DISCUSSION WITH A CONVENIENCE STORE MANAGER
What is pornography? Webster’s defines it as “material (as books or a photograph) that depicts erotic behavior and is intended to cause sexual excitement.” This definition makes no distinctions between so-called “soft-core” pornography such as Playboy, Penthouse, etc., and XXX-rated porn.
Here are 4 reasons why you should remove pornography from your store:
- By selling pornography, you are enabling addictive behavior. Dr. Judith Reisman, Ph.D, is an expert on the communication effects of images on the brain, mind, and memory. In testimony before Congress on November 18, 2004, Dr. Reisman emphasized how pornography not only influences behavior but also actually alters brain chemistry. During the same hearing, Dr. Jeffrey Satinover, M.S., M.D., compared pornography addiction to heroin addiction. He said, “Only the delivery is different, and the sequence of steps. The pornography addict soon forgets about everything and everyone else in favor of an ever more elusive sexual jolt.”
- By selling pornography, you are contributing to the breakup of marriages and families. It is a well-documented fact that pornography abuse is a secret “third partner” in many marriages. Men substitute true intimacy with their wives for the secretive, unrealistic and unhealthy fantasy life that pornography cultivates. Two-thirds of the divorce lawyers attending a 2002 meeting of the American Academy Of Matrimonial Lawyers said the Internet played a significant role in the previous year’s divorces.
- By selling pornography, you are helping to lower community standards of decency. Our community has suffered an explosion of sexually-oriented businesses in the past few years. Strip clubs, adult “bookstores”, and massage parlors are a blight on otherwise respectable neighborhoods all over Metro Louisville and Southern Indiana. These sex shops inevitably bring increased crime and decreased property values to those unfortunate enough to live or work near them. Concerned citizens are attempting to limit the destructive influence of these establishments; by carrying pornography you have become part of the problem.
- By selling pornography, you have alienated a large percentage of your customer base by pandering to a decided minority. As long as you sell this material, you cannot be considered friendly to families, especially those with children. The fact that the material is kept behind the counter is irrelevant. A father and mother buying milk or a newspaper should not have to explain what “Playboy” means to their 6 year-old daughter. How much revenue does this material generate for your business, relative to total profit? Two percent? One percent? Balance that against losses incurred by customers who no longer feel comfortable patronizing your establishment, and by the inevitable negative word of mouth.
Please consider removing this material from your store. As a corporate citizen, there is no “upside” to selling pornography. It harms the community and it harms your good name.