug dealers and their culture of violence, then let the government be the dealer, let it dampen the economic and sociological impact that hard drugs have.

Pornography - read reasons for prostitution. There should also be more done to regulate the content of pornography rather than just its movement and production. It should show us what sex could be like rather than what it shouldn't be like.

Censorship? I generally disapprove of censorship of any kind, but i can vaguely imagine situations where it could be necessary, but i think that general "market forces" do a pretty apt job at maintaining an implicit level of acceptability.

Pre-marital sex - I don't really approve of marriage, so this one should be easy - yes, yes and YES. Remember pre-marital sex isn't always synonymous with irresponsible sex.

Marco

DylanZimmerman

on Jul 16, 2004

1) prostitution's supposed to be the oldest profession right? So I think its okay as long as the girls are looked after..The more people repress sex in society the more its gonna come out as rape and shit like that.,

2)Drugs. if you legalise them at least it takes out the risky black market side where your dealer can pound you senseless if you don't wanna pay anymore. Plus I think people should be able to do whatever they want to their own bodies. Most drugs have been around way longer than the laws against them. I can understand why they would be illegal but evidently making them illegal doesn't stop people from doing them. So if they were legal maybe they could be used in a safer way...Like those clinics that give out clean needles etc but to a greater extent.

3)pornography- I guess they should just be careful of the content I suppose.

4) Censorship- No. it's weird what they censor and what they don't. I remember they showed this guy jumping out a window and cracking his head open on the poolside over and over again but they blur out knives on The Osbournes or sex. I don't think people know what's acceptable anymore. I know you need to be careful with kids and everything but censorship in general is just screwed up. They need to either figure out the right shit to censor (and maybe i'm just talking about america here) and what not to. I appreciate thats tough, and I don't have the answer cuz what i deem acceptable may well not be to other people.

5)Pre-marital sex- yes please.

DYl xxx

Poetmom99

on Jul 16, 2004

1/ prostitution ?

Disapprove. Sex shouldn't be about money....and it should mean more than just the physical act. It's about love, commitment, intimacy....and I can't believe you get any of that with a prostitute.

2/ drugs ?

Disapprove. Too many potential dangers, not only to the person taking them, but to people around that person..such as the 4 month old in my area who died yesterday because Mom was on a heroin/crack binge and FELL ASLEEP after putting him in the bathtub.

3/ pornography ?

I don't like it, but I don't care if others feel the need for it. Just don't have it blatantly displayed where my children are going to see it, or I'm going to get radical.

4/ censorship ?

Disapprove. It's too subjective....everyone's opinion of what should and shouldn't be censored is going to vary. Learn to provide censorship for yourself instead of expecting the government or whoever to do it for you. Don't like a TV show? Turn it off. Don't like the lyrics to a song? Don't listen to it. Don't approve of a movie? Don't watch it. NOT a difficult concept, IMO.

5/ pre-marital sex ?

Disapprove for anyone under 18....after that, you're an adult, and it's up to you to decide whether to do it or not.

Poetmom99

on Jul 16, 2004

I think we need censors. 9 months ago I made a decision that my child would only watch taped television shows with no ads and only shows like hi-5 and playschool because I found some of the things in primetime slots viewed by children was just inappropriate - and I can't think of an example atm.

See, this is what I was talking about. You can provide censorship for your child on your own, allowing viewing of only those things you feel are appropriate in your home....but that doesnt mean you have to insist that NO ONE should see anything but what you find appropriate.

I believe WE should be the censors, not put the burden on someone else (especially as their values don't like up with mine).

EXACTLY what I was saying!

citahellion

on Jul 16, 2004

1/ Prostitution: I think it's a poor way for a woman to make money, and I would rather there were no need for it, so in that sense I disapprove. However I am with Greywar and the other libertarian-minded individuals that it should be legal, and regulated. If people are going to do it anyway (and they are) and it is not necessarily a harmful act, then criminalizing it is counterproductive.

2/ Drugs: I'm not interested in them myself, I like my mind the way it is already and feel no need to alter it significantly. However, the relatively arbitrary distinction between currently legal and illegal drugs is pointless and stupid; fighting a "War on Drugs" is a complete waste of effort; and sending millions of people to jail just for using drugs when they could be contributing members of society is a huge squandering of resources. Now you're making ME pay for their drug habit, in the form of taxes for judges, juries, and prisons.

3/ Pornography: This is already legal and I see no need to change that. I'm relatively neutral on the matter; as long as the women are not being exploited I have no issue with it.

4/ Censorship: Censoring is for parents and legal guardians to practice on their children/charges, not for government. I am all in favor of being a responsible parent and all against trying to make the government into a surrogate parent for the entire country.

5/ pre-marital sex: If you're comfortable with it, go right ahead. If your religious beliefs advocate against it, then you should hold off.

I'm glad to see nobody yet has said Yes to Prostitution and No to Pre-marital sex.

CS Guy

on Jul 16, 2004

(I love how everyone assumes it's a woman. Not always people. Wake up!)

I don't assume all prositutes are female... it's just that i dont care about the others

citahellion

on Jul 16, 2004

I'd be willing to bet that 98% or more of prostitutes are female.

Kayles

on Jul 16, 2004

1/ prostitution ?I disapprove. I feel that sex is sacred. Prostitution just cheapens the whole thing.
2/ drugs ?
I disapprove in the adiction to drugs. Pharmacetical or otherwise. Or in the addiction to anything, really
3/ pornography ?
I believe that pornography is a lot like prostitution. Women are selling sex.
4/ censorship ?
What kind of censorship? Where children are involved, yes definitely.
5/ pre-marital sex ?
This one is hard for me to answer. I tried to remain a virgin till marriage, but I was raped. I threw my belief away because I thought I was “ruined” in a respect. Now, I go back and forth. I am so confused by this one! Can anyone say, “Wishy-washy”!

Kayles

on Jul 16, 2004

Now, should these be legal?

1/ prostitution ? no
2/ drugs ? yes
3/ pornography ? no
4/ censorship ? no
5/ pre-marital sex ? How in the world could someone make this illegal?

BigDreamer415

on Jul 16, 2004

1/ prostitution ? Disapprove, but hey, I suppose how you earn and spend money is your choice.

2/ drugs ? Disapprove of mind-altering drugs, but if you truly know your limits on the more recreational, less mind-altering, harmful drugs, the go for it.

3/ pornography ? Disapprove personally, but don't think it should be illegalized as long as it doesn't involve children.

4/ censorship ? Disapprove, except for reasons with children... but then again, I think most of the time the parents should be the ones monitering what their children see and hear.

5/ pre-marital sex ? I personally disapprove, but don't think it should be illegal. How the hell would you moniter that?

~Sarah

Splateaux

on Jul 16, 2004

First off, I have to state something similiar to what someone else stated above: I believe in following the law. You make a choice to live in the society that you live in, and as such, you're saying that you'll follow the laws that society has set forth and agreed upon. So, with that out of the way, here's my opinion on the following

1/ prostitution ? I wrote a quick article about this once: Link I basically believe that it should be legalized. After learning a lot about the world of prostitution, I ended believing that legalizing it would be a better overall solution. It's one of those things that you can just not participate in if you think it's morally wrong. I would personally not get a hooker though.

2/ drugs ? Hey, if you want to kill yourself, go for it. As long as you don't go on a shooting rampage while you're high.

3/ pornography ? "You might as well ask, 'why are boobs good?'" - Joe Dirt

4/ censorship ?

Censoring is for parents and legal guardians to practice on their children/charges, not for government. I am all in favor of being a responsible parent and all against trying to make the government into a surrogate parent for the entire country.

Yeah, what you said...

5/ pre-marital sex ? I don't believe people were designed on only have sex with one person ever, so go for it... before you're married of course. I believe if you wait until you're married to have sex, you're going to always be wondering about the 'what ifs' that you never experienced.

ShitsNgiggles

on Jul 16, 2004

1) It should be legalised. Legalizing it will make it safer for the women and the "customer" Having it illegal ensures that many of these women are being treated very poorly.

2) I think that marijuana should be legalized and other drugs should have stiffer punishments. Marijuana isnt addictive and its effects are no more harmful than alcohol.

3) I am having mixed views about pornography as of late. I think it is fine on one hand...those in that lifestyle have chosen it for themselves, but on the other hand it is sometimes very harmful and degrading to the "Actors"

4) Positively opposed.

5) Sex is an important part of y our relationship, if y ou do not have sex before you are married then you could find yourself with a very large hurdle in your relationship that you never knew existed if you are sexually incompatible. I am not really for random sex either though, i think in most instances you should share some kind of relationship with the person you sleep with, but i have no problems who those who view sex as recreation.

psychx

on Jul 16, 2004

On the subject concerning social issues there can be much debate withing myself. With all the grey area sometimes it's hard to be certain of right and wrong. With that said here is where I stand with my point of view...

1.Personally this is conflicting as finding what will yield the overall best possible outcome is blurry to say the least. It's undeniable that prostitution has a strong presence everywhere on the world. On a personal level I am of course opposed to it considering the exploitation that many people go through but much like the war on drugs it's something that is very real and very hard to get rid off. Whether prostitution can ever be eliminated is anyone's guess but so far it has enjoyed a very long life. Taking history into account I believe that even though personally I am against it fighting something that cannot be stopped is only opening up loopholes for exploitation. Since it's illegal and there is still a market for it without regulations "offenders" are forced to use what is available. Legalizing it with restrictions will open the market and may curb child exploitation towards women or men that, God help them, are willing. Maybe this is wrong of me to think but it's the best solution I can think of.

2.Hmm, this is another doozy. I think that an actual real bi-partisan study needs to be done towards the effects of all drugs (at least here in the U.S.). Considering the amount of money we throw on the war drugs this study would give us a base on what to label illegal. I believe that certain drugs are just too damaging to ever legalize, drugs like crack cocaine and meth amphetamines are just too addictive and too destructive. The majority of drug arrests and cases have to deal with marijuana though (at least in the states) which is the one that I think requires a re-evaluation.

3. Pornography is already legal and it should remain that way. I am personally neutral but I understand that it is a 4 billion dollar industry here in the U.S.. It alone has pushed many of the pioneering innovations that we use today on the internet and in the U.S.. Banning it at least temporarily would do considerable harm to our economy, just ask any major cable company. Content should always be regulated as well.

4. Personally, I think that on the matter of censorhip in the U.S. we should stick to our Constitution which protects free speech, symbolic speech and also states that free speech is protected unless it endangers national security.

5. This should be left as a choice for the individuals involved.

mignuna

on Jul 16, 2004

wow. this is, without question, the most informative and fascinating one we've ever had. i can't believe this, but i actually had to do a spreadsheet to get the answers straight !.

as i said before, i had decided that the sensitive nature of the questions meant that i wouldn't "quote" random bits of answers like i usually do. to be honest, i am so appreciative of this input that i feared scaring people away by making a huge deal of their private opinion on such a touchy issue. so, just for this once, we will let the answers speak for themselves in the form of statistics !.

(i know. stats are boring, but they're probably the only way to sum this up without going completely insane

)

1/ PROSTITUTION:

APPROVE : 14 (conditional on legality and fair treatment of sex workers)
DISAPPROVE: 5 (for personal or moral reasons)

2/ DRUGS:

APPROVE: 13 (subject mainly to responsible use and, although less often, legality)
DISPPROVE: 6 (for personal, legal, or moral reasons)

3/ PORNOGRAPHY:

APPROVE: 15 (subject to adult restrictions, legality and realistic portrayals of sex)
DISAPPROVE: 4 (generally for reasons sexual in nature, such as the sacredness the sex act)

4/ CENSORSHIP:

APPROVE: 7 (based on grounds that current conditions make it necessary, in particular the issue of protecting children)
DISAPPROVE: 12 (largely based on the willingness to accept some "inappropriate" content in return for continuing the right of free speech)

5/ PRE-MARITAL SEX:

APPROVE: 15 (subject to age restrictions and, although less often, love between the sexual partners)
DISAPPROVE: 4 (for reasons based on personal beliefs and/or choices)

*falls on floor exhausted*

that was an amazing learning experience for me. i had so much trouble sorting the answers !. i feel like i know everyone a little better now, and i have to say that, for a thread full of such nasty issues, not one person became upset, and not one negative comment was received. thanks everyone for renewing my faith in people !

and i WILL be back to answer soon. but i'm just gasping for a cup of tea after all that brain overstimulation !

THANKS EVERYONE

exhausted but happy mig XXXX

ShitsNgiggles

on Jul 17, 2004

the most informative and fascinating one we've ever had

You got that right, i mean; little_whip and i actually agreed on something

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