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Thought crimes

2009-07-06 18:56:20.530868+00 by Dan Lyke 3 comments

Wendy Kaminer in The Atlantic: Child porn, animal cruelty porn and the right to examine.

At least one federal judge was deeply troubled by this case. Dissenting from the 4th circuit's refusal to re-hear Whorley's appeal, Judge Gregory encouraged him to seek Supreme Court review: "The (Court's) obscenity jurisprudence has never come close to stripping adults of First Amendment protections for their purely private fantasies, and the implications of our sanctioning this governmental intrusion into individual freedom of thought are incredibly worrisome," Gregory wrote.

[ related topics: Privacy Sexual Culture Law Civil Liberties Government ]

comments in ascending chronological order (reverse):

#Comment Re: made: 2009-07-06 19:27:42.530562+00 by: meuon [edit history]

Rule #1: Do not send via e-mail (or in print or on a t-shirt), what you don't want on the front page of the local newspaper (or website, or police inbox.. or.. )

Given this quote from an attorney: "a federal crime -- to share your sexual fantasies about children in private communications with other adults" - you can't even talk to your therapist or priest about it.

Some sacred cows become even more desirable, just because they are forbidden. I really think that if "veggie-porn" was this forbidden (or more), it'd have even more of a fetish-cult following. Not because sexually abusing a melon/cucumber is that desirable, but because doing something absolutely forbidden is.

my apologies to those of you who actually ARE having veggie-eroticism and liking it...

But, he publically BBQ'd a sacred cow, or at least, has implied it on a T-Shirt. But he is not (at least, not yet) guilty of the act.

Wonder what thoughts I've had today that are potentially jailable if I put them on a T-Shirt.. like what I imagined doing to the S.O.B. that couldn't nerge into traffic this morning.. or the sales-dweeb that harassed me on the pnone. Nope, while gross, offensive and in bad taste, imagining torture and murder is still legal.. probably because our government does it all day long.

#Comment Re: made: 2009-07-06 20:13:03.244488+00 by: markd

This discussion reminds me of this ze frank video : http://www.zefrank.com/theshow/archives/2006/08/083006.html

#Comment Re: made: 2009-07-07 15:28:39.543897+00 by: JT

When thoughts are criminal, only criminals will have thoughts?