Solomon's Private File #366
These stories about Stephen and Solomon take place starting in
1950's. Stephen wrote about his life in letters to a penpal, and then
in a secure blog, in case he lost his memory again, in the master
computer in his school for gifted students, which he started attending
in 2016 in a new incarnation, until his death. Now his son Solomon is
attending the same school, and is writing in his own secure blog for
his future incarnations.
All characters are fictitious, even if some of them might have names
that belong to some actual people, or act like people we know.
Solomon is 32 in this story, in the Spring of 2058.
Solomon's Private File #366 "What Is Pornography?"
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Child pornography was in the news. I was asked to comment on that. I
agreed to do a show about it. Mario announced the primary topic, and
introduced me. He said to me, "What is your position on child
pornography?" I said, "That subject is too undefined for me to have a
useful opinion on it. Different people have different definitions and
opinions on what pornography is. Even the Supreme Court couldn't define
it without using personal subjective judgements." He said, "Oh. Well,
we could define it as an image that would cause sexual stimulation." I
said, "For a teenager, wouldn't that be practically everything?" He
laughed, and said, "True." I said, "More importantly, why be concerned
about it?" He said, "So they won't be influenced to have sex? Oh, don't
bother to reply. That grin. Right. They can't be more influenced than
their hormones already do." I said, "But in a way, it IS true, that
some images can influence some people to be more likely engage in some
destructive behaviors. Not more sex, but in techniques they hadn't
thought of, and might want to try. Some of those are dangerous and
violent."
He said, "Oh. Thats a start. Naked people?" I said, "Seen the statue
of David?" I showed it in the direct feed. He said, "Oh. Right. There's
a lot of art that features naked people, including children." I said,
"Here's a fountain. He's actually holding his penis." He said, "That's
famous, too." I said, "And girls DO giggle at that. THEY think it's at
least a little sexual. Here's part of the Sistine Chapel. That man
being bitten by the snake in a very delicate area, was meant to depict
the artist's feeling about the contractor there who didn't pay him." He
chuckled. I said, "Parents have been arrested for taking pictures of
their children in the bath, or just being naturally naked. Is that in
any way child pornography? Videos have been taken, and even shown on
television, of women giving birth, and showing the baby naked.
Pornography?" He said, "But people don't get aroused by that." I said,
"Wrong. Some do. There are people who get sexually aroused by all
different kinds of things, including all parts of the human body, even
covered. Fashion industry depends on that." We went to break.
He said, "I hadn't fully thought about this. You work from logic.
There isn't much of that in sexual things." I said, "Absolutely
correct!" Back on air, he said, "Children are being exploited by
pornographers." I said, "Children are being exploited by millions of
people in all ways possible. How many parents are abusing their
children in obsessive sports and other competitions? Farm work? Preteen
beauty pageants? Horrible exploitation! Significant abuse, in my
opinion. Parents living their own fantasies with what they force their
children to do, is absolutely wrong! And more, some people treat their
children as slaves, even sell them! How many children are forced to
become soldiers and kill people? How many children are deliberately
injured and killed?" He said, "Oh! I didn't think about this enough, in
preparing for this show. You're showing us that the abuse and
exploitation of children is just that, and not as limited in cause as
we thought. The pornography isn't even a major part of that." I said,
"True. But why is it attacked, more than the other causes?"
He said, "I see where you're going. It's our obsession about sexual
things, and very much so where that involves children." I said, "As if
children aren't capable of having sexual interest or feelings. Oh, they
really do!" He said, "You do know, with your total recall of all your
lives, and you knowing all on Earth." I said, "Let's look at this in a
social and clinical way. With a little humor. If it weren't for dirty
magazines and a hand, most teenage boys would have a serious lack of
friends." He laughed well. I said, "Back to the more clinical. Take
away his porn, where do you think he's likely to go to get some
memories to replace it? Right. Live girls. No, porn won't make him more
likely to have sex. Less, actually. People are all mixed up about what
pornography is, and what it actually does to and for people. They
confuse their own neuroses and prejudices for morality, and that only
for OTHER people. They see something that arouses them, they get all
hot and bothered, and GUILTY, and then want to stop other people from
feeling that. It's not just stupid, is selfish. How many crusaders
against porn, look at it in secret? A lot." We went to break.
I said, "There are things you COULD be asking me that could get from
me what you're looking for, and extra. Try some specifics." He nodded.
Back from break, he said, "There are pictures on the internet of
children having sex with other children and adults. There is a big
market in that." I said, "Yes, and no. Child porn is on the net, but
there's almost no market for it." He said, "But it's in demand!" I
said, "Yes it's in demand in a way, because it's there, and only I know
how much, because most downloading isn't recorded, but to have a
market, it must be bought and sold. There is very little of that. Too
easy to track the money and arrest people, and very little is created
for profit. And anything on the net can be had for free and shared all
over, by those who know how to do that. Most people make the images for
their own use, and then share them, sometimes long after the children
have grown up. Most online child pornography produced by adults is now
over 50 years old." He said, "Wow! I didn't know that. But, there was
something you said earlier, that just struck me. Take away the
teenager's porn, he will want to go for the real thing more than
before. Does that apply to child molesters?" I said, "Yes it does, very
much so. Many possible child molesters know that sexually abusing
children is wrong, and don't want to do that, but they have urges.
Using pornography is one of the ways they can help control those urges.
Some will say it would make them more likely to commit crimes. For a
very few, yes it would, but only slightly more than they would without
that. For most, it helps them to not harm children, in a very
significant way. TV cop shows aren't real, that attempt to demonize a
class of people to make the drama work."
He said, "Children are harmed in the making of child pornography." I
said, "Some children are SERIOUSLY harmed in the making of child
pornography, but many are not harmed by it. It depends on how you
define harm. Did you know that most child pornography made in the
digital age is created by the children themselves? There are millions
of webcams out there in operation twenty four hours a day. By children,
who do practically everything in front of it, without a care in the
world, and a lot of them do it specifically to entertain their friends
and anybody else who wants to watch. Some even do it for money, and
their parents haven't a clue what's going on. And it's being recorded
and shared all over." He couldn't even saw wow.
I said, "This 'know all' thing, has been a BIG eye opener!" He said,
"It must have been!" I said, "You don't know how many sex parties are
recorded. Or kids just showing off their er, equipment. Quite proudly,
actually. Children, and even adults now, often have very little
inhibitions in front of a webcam, or smartphone cam, with the feeling
of being anonymous and disconnected from blame and reprisals. For many,
that's they only time they feel truly free. It's like a kind of
therapy. A Confessional to the world." He said, "Should that be
stopped?" I said, "It's not possible to stop it in any way that won't
cause unnecessary harm, so people shouldn't try to stop it. It's
psychologically beneficial. For many children in this high pressure
age, that's the only time they can be free to be themselves. Stop that,
there will be many more suicides. And some of those are actually
prevented by being discovered via webcams. There is no harm to lonely
children sharing themselves on the internet, if they never meet in
person those they know only online, and never share contact information
such as home addresses, and they are warned to disconnect when
something negative is said to them. With those cautions, there's a
great benefit to it, despite what some people might want to think. But
parents CAN have a moderating effect on it, and should, with discussion
and cautions."
"But I will say this. Forcing a child or adult to do anything sexual
for any reason is WRONG, and is against the law in most countries. What
if the child consents? Some do. Some actually want it to happen with
adults. The law says they don't have capacity to give knowing consent.
You MUST obey the law, even though there is a logical flaw in that
justification. Two seventeen years old can legally have sex with each
other, but when one turns eighteen, that's against the law. When the
other one turns eighteen the next day, it's legal again. ONE DAY
DIFFERENCE can put one in prison! Yes, it's actually happened. The law
can't be perfect. It has to be in written in broad terms to be usable.
That can cause some injustice, but that can't be helped. Be aware of
the laws where you are, because you are responsible to know them. Be
careful of what you put of yourself on the internet. You can't take it
back. It will exist forever, things you might not want your future
employers to see. And laugh at. Oh yes. Some boys have discovered that
playing very personal ring toss with their friends can be a little more
painful than they expected." Mario laughed loudly. We went to break.
I said, "Louder than Hawk." That didn't help. Back from break, he
said, "Some say that pornography causes women to be viewed as objects."
I said, "Pornography does cause women to be viewed as objects. Men,
too. In fact, practically everything in a picture is viewed as an
object, because that's what they are to our perceptions, just as it is
in real life. This is neither good or bad, but is the nature of
things." He said, "Oh. Hmm, I hadn't thought of it that way. Doesn't it
cause people to view those in pornography as less than people?" I said,
"Yes, what they see in images does cause people to view them as less
than full people. In ANY image, not just pornography, where the person
isn't known to them in real life. However, there IS a difference
between men and women in this. Women usually want to get to know the
men in the pictures they lust after, to support their fantasies that
are based on relationships. You know this, by all the magazines that
support that, with celebrity gossip. Men are less interested in that,
being primarily visual in sexual interest. This is part of our basic
natures, and it's not going to change, no matter how many people might
want it to. It has nothing to do with morality. It's biology."
I said, "There is more to the pornography issue, that's a real
problem. Because there is so much of it, viewing it can become an
addiction for some people. Well, practically anything can become an
addiction, for those who have that kind of susceptibility in their
personality and biology. Those with that problem can develop
difficulties relating to real people in a sexual way. It's a serious
condition that should be treated. And they really need to clean their
keyboards." He laughed. I said to him, "You thought the subject would
be shocking, but it's my humor that has you going." He said, "True.
It's the surprise, mostly." I said, "Good. I have one more thing to
say, and that's to children. Some of you are posting videos of you
harming yourselves. You've seen moves of adults doing it, the 'Jackass'
series, for example. Think about why they called themselves that.
Putting staples in your butts? Shooting bee-bees at your personal er,
equipment? Hitting each other there, too? What are you thinking! You
could really hurt yourselves, and you cause younger children to copy
you. Some have DIED because of that! Does that make you feel good? I
really hope not. I feel it when you hurt yourselves. I feel it when a
child dies. If you don't care about yourselves enough to not do that, I
ask you to care about ME. Do you want to make me feel all that? Do you
really? If you won't stop it for yourselves, would you stop for me? I'm
asking you. Please don't hurt yourselves or other children for any
reason, and never in fun. Please." They could see my tears. We went to
break.
Mario said, "I should have known. It still isn't real to most of us
who you really are." I said, "Knowing all, I sure do know that!" He
looked strange. I said, "We can do viewer questions, if you're out of
them." He nodded. Back on air, he said, "Viewer questions. Many have
said they don't approve of filth in the internet." I said, "Well, they
should wash their computers, then. Or, just don't look at it. Nobody
cares what you approve or don't approve of for other people. They're
going to form their own opinions about that, and make their own
decisions regarding it. To them, you're just noise. Stupid noise, at
that." Mario was trying not to laugh. He said, "If they wash their
computers, they might not work after that." I said, "Obviously." He had
to laugh. I said, "A new saying about this could be created. If thine
eye offends thee, dunk thy computer." He sighed raggedly, and said,
"Some people say they are offended by naked bodies." I said, "Want to
bet their own body is ugly?" He said, "I won't take that bet." I said,
"Anybody who is offended by the body that God created, offends God!"
He said "Wow!" I'd never seen him that surprised before. Then he was
thoughtful. He said, "That actually makes sense. Those who believe we
are created in His image, shouldn't disapprove of that image. And
offended? Very much not! This is going to change things." I said, "It
won't. People won't change their feelings and beliefs for logic and
reality. No way. Pride won't let them believe they're wrong. They have
to believe their personal beliefs and opinions are natural laws. If
those people didn't, they wouldn't feel important. Even though they
really aren't. It's ironic, that the people who most can't accept being
wrong, are the most wrong in almost everything. Reality insults them by
not agreeing with them. Yes, that's actually how many of them feel."
He cleared his throat, and aid, "Some are asking if you look at
pornography." I said, "They still don't know who I am. In any dimension
in which I have a presence, I don't LOOK at anything at all. It's all
in my mind. Everything. All at once. That means every atom, every kind
of energy, every thought. ALL of reality. So that includes the entire
internet, too, and its porn. It's all in my mind. But when I wasn't
like this, and did only see by looking, no, I didn't specifically look
at it. I didn't have any reason to." He said, "The whole dimension?" I
said, "Oops! I hadn't told my people that." He said, "It was just the
world. And then the solar system. Then the galaxy. Now the whole
dimension?" I said, "Yes. Got a really fat mind now. Includes all the
past, too. No point in people making a fuss about it. My own group
can't imagine that, either. So, what's the next question?"
He gulped, and said, "Do you approve of pornography?" I said, "I
neither approve nor disapprove of pornography. It's expression. Art.
Some good art, some bad art, but basically, it's just images. There are
some bad uses of it, and some good uses, just like most things made by
people." He said, "What are the good uses?" I said, "I've said some
here. More, porn can be prescribed by mental health professionals to
treat sexual issues and marriage problems." He said, "Oh, I should have
thought of that." I said, "We psychologists, in those kinds of therapy,
try to avoid calling ourselves shrinks." He had to laugh. I said,
"Control room's laughing harder." He said, "They are." I said, "There
are some kinds of images, and that includes all kinds, including porn,
that show people deliberately injuring people, I do NOT approve of,
unless they are to document a crime. Absolutely NOT as entertainment!"
He said, "Can you remove those things from the internet?" I said, "I
can, but I won't. Others have that power. That they don't, shows
something to the world. But there is free speech. Freedom of expression
should be protected. How the world does that now, and in the future,
will show how humanity is improving, or not. I won't tell you what
should be done. Freedom of choice. I don't have that. All of YOU do!"
He said, "Thank you solomon, for helping us to understand this issue
better." I said, "You're welcome." Off air, he said, "Whew!" I grinned,
and said, "When is it not more than you expected?" He chuckled, and
said, "But you know we can't get used to that. And you like it!" I
said, "I do." He said, "They're going at you?" I said, "Oh yes! They'll
get over it. Does make them wonder what's next. Maybe I shouldn't tell
them I wonder about that, too." We hugged.
Mom said, "What could be next for you?" I said, "I don't know. That
actually itches a little." They laughed. Hawk said, "They're going to
notice you skipped a lot, on that subject." I said, "True. I want them
to think more about that, which they should have before the show.
Seriously unprepared." Galya said, "He actually said that. Unusual." I
said, "Well, it was that serious." Hawk said, "Stephen improved when he
had to stretch his abilities to do something. What made you stretch to
put whole dimensions in your mind?" I said, "You know the answer,
somewhere. See if you get it before the S Kids do." Grins. He said,
"You had to repair a dimension?" I said, "Got it!" There were a lot of
wows.
Mom said, "Will there be others of us who will have at least whole
worlds in their minds?" I said, "Yes. More than one. I'm not going to
say who or when, and you knew that." Pokes. I said to the plant friend,
"I didn't include you and the trees in that." She said, "ME? I said,
"Yes. If you tried, you could hold a world in your mind. Better to make
it a nice one, first." Humor. She said, "When I need to, I might try
it." We shared love.
There was a lot of comment about that show. Most of it was confused.
They couldn't decide what my position was on some of the issues. That
was the adults. The children just grinned a lot. Until their parents
tried to cover up their built in webcams. That caused more problems
than they had expected. Then some psychologists supported me about
that. Some parents relented. Those homes became very popular with the
kids who had more strict parents, which the hosting kids loved. I sent
working images of me to a lot of parents, and said, "You did that when
you were a kid. Did it hurt you? I could show your kids the videos.
Don't be a hypocrite." They relented. Other parents discovered they
couldn't stop their kids from doing it, without removing the computers,
which they needed for school. They had smart phones, too, and they
didn't take those. I coached their parents in how to manage it. They
were very embarrassed, but grateful for any help with that.
All that is causing many parents and kids to become more open and
less embarrassed about sexual things. More kids are not bothering to
wear clothes around the house, and in front of their computer. Boys are
hiding their erections at home and among friends, less. Some are even
not stopping their masturbation when caught. There were some surprised
parents. But then they realized that their children were feeling more
comfortable around therm, more trusting. That caused more expressions
of love and support. The children were sharing that with each other,
and so were their parents. News outlets picked that up, and commented
on it. They were all over the map with their opinions. Most in Europe
said, "What's the problem? We're already like that." A lot of old
people were against all that, and said so. And were ignored. My group
just grinned a lot at it. The world was becoming a little more like us.
We had to like that.
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Grant
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