A lone member of NPN decided to swing by 135 King Street late this afternoon to see if there was any activity there. We observed about eight pro-porn protesters. On seeing the member of NPN, some of these protesters began shouting “pedophile”! In this picture, the protesters appear to be interacting with a passerby in a long-sleeve dark blue shirt.
The protester pictured below approached NPN, mentioned Japanese Yakuza, and said he was a “full-blooded Italian”. We asked him if he was making a physical threat, and he denied it. This interaction was captured on video by another pro-porn protester. A short while later, the “Italian” began following NPN down the sidewalk on King Street, turning away only when told that harassment would lead to a call to the police.
This protester also interfered with NPN’s photographing of his fellow protesters’ activities for several minutes:
This protester appears to be inviting NPN to “kiss my ass”:
In previous protests, the porn advocates have been heard to shout out “Do you like porn?” to passing drivers and pedestrians, including young women. Seems to us like the porn shop hasn’t even arrived and the harassment of neighbors has begun.
18 thoughts on “Pro-Porn Protesters Shout Out Slander, Make Threats”
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If your “protests” were done and over with,why did you feel it necassary to swing by and see if there was any activity?I keep noticing on this site the same old thing is being said over and over and over again.Is that all you can come up with just word it differently? You seem to use words such as,”may”,”possibly”,”might” and so on.These words do not provide accurate truths to the “secondary effects” of which you are so concerned.I would also like to make a correction to a post.Castaways Lounge is in Whately,not Hadley but even still,that business has been there for many,many years without incident.I also commend the pro porn group for continuing to demonstrate in front of the store.They have not given up the fight.Unlike you who only felt it necessary to demonstrate for a short period of time.One more thing,I did NOT appreciate you sending me and my family that letter.
See this is exactly what I tell you guys when we go there. Its very ironic how you always spin us to look like the bad guys. What about the hundreds of letters you sent to peoples homes bulliting out porn movies and full descriptions of there contents. We ask people that appeal to us with thumbs up and waves. You blindly send letters to peoples homes. I wouldnt yell it to an 80 year old woman, yet you would send letters to there houses. You need to stop twisting things about us to make us look bad, when we are no different then you.
You started the protesting and stirred up a hornets nest. Sleep in the bed you’ve made.
I love how when i read these blogs that you guys make the pro porn protesters look like they’re the only ones that are bad people… theres 2 sides of a story sucks for the ppl that read these they only get yours. I agree n support them all the way. I was watching one of the protests and I can recall a women from your side start telling them there “assholes, and have no dicks”… that doesn’t sound like a anti porn mouth from what you guys describe. I got one of your letters… for one why would you send out letters w/ detailed describtions of what the movies are and how much they cost? then to have the nerve to ask for money? for what your pocket? check out masslive.com theres an article aobut you guys on there. you ppl are fake n two faced n should be ashamed of yourselves for taking away freedom of speech for ppl.
Um…
Do you really get off on humiliating moronic frat boys? Are you seriously that bored that you’re going to act like a few anti-social fools that you have incited due to your shrill moralizing are even worth comment in public discourse?
Give us a break. Address one of your real opponents rather than engaging in playing at the kind of elitist games that are more than a little tired. You’re smarter than townies who want a porn store. Congratulations. Your parents must be so proud.
I wonder if you care that you’ve offended the sensibilities of many in the community twice with one stone by sending out a lurid and wasteful mailer. You seem to have not much acquainted yourself with your new home- not terribly unlike Kenny G from exotic Cranston.
Sit down, breathe deep and have a big, tall glass of calm the heck down. The store isn’t going to come to town. That much has basically been accomplished. Can we chill a bit now and actually think about how to do this rather than toying with people who are patently, frankly, and obviously childish prats for the sake of inciting narrow, reactive policy?
This update doesn’t seem any more or less puerile than wasteful mailers describing subjectively shocking sex acts in the language of pornographers or referring to the sex act as “bonking”. Once again, NPN- a real class act! Thank you for being the shrill voice the town is slowly growing uncomfortable with. Check out the man from your alma mater in The Hampshire Daily Gazette today. Will there be a response or more arrogant brush offs?
The camera isn’t lying, Mark, and there were many witnesses on King Street on Wednesday. If you don’t want to look ugly, don’t be ugly. The pro-porn protesters created a hostile environment with their words, actions and gestures. When people approach us in a more reasonable fashion, such as Peter Brooks, we reciprocate.
As for our letter, we laid out objective facts about Northampton, Capital Video, Kenneth Guarino, secondary effects, and the products Capital Video sells. The letter is unpleasant because porn is unpleasant. We want people to have an accurate, unfiltered picture of the situation, so they can make an informed judgment. Unlike Capital Video, our purpose is not to make money, but to preserve the quality of our town.
If your purpose isnt to make money then how do you explain the letter you recieved from the Massachusetts attorney general’s office that stated you are crossing the legal lines by soliciting money for its cause.
And we are being ugly? What about the other week when you decided to sling obsenities at us when we showed up, yet when your reported came you changed your tone. We are no worse then you are, you decide to bad mouth us based on our views. I find what you are doing to be very childish, we are teens. Why do you try and deface us to make yourselves look like the victims?
What about the people that you bothered by photographing there vehicals licence plates on Dunkin Doughnuts property. What about the fact that the police were called on you because of the fact that you were photographing people in there cars driving by just because they supported us?
Why not do what we are, support your beliefs, and see how it looks in the long run. We both have our supporters, but you dont see me trying to make you look bad on my websites.
The chance that we will actually make money in this campaign is probably less than 1%. We’re certainly a long way away from that now. Even if there was money left over, we’d use it for a related purpose, not for our personal needs.
Registering a charity is a simple, routine matter that we are looking into. We are not professional fundraisers, so we are learning what to do. We keep records of all NPN expenses, and donations are kept in a separate bank account from our personal funds.
I don’t recall voicing any obscenities to anyone, but if I did, I apologize.
We may photograph certain information visible from public streets for purposes of safety and accountability. We had a discussion with the police about what’s reasonable, and may adjust some of our actions accordingly. One of your pro-porn colleagues was videotaping with vigor yesterday, and another one showed me a photograph of my car, so it’s not like you refrain from these activities yourselves.
As for the pictures we choose to publish, I’m sorry if you feel they make you look bad, but these events did happen and we want people to know it. There are many images we haven’t yet published, such as our video recording of a pro-porn protester giving me the finger on 9/27 for an extended period of time.
If you want us to hear you, it would help if you would put us in a mood to listen.
That’s funny, I thought the same thing about how the harassment of neighbors has begun before the store even opens when I got your disgusting letter in the mail.
I live in the area and I like to know what’s going on. If a bunch of people are gathered on a streetcorner shouting “Pedophile!” at me, that’s newsworthy.
Yes, we are careful to qualify certain statements with “might” because a risk is not a certainty. However, that doesn’t mean the risk isn’t real, and American courts agree.
Sorry you didn’t like the letter. It’s unpleasant because porn is unpleasant.
I don’t make obscene gestures or shout out slander. That’s not fighting fair.
Porn worldwide is a $56 billion industry. Pornographers get plenty of “speech”. We are making a small effort to redress the balance. Kenneth Guarino (owner of Capital Video) is the profiteer here. The thought that we will actually make money from opposing porn is laughable.
If some people who support our cause are not always skillful in speech, that’s unfortunate. We hope everyone will do their best to maintain a respectful tone.
As for our letter, we are exercising our freedom of speech. We are asking the Goldbergs to consider the consequences of what they do, and voluntarily show care for Northampton.
By calling attention to the rough tactics of some in the opposition, we’re hoping to keep the debate on a safe and respectful level. We have posts considering a wide range of speakers on the issue, from pornographers to lawyers to those feminists who believe porn is actually empowering for women. And yes, we rebut Mr. Boyd here.
It’s hard to discuss pornography without getting into uncomfortable subjects. If we were squeamish about it, I’m sure we’d get mocked for that instead.
Would it be better to let Capital Video quietly inject this material into Northampton on a daily basis, with people who dislike porn pretending it’s not happening?
If people don’t have accurate information, it’s much harder to have a good discussion or make good decisions.
You know very well that if the porn store doesn’t open, there will be–and currently are–may sources of porn being injected quietly into the community. You know that nothing you do will “protect” the community from porn, yet you continue to tell people that you will make this town “safer.” You’re engaging in fear mongering to hide your nimbyism.
Yes, it’s true, Tony, we can’t be everywhere at once. That’s why we’re trying to educate people generally about porn.
We are focusing our efforts on Capital Video because of the size of their proposed store, their (bad) track record, their unresponsiveness to the community and media, and the emphasis of the material they sell.
What are you trying to educate people about? What do you want people to know about porn?
Among other things, we want them to know it can change their attitudes towards women and rape, that it can have addictive effects, and that adult businesses can blight neighborhoods.