LETTER: Child porn industry exploits children

Being kinky is not a crime. That's what the New Era and religious conservatives need to understand.

My understanding was that the research on the influence of pornography in general has shown that viewing pornography alone really has no impact on one's likelihood to rape or commit a sex crime, but that viewing pornography depicting violence makes one slightly more likely to commit such aggression. It's an interesting question.

The point is that patronizing those websites keeps them in business and by doing so... there's a sense in which one participates in the abuse and exploitation.

Of course, there's a world of difference between showing a 17 year-old and showing someone half that age.

And yeah. Some people get off on rape and sado-masochism fantasies. It's something we should admit exists.

But the argument is that the child porn industry exploits children for entertainment and that people who indulge in their products are assisting in that exploitation.

Editor's response: Good points. Question: Would the same people object if the videos were life-like animations rather than using real children?