Pornography is at war… and I fear Americans have lost several important battles without a single casualty suffered on the enemy’s side. The major topics at focus – at least for now – are lolicon and extreme sex (such as guro and rape). In recent weeks the defendants of two groundbreaking cases accepted guilty plea bargains from their accusers: United States v. Christopher Handley and United States v. Extreme Associates.
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I will not go into a long essay about the uphill battle pornography has fought (although I suggest looking up United States v. Five Star Video L.C. and United States v. Paul F. Little as well), but let me say this: “We are losing to fallacies.” No sane person questions that sexual exploitation of children is immoral, yet just because individuals collect FICTIONAL child pornography or a studio produces FICTIONAL renditions of them does not mean they are pedophile rapists and dangers to society. That would imply only racist NAZI supporters collect German paraphernalia from World War 2, or that only socially deranged Hollywood directors produce realistic murder films for entertainment. Do actual pedophiles collect lolicon? Of course they do. Yet there are thousands of murderers who collect firearms and are devoutly religious. Do we imprison innocent gun collectors and law abiding church attendants to preemptively protect society?
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The second battlefield we are losing significant ground is the legal definition of obscenity and indecency. Truth of the matter? There isn’t one. Indeed at least one Supreme Court Judge involved with Miller v. California, regretted his ruling when the vagaries of that law proved to be too powerful a tool for censorship. At the core of matter is this: we are being told what we can and cannot hear/say/see. Again, no morally sound person questions that falsely screaming fire in a crowded theater should be permitted. Yet controlling what people think? There are individuals who consistently claim Climate Change is a lie, President Obama is Muslim, and African Americans are intellectually inferior to Anglican Americans – all of which are obviously false. There’s even a legally sold book that teaches people how to build and use homemade explosives. When spreading falsehood, prejudice, and destructive behavior are protected through the Constitution; under what pretext is there to punish people for FICTIONAL sexual violence or overboard representation of it? Because it’s disgusting? Isn’t that the absurdity of Thought Crime?
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Unfortunately the United States Department of Justice strongly believes otherwise… and their recent victories will only spur and embolden them to expand prosecution. Bringing me to the ultimate point of this post: until further notice, Eroge Review will cease coverage of titles featuring extreme pornography for the sake of only providing extreme pornography, as well as titles featuring excessively young children in a scenario of unwarranted exploitation. This ruling is retroactive, and therefore several articles meeting these requirements have been removed. An equal number have been rewritten to avoid drawing unwarranted attention and false interpretation.
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As for the reasons why? All of us have different reasons for supporting pornography. All of us will have different ways in battling the encroaching injustice that is to come. In my sincere opinion, challenging the impending storm with a lightning rod attached to my back is not one of them. Of course I do not deny such a strategy can work, and for those brave souls who will do so, I not only offer my total support, but admiration for having the steel gravitas. Without beating around the bush, the United States Department of Justice has not won recent cases from traditional legal authority or victory, but from the time and money required to surmount them. Long story short: it takes cash, commitment, and disregard for personal privacy to fight a court battle. For the government, none are an obstacle. For the common citizen, it can destroy an entire livelihood. Ever wonder why a rich man will typically earn a lesser sentence on crimes committed by the poor and recover from the debacle in much shorter time? They can afford it.
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Eroge Review is not hosted on a private network that I personally own. Therefore the distinct possibility that my hosting service would shutdown the site (or transfer control of it), if an official investigative measure was enacted for that purpose, clearly exists. As many of my compatriots have already spoken on their own blogs: ignorance and falsehood are what give our accusers power. Their cases are built on the notion that pornography has zero artistic merit. I refuse to give them that satisfaction, and therefore intend to review titles that prove them wrong. In doing so I rebuke their fallacies, taking away the greatest weapon they possess: you combat ignorance and falsehood with knowledge and truth. Pornography is indeed a beautiful art, and few other faucets of the culture can prove that better than eroge.
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TL;DR? Eroge Review will now focus on titles that a have story. Titles that have a purpose. Titles that have artistic merit. Of course not all offerings are equal, and therefore the comparative scoring system will remain. I believe this not only complies with the transient laws we are facing, but erodes the ground our draconian enemies stand upon. I suppose in some ways that might mean I’ve caved in to our enemy’s demands… that I’m not being a frontline soldier. I won’t deny that. But our accusers are powerful, and against such an opponent I anticipate to fight asymmetrically. I may not be in the Infantry, but I will remain a Freedom Fighter to our cause.
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Viva La Resistance!
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Edit: The article for MinDeaD BlooD was removed for heavy reediting, not because I felt it was a title devoid of artistic merit and praiseworthy notice.
May 25, 2009
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