Quote:
Originally Posted by ABoyNamedSue
There are no laws against this right now. Now, if you're talking about relaxing restrictions on pornography, then why shouldn't pornography be used in advertisements? Wouldn't a billboard showing two models humping be more effective in selling Enzyte, than "Smilin' Bob" and his endless double entendres? Would you appreciate driving your kid down the street, and having her subject to that billboard? Doesn't this sort of thing impede on your free will to raise your kid?.
|
Actually people probably wouldn't use that kind of advertising. Why? Because it would lead to public outcry. That brings with it boycotts and the threat of legislation. Any regulation that is relaxed can be retightened and firms no that.
Did you know that cable channels are not held to the FCC's laws? Why do you suppose it is that they seem to follow standards similar to that on regular TV (talking about commercial cable channels, not premium channels)?
Granted I see the point in not allowing such things in plainly seen public (as decided by local obscenity laws), but I just wanted to point out that firms would probably not take advantage of such changes and that I don't believe there is any particular right to parents that should control every aspect of public life.
But also it's important to note that under current laws, ads use subtle sexual references and nearly uncensored nudity. This subtlety requires more use of imagination and is actually more effective than just straight-out porn (unless you are selling porn).
Quote:
Originally Posted by ABoyNamedSue
So you don't mind crack fiends indulging in their habits, even if it means they rob people for crack money? Wouldn't banning the controlled substance make robbing people for crack money unnecessary? Doesn't this mean that free use of crack may have impeded the free will of the folks who were robbed for crack money?
|
For one thing the use of crack is not automatically connected to robbing for crack. That said it is to be expected if crack use is high as this drug is quite destructive.
But then we come to the problem that illegalizing crack does nothing to impede its use. The people are still diseased with addiction, dealers still find targets to get hooked, and being that use is a crime... people see other crimes as less adventurous and are also likely to keep their use as secret as possible to avoid arrest over the drug. Two seemingly contradictory behaviors that are both influeenced through criminalization.
All drug criminalization, as well as the criminalization of prostitution, lead to black markets that only overall increase the danger to society while not addressing the actual addiction problems of the addicts.
Decriminalization allows us to focus on helping the addicts before they go to other crimes and to shut down the black markets.
One of the troubling commercials about methamphetamines... you seen it? 1 pound of methamphetamines creates (IIRC) 5 pounds of toxic waste. And we have NO IDEA where it goes.
That is a direct result of the black market.
The war on drugs is far too much aimed at its primary victims (the users... victims of the users are the secondary or indirect victims) and not at the black market thugs who actually need to be stopped.