to all writers, artists and lovers of art: be afraid.
this may be short; i may expand later, once i've had time to get rid of the terrified nervous twitching in my stomach.
you might not be aware of the Handley case. WIRED has provided fairly clear, accurate coverage. essentially, an american comic book collector was prosecuted and convicted under obscenity law for possessing japanese 'lolicon' manga - comics whose theme is generally sexualisation of underage, often pre-pubescent girls.
you might not understand why something like this would make a normal person fearful. fearful and angry.
to break it down quick and dirty (and i urge you to read the WIRED article and do some research), what has happened here is that Congress has enacted a law by which they may tell you what you can and cannot read in the comfort of your own home, in this first instance under the guise of protecting you from 'child pornography'.
quite aside from the debate as to whether these manga constitute 'child pornography' in the first place, the further-reaching aspects of this PROTECT ACT (doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy?) directly impact both individual rights and the first amendment right to free speech. given "depictions that the defendants community would consider 'obscene' " (emphasis mine), the government can now de facto outlaw art.
someone tell me i'm being hysterical over all this, but from where i'm sitting, i can see bonfires on the horizon. we follow this kind of thinking, the government will be telling us what books are legitimate, next, and what films, what music... what culture is legitimate. god forbid if your culture ever becomes illegitimate.
this kind of thinking will get us all killed.
please, get reading, and please buy a Comic Book Legal Defence Fund membership.
here's hoping.
peace.
this may be short; i may expand later, once i've had time to get rid of the terrified nervous twitching in my stomach.
you might not be aware of the Handley case. WIRED has provided fairly clear, accurate coverage. essentially, an american comic book collector was prosecuted and convicted under obscenity law for possessing japanese 'lolicon' manga - comics whose theme is generally sexualisation of underage, often pre-pubescent girls.
you might not understand why something like this would make a normal person fearful. fearful and angry.
to break it down quick and dirty (and i urge you to read the WIRED article and do some research), what has happened here is that Congress has enacted a law by which they may tell you what you can and cannot read in the comfort of your own home, in this first instance under the guise of protecting you from 'child pornography'.
quite aside from the debate as to whether these manga constitute 'child pornography' in the first place, the further-reaching aspects of this PROTECT ACT (doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy?) directly impact both individual rights and the first amendment right to free speech. given "depictions that the defendants community would consider 'obscene' " (emphasis mine), the government can now de facto outlaw art.
someone tell me i'm being hysterical over all this, but from where i'm sitting, i can see bonfires on the horizon. we follow this kind of thinking, the government will be telling us what books are legitimate, next, and what films, what music... what culture is legitimate. god forbid if your culture ever becomes illegitimate.
this kind of thinking will get us all killed.
please, get reading, and please buy a Comic Book Legal Defence Fund membership.
here's hoping.
peace.