The Trouble with Lolis (Art by Kurosujuu)
The latest such attempt comes from Alaska, where anime is specifically being mentioned, along with other virtual child pornography, in an attempt to extend anti-kiddy porn laws to include virtual child pornography (i.e. the hand-drawn, computer-made stuff).
Now, virtual child pornography is already illegal at the federal level via the Amber Alert set of laws, which establish such material as "obscene" and which have not been tested in court just yet. (The last time a similar case made it to the Supreme Court they found that such virtual porn was legal-- back in '02.) Many proponents of banning materials like this believe that it adds to a person's likelihood to abuse a real child-- however, studies have not yet shown clearly that watching REAL child pornography lead someone to act on such fantasies, much less for cartoons.
Assistant US Attorney Audrey Renschen, however, suggests that such cartoons can be used to "groom children for abuse," buying into the mainstream idea that cartoons are for kids, and that showing kids cartoons about kids having sex with grown-ups will make them think it's okay. She was sure to mention that she has never charged anyone with possession of such anime images, and somehow I suspect she's never even considered charging someone with owning, say, a Simpsons episode that features the eternally-stoned bus driver Otto with promoting drug abuse to children...but she's got a point, too.
"When you talk about anime, even though a real child wasn't used, it still sexualizes the child. And cartoons are naturally conducive to attracting a child."
what does that even mean in relevance to ...ANYTHING?
"cartoons attracts children"
and?
What child is being sexualized anyway.
and while i'm sure it's happened in theory, seriously how many kids that still can't think for themselves are being exposed to Lolicon?
Stupidity.
Child porn, technically is illegal because of the abuse of a minor who can not legally consent to any actions and who is physically or psychologically harmed from the act. Not sexualizing of a minor. If that were the case then most of those twisted child pageants could be considered child porn. That is the sexualization of real minors.
In the case of art there is no 'victim', as there would be in a case of a real child having sexual pictures taken. That is quite literally a victimless crime. They might then say that someone who would actually abuse a child would own this book. That may be true, but that same person would also use a Sears catalog for the same purpose. Not to mention you can't convict someone on the possibility that they might do something. You can only convict on actions. Otherwise, like Gia says, you start dip into the idea of thought police.
The US Attorney is completely wrong if the merits of her case are that cartoons are geared toward children. Her case is destroyed if there is an age rating on the book. Even Japanese mangas will have some sort of age restriction notice. Unless the Attorney has evidence that some person was actually planning to attack some child the case doesn't seem to have much standing. This would only serve as evidence to state of mind and not the crime itself.
The crime would be if this person was showing these images to a minor. That would prove grooming. Not possession of the materials.
Not to mention, when you look at the number of cases of incest and rape that come out of Alaska, and that are actually reported. I really don't want to hear some sort of moralistic argument from them.
This seems like another case of Animation Age Ghetto, in this case the attorney being under the mindset that anything animated is only for kids. This lady clearly hasn't seen Western animated works like 1978's Watership Down and HBO's Spawn series from the late 1990s that clearly aren't for kids.
i am sure sarah palin would appreciate shota better
that's what you think XD there's a reason she can hunt wolves from her helicopter
lol
that sentence can be min-interpreted by anyone who doesn't know what moe means
i guess so
Basic points of hate from me:
1) Anime being generalized as kids' stuff yaddayaddayadda
2) Banning yet another thing when we have worse shit on mainstream TV that no one seems to acknowledge having just as bad and/or worse problems
3) Take care of your damn kids people. If you want to keep them in a plastic bubble their whole life, do it yourself. The government shouldn't have to raise your kids for you too. And where I'm going with this is that if you raise your kids right something like this shouldn't even be an issue in the first place....hypothetically.... oh what do you know? I'm making a statement based on little to no factual evidence yet correlating it to an effect that it may have nothing at all to do with! Sound like something you've heard before hmmmm?
he pretty much got potrayed as a kid together with someone else
yeah i saw the coming attraction i was going to see it
What's Sarah Palin have to do with any of this. Last time I check she is no longer Governor of Alaska.
Also if Assistant US Attorney thinks it's bad idea for this stuff to be out their. That can't be good thing if you like watching hentai.
the us attorney thinks pot should be illegal, doesn't make it right.
as for sarah palin, she has a lot more pull then you would think
Pot shoud be illegal and hentai should not.
Sarah Palin might have some friend in high places in Alaska, but dose not make it given that she had anything to do with this.