Adult editor slammed by school board

[Top Cat]

Here's a sad sign of the times we are living in. A friend of mine who edits adult video is under fire from a local school board. He is the volunteer chairman of the local TV access program which is housed at the local high school. Apparently the school superintendent must think he's recruiting students, or maybe that he simply radiates evil that will poison their young minds.

He is looking for legal assistance so any help would be most appreciated. Please PM me.

The one ray of hope lies in the comments posted after the story:

http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/p...30/1033/NEWS01

[marcjacob]

I know this isnt going to be popular, but my gut instinct is that those of us who work in porn should keep away from jobs at schools. I think schools have a duty of care to the kids. They cant be sure where the lines are for any given adult webmaster. Only the other day we heard of someone who apparently was known on these boards caught fiddling with underage kids and filming them.

Im not saying anyone involved in porn is bad, were not. But we do work in the sex industry and schools cant take risks with their pupils. Also im not saying were more likely to commit these vile offences, but again, schools cant take that risk. Sad as it is for your friend, he shouldnt be on a school campus imo.

[Squirt]

I can understand where you're coming from MarcJacob.

I'm a single parent. My son is 12. Does that mean I can't be on the PTA, or volunteer at the school, because I'm involved in the adult business?

[marcjacob]

Like i say, this isnt going to be poular but is my honest opinion.

If your having contact with the kids then that probably is what im saying. That does seem to be this particular schools view. So yes, if that puts you on campus when kids are arround, the school may feel theyd rather not take you up on that kind offer. I think the school also need to think about how the parents would feel, parents who dont know you as an individual but need to know that sex industry workers arnt working in their kids schools.

[Top Cat]

Well I guess I strongly disagree with you guys. While I don't think porn should be accessible to anyone under 18, and I obviously don't support the use of anyone under 18 in porn, working in the industry does not make you a disease carrier who will be a corrupting influence on youth. The right wing has managed to confuse consensual adult entertainment with the abuse of children, and as this story shows, it appears to be working. Now those who work in our industry, like my freind Bert, must be isolated from children because...what? He might recruit kids to star in videos? He might be handing out DVDs? He might start talking about butt fucking for no reason?

I live across the street from a grade school. Should I move to avoid contact with these kids? Sometimes I sit on the bus near children. Should I change seats? Last week a kid asked if she could pet my dog Bunky. Should I have run?

Besides, he is not a treacher and does even have any direct contact with kids. Gimme a break!

[Squirt]

Like i say, this isnt going to be poular but is my honest opinion.

If your having contact with the kids then that probably is what im saying. That does seem to be this particular schools view. So yes, if that puts you on campus when kids are arround, the school may feel theyd rather not take you up on that kind offer. I think the school also need to think about how the parents would feel, parents who dont know you as an individual but need to know that sex industry workers arnt working in their kids schools.

Following that line of logic, Doctors and nurses shouldn't be around children at schools because they can make them sick. Or more close to this exact scenario, actors and actresses which have performed sex scenes in mainstream holloywood videos, and their producers, directors, and cameramen, should all be banned from school grounds as well. That would include Nicole Kidman, Tom Cruise, and a host of others. Is that correct? If not, please explain. I value your opinion as this is insightful to me.

[Squirt]

The right wing has managed to confuse consensual adult entertainment with the abuse of children, and as this story shows, it appears to be working.

Yes well notice what Gonzales has said here http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060821/...es_child_crime

Our current administration now wants people to believe that our children are not safe even in our own home!

It's a great thing for parents, and people involved with children, to know the warning signs of abuse, neglect, etc. etc. We trust them everyday with the safety of our kids. However their is a fine line between caution and paranoia, and we seem to have crossed that line in American society.

What kind of governmnet do we have that promotes fear and paranoia to the extent that our kids aren't safe at school, playing at their friends house, or even at home on the computer?

When it comes down to it, if you're involved in a legal business don't you have the right to be treated fairly in society? If other people have personal issues with sex why does it have to become your problem?

I wouldn't want paranoid, unlogical people raising my children anyway. They should be the ones to leave.

[marcjacob]

Top Cat, i never said any of that.

I think like it or not that people like me, in an adult industry, should stay away from working in schools. It makes me feel uncomfortable and im not even a parent. At the end of the day the schools have a duty of care to the kids they look after. I wouldnt want lap dancers as teachers any more than prostitutes as teachers. Where do we draw the line? Girls who one minute are letting other girls pee over them for money, the next day are a class room assistant?

How many parents can you think of that would welcome that prosepect? These girls may have better moral values than all the parents put together, but parents dont want their kids coming into contact with people like that at school. they dont comfortable with it and i can see that.

The parents have to trust the school and for all the reasons ive outlined, that to me means people working in school campus's should not have a background of an adult industry.

I dont see anything wrong in this biz, i do it myself. i just see why middle american families wouldnt want porn webmasters in there school.

(ive deliberatly moved on from the cp points as im sick of discussing it on boards - they get too much press lately).

[basschick]

i guess i prefer to pick my battles. i haven't volunteered for any of the programs i wanted to, like children of the night, because i know in advance how things like this play out when it comes out that volunteers work with porn.

Top Cat - much more than half the non-webmasters i know ask me if i do cp when i tell them i market adult. the media has done a lot to foster the belief that cp is prevalent and we're parasites waiting to strike at the children.

seems to me that this can best be dealt with - you've all heard me say this before - by the adult industry or some of the people in it getting a good press agent. a spin doctor can show us as well meaning people who contribute to charities and do normal things. it's okay if they think we're misguided as long as they'd see us as well meaning.

[Squirt]

i guess i prefer to pick my battles. i haven't volunteered for any of the programs i wanted to, like children of the night, because i know in advance how things like this play out when it comes out that volunteers work with porn.

I've never been interested in volunteering with kids, but if I was I'd have the same concern, and probably would decide against it for the same reasons.

I've gone to my sons footy games and stuff like that, but nothing else, mostly because I'm so damn busy!

I can understand peoples concern, and respect that, but as we've seen it's illogical and can't be defended, other then to say it's based on fear, not fact.

I do defend other peoples right to work with kids, and volunteer, who are in the adult industry with the stipulation that the kids have no idea. If the kids find out, in any way, for whatever reason, it can't continue. That's just my personal opinion.

I like this bit at the end of the story... shows there is hope:

-----------

Among his video production credits, Crews wrote he had done work for the National Park Service, PBS and local police departments.

Lanouette said it's not unusual for videographers to make ends meet in pornography when work is short.

Although the school district plans to seek Crews' resignation, Petaluma Mayor David Glass and at least one PCA board member didn't see a reason for him to step down.

"I find this distasteful and other people may as well," Glass said. However, "as long as a person stays within the law and maintains professional behavior, I fail to see how this by itself would disqualify him from serving in his present capacity."

Tom Vasgird, a Community Access board member, said: "Pornography is a private matter and as long as no one is injured or exploited or hurt, I see no issue with it."

------------

[Matt 26z]

This is a risk of accountability issue. Now that the school knows what he does, as long as they allow him to work there they are on the hook for any harm he may cause to the students.

Parents will be enraged at their decision to let him work there if he starts recruiting students for porn. Many people would lose their jobs. So they will eliminate him now.

[Paco]

WOW!
The hypocritical view here reminds me of those held by the blind-faith followers (Christians et cetera).

I could care less where a person works, what they listen to, read & yadda yadda, because at the end of the day all that matters, to me, is whether or not the person is 'good' (based on the basic principals or ethics of MOST of the decent humans of this earth. NO! Not THE "holy 10".).

This floored me in the same way a conversation about Jenna Jameson's autobiography did.

"... does not belong in Wal-Mart ..." and WTF not?
Okay HITLER, exactly where does this type of literature belong? (I already know about the place down there.)

[basschick]

Paco, we have a HUGE amount of anti porn propaganda in the u.s. and we always have. the people who want porn gone have money and time to spend to make sure that anytime it's possible, they make porn look worse than it is, and even worse still.

while the biggest part of what they say is bullshit, there is no other view being aired publically. sure, we bitch on message boards. but not a lot of parents, teachers or regular people read adult webmaster message boards.

if we want another viewpoint on who we are, we need to do something to get that message out there. right now, no one is doing anything that i know of. so we have a highly motivated group on one side who sees porn as worse than child abuse, starvation and war and they are putting time and effort into making more and more people see and hear their distorted viewpoint. and there's us. we don't do anything to get our message out there. we just keep hoping everyone knows.

is it surprising most people only know one side of things?

WOW!
The hypocritical view here reminds me of those held by the blind-faith followers (Christians et cetera).

I could care less where a person works, what they listen to, read & yadda yadda, because at the end of the day all that matters, to me, is whether or not the person is 'good' (based on the basic principals or ethics of MOST of the decent humans of this earth. NO! Not THE "holy 10".).

This floored me in the same way a conversation about Jenna Jameson's autobiography did.

"... does not belong in Wal-Mart ..." and WTF not?
Okay HITLER, exactly where does this type of literature belong? (I already know about the place down there.)

[Sana Chan]

See this touches a nerve with me. I work in the Adult Industry and I'm also the Department Manager of Toys at my local walmart. Its my main source of income, not my writing jobs. If this trend starts and my work finds out about my "envolvement", they could fire me on the spot for being a danger to the children who shop my dept.

If people in the adult industry have to stay away from kids, what happens when they become parents? What do they lose their kids? Or when you enter you have to be sterilized so you don't go and produce children that may be exposed prenatally to porn. Shame on you!

*sigh*

[Paco]

I do hope my response did not sound like I was ripping in to all that replied - it was more or less meant for one (mentality).

No, it does not surprise me to know that many people do not bother to evolve and/or become aware of things that are important. Nor does it shock me that they bother with other things that many, such as I find, trivial and less relevant to humanity.

People are upset that a person, working the adult industry, entered a BUILDING, which is also used to educate people, for the purpose of working on community "issues" or matters.
Let's reverse things: what day and time will they be demolishing all the buildings & institutes, which all the law offenders used ?
Oh … better yet, do THEY allow priests to enter (and do their work in) schools?
Those type “people” are much worse than most in the adult industry. How about we start there? (Babe - you laughing with, or at, me?)

So the brainiacs are now trying to tell me that evil is a communicable disease! Hmm, interesting, among other ideas, such as I am a bad puppy

<sarcasm>Oh, and exactly what porn sites did Karr promote?</sarcasm> (Not intended for you, Lisa.)

I guess what does hit me hard (next to me thinking I offended you, even though I know I should know better, because you are a strong person, as far as I am concerned) is that there are self-righteous "adult" webmasters whom have issues with porn, and make it sound like it should recede to the darkest depths, where none can be harmed.

I guess I still expect the crusaders, of all that (they like to think) is good, to become SOMEWHAT aware.

*gawking @ the heathen trapped in my mirror*

Paco, we have a HUGE amount of anti porn propaganda in the u.s. and we always have. the people who want porn gone have money and time to spend to make sure that anytime it's possible, they make porn look worse than it is, and even worse still.

while the biggest part of what they say is bullshit, there is no other view being aired publically. sure, we bitch on message boards. but not a lot of parents, teachers or regular people read adult webmaster message boards.

if we want another viewpoint on who we are, we need to do something to get that message out there. right now, no one is doing anything that i know of. so we have a highly motivated group on one side who sees porn as worse than child abuse, starvation and war and they are putting time and effort into making more and more people see and hear their distorted viewpoint. and there's us. we don't do anything to get our message out there. we just keep hoping everyone knows.

is it surprising most people only know one side of things?