Thursday, February 9, 2012

Did Porn Play Part in What Josh Powell Became?

Swirling in the news about Josh Powell is the contention that Josh grew up in an environment of pornography and likely maintained the influence when he got older.

Significant, surely, if you do not want the children to be raised in such an environment. So it is, the state took custody of the children from him.

But, I cannot help but wonder if the environment of sex contributed to what Josh became. I cannot help but wonder but what, in the great debate about whether pornography is harmful, if this isn't worthy of being Exhibit H.

Some would dismiss it quickly, saying most all human beings view pornography, that trying to connect what Josh did with pornography is like suggesting a  tie between that behavior and how much pizza he ate.

Silly, just silly.

But, stop before you say there is no evidence of causation. Stop at least long enough to consider some points as to how deep Josh might have been mired in a world of sexual content.

In August police, found in the home a poster of a woman with a sword through her genitals.

Steve's father was arrested in September on voyeurism and child pornography charges. That's his dad, mind you, not Josh, but the two sometimes were under the same roof, and Josh reportedly said he had kept some of his dad's explicit materials on his own computer.

Also, Josh reportedly admitted he had taken pictures of women's legs without their knowledge.

Pornography was perhaps the lead cause in why his parents were divorced while he was growing up, with the father deeply into it and seeing nothing wrong with sharing it with his children.

The children were taught sex education, reportedly, by their father when they were as young as 6, and taught about the use of contraceptives as young as age 9.

Was the environment Josh was raised in a contributing factor in what he became? Why is it that few would defend the taking of his children from his home, since there appeared to be the danger of sexually explicit materials there, yet we would not look back to how Josh, himself, grew up in such an environment? If it could be harmful to the children when they are young, it could have been harmful to the father when he was young. If we worry what it could do to the children, why would we not consider it could, indeed, have done affected Josh?

The story behind the story in the Josh Powell case, then, could be the influence pornography had.

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