[clug] [OT] Broadband clangers

[Neill Cox]

I call strawman.

Some of the items that are refused classification involve harm to others:

- Bestiality: Harm to animals who cannot give informed consent
- Pedophilia: Harm to children
- Sexually violent material - some of which may involve consenting adults,
but there is certainly material involve where one of the parties is not
consenting.

I'm sure there are other examples.

Even as an adult your freedoms are restricted in many ways.  You cannot
legally travel at whatever speed you like.  You cannot legally inflict harm
on others.

Police are often harmed in performing their duties in enforcing these sorts
of laws.  The idea is that it is better for them to risk this harm and be
compensated for it than for wider society to suffer it.

Material you may want to view as an adult may have harmed others in its
production.

Censorship can be harmful, but it's not automatically so, or at least it is
occasionally a lesser harm than its absence would be.

Cheers,
Neill
On Fri, Aug 13, 2010 at 12:10 PM, Sam Couter <sam at couter.id.au> wrote:

> Ben Nizette <bn at niasdigital.com> wrote:
> > after all (with the exception of R18+ games) no-one really objects to the
> restrictions on this material in physical form.
>
> I object.
>
> Classification = good, censorship = bad, and the combination of banning
> distribution and consumption of RC material and allowing the
> classification board to refuse to classify material is censorship.
>
> The "it's obscene" argument falls flat given some examples of what was
> considered obscene just a few decades ago.
>
> If "it's damaging to the viewer", who protects the classification board
> from damage? I of course assume they actually view material before
> classifying it. Also there are many other legal things I can do to damage
> myself if I wish.
>
> And finally, I'm a grown adult. What right does anyone else have to tell
> me what I can and can't read, watch, listen to? I'm not hurting anyone
> else, so stay out of my business.
> --
> Sam Couter         |  mailto:sam at couter.id.au
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