Monday, November 14, 2011

Porn Star Reads to Children ... nothing more.

What do all of the following have in common?
  • A Catholic priest.
  • A little league coach. 
  • A scout leader. 
  • A teacher. 
  • A bus driver. 
  • A doctor.
  • A police officer. 
  • A politician. 
  • A celebrity.
If you answered:
They all work in "helping" professions, you are correct. 
They all demand a certain degree of power and authority, you are correct. 
They are all capable of abusing children, you are correct. 

Now, Let's take a closer look at that list again:
  • Father Carl Urban.
  • Coach David Hartshorn. 
  • Scout Leader Shannon Sourmail
  •  Ms. Jenifer Stitzel
  •  Mr.William J. Tappy
  • Dr. Zahid Nazir
  • Officer Paul D. Pierce
  • Mr. Chris Ortloff
  • John Philips.
Every one of them has been accused, and most of them found guilty, of child sexual abuse. 

I'd like to say that this post (a momentary but necessary deviation from my "Lighten Up" theme) was inspired by the recent Penn State situation - an unspeakable case of decades-long, institutionally condoned, community supported child sexual abuse.  In this case, former (thankfully!) Penn State University football coach Jerry Sandusky was supported and encouraged in his abuse of multiple child victims over a period of decades.  When his superiors became aware of his criminal behavior, they continued to provide him with keys to the men's locker room - a silent but clear message that they accepted his behavior and were willing to provide him with the unfettered access that would ensure its continuation.  No questions asked.  No accountability imposed.  And I certainly share the global nausea that most of us (minus a few thousand Penn State students) feel at the mere mention of Penn State these days - the images, the horror stories, the children who should have been spared, protected, saved. Or at least believed and rehabilitated.  The criminals who should have been punished. The professionals who should have been removed from their positions of authority long before now.

But what moves me to action today is something that disturbs me even more than the Penn State case.  And that is the story of a young woman named Sasha Grey.  In a recent interview, Ms. Grey stated: "I am an actor. I am an artist. I am a daughter. I am a sister. I am a partner."  And, in addition, (and perhaps most important to the parents of the Emerson Elementary community), Ms. Grey is a former porn star "who outraged Los Angeles-area elementary school parents after she was invited to read to students last week." 

I get it.  Porn is not for children.  And I am perfectly ok admitting that porn is not for me, either.  But neither is eating meat.  Or consuming alcohol.  Or worshipping in a synagogue.  Or becoming a parent.  I have preferences about how I live my life today, and like most of us, I have both regrets and pride in how I have lived my life up to this point.  I have held jobs that have filled me with gratitude and positive energy, and jobs that have left me feeling defeated and ashamed at the end of the day.  The same goes for the people with whom I have associated, the places I have lived, the things I have done.  Like everyone, I am a hybrid, an amalgamation trying to avoid life's black-and-white categorization obesession.  I am neither "all good" nor "all bad." I am not my job.  I am not my associates.  I am not my possessions.  I am simply myself.

And herein lies my anger over the Sasha Grey attack - she is open about her past.  She is not putting on a suit or an official uniform.  She is not masking predatory behavior with a special license or certification.  She is not camoflaged by celebrity status.  She is not hiding behind morality or spirituality or empty promises of redemption.  She is saying "I have a past that some people may not agree with, but it does not define who I am. I will not live in fear of it.”  And she is also saying something that should motivate our under-educated, underachieving, unproductive country to appreciation when she insistes that literacy is “an effort that is close to [her] heart."

Ms. Grey, by virture of her very public past profession, is not likely to be left alone with children in a classroom.  Her honesty has alerted an entire community of parents.  The same parents who are sending their children to Sunday school.  And putting them on little league buses.  And sending them on scouting trips.  And turning them over to the guidance and supervision of their teachers. The same parents who turn to doctors for help and who expose their children to celebrity scandal without considering its impact.

I leave you with two bits of research and a little bit of data: 
All I'm suggesting is that perhaps focusing all our anger and judgement on a woman we may consider "unacceptable" by our own personal moral standards is distracting us from educating our children and truly keeping them safe. And I ask you to consider whether it is possible that, while you are lashing out at the former porn star who is reading to your child in a monitored, supervised classroom, you should be paying more attention to the local "pillar of the community" who may be nothing more than a predator in nice clothing. Or a winning football coach in a Penn State uniform.

Full article:
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/porn-star-defends-reading-to-elementary-school-children-after-parents-outraged/

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