I’ve been reading the latest week’s comments and am well aware that there is an ongoing conversation going on about the future of the adult entertainment industry. The spectre of federal legalities and what appears to be a wholesale reshuffle of the industry as it has existed for the last few years would give anyone pause. The status quo as it is seems to be realigning.
As I said earlier I am just an interested observer, and made a point of looking up what some of the ruckus seems to be about, “Two Girls, One Cup”. Wow!
Perhaps the discussion should not be about the 1st Amendment Rights for Free Speech and the Right to make that statement, but whether it’s worth the hassle. There are those in our society who will push the limits just to see how far it will go and not consider the ramifications of the predictable push back by the Ultra-Crazy right wing goofballs who are just looking for the right issue to beat the rest of us over the head with. Why bother handing them the weapons and the ammunition to turn back onto you.
The questions of ethics and ability have always been a part of the communications profession. Many years ago a TV Guide cover photograph proved to be a Photoshop wonder as the Art Director combined a photograph of Ann Margaret and pasted in the head of Oprah Winfrey. After the arrest of OJ Simpson Time magazine took a lot of well deserved flak when they ran his mug shot on the cover, only after they had made him look much more sinister and dark (which is a stretch anyway).
My point here is this; just because we can do something, should we and secondly is it worth the inevitable reaction. Even if proven to be protected by the law, the amount of time and funds that it takes to fight the system will leave nearly all the participants broken and in the process killed the business as a whole.
