An observation from The New York Times undercuts the oft-heard argument that if local people truly don’t want a porn shop, it will wither away:
People do not, as a rule, buy pornography in their own neighborhoods. As a result, pornography and sex-aid stores tend to be near mass transit, ideally as near as possible, so little time is spent walking to and fro. “This is not impulse buying,” said Carl Weisbrod, who for many years headed offices charged with the oversight and redevelopment of Times Square. “It’s people who come from wherever to make specific purchases.” As a result, he added, “there’s a desire in the industry to be in transit hubs.”From The New York Times, “NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: GREENWICH VILLAGE; The Forces That Fuel a Squall of a Block”, 6/20/04
As we have observed before, a quick check of Mapquest reveals that 135 King Street, the proposed location for a large Capital Video porn shop, is less than a mile and a half from Exit 20 on I-91.
OH NO! people from out of town doing business here! god forbid.as if you never go outside of town to make purchases.what does that have to do with anything?how many people come to northampton to shop now?is it safe to assume that you would rather not have those people shop here as well?and spare me your rhetoric which has been repeated over and over again.honestly,i’m tired of hearing it as are others.
We’re not talking just any people. We’re talking people who are stimulated by movies like Office Slut Gangbang, Use Em’ Abuse Em’ and Lose Em’ #9, or magazines like World of Black Bondage. I’m not sure I really want to attract such a person to my neighborhood.
A large porn shop is likely to hurt other businesses by scaring away their shoppers. Opposing Capital Video’s plans is pro-business for everyone else.
And what type of person are you exactly talking about? Are you able to judge what type of person purchases these things?Are you able to judge every person that shops at every store in town? If so,that would be a neat trick.I love how you group every person that views adult material into one group of so called “low life” people. Another great response from you.Thanks.(enter sarcasm here)
Could you please inform me on exactly “such a person” means?What “type” of people purchase adult material?only the “lowlifes”?Well,I have news for you.There are many different “types” of people that purchase adult material.Not just the “lowlifes” And what if these people coming into town to shop at the Adult Boutique spend money at other businesses while in town?Is that not a good thing?Would that not be pro-business?
Personally, I’m offended by the often homosexual “erotica” sold by Oh My!. Tell me, why does your offense take more importance than mine?
We want people to be their own judges. We don’t see “low-lifes” and “have-lifes”, just individuals who all have the power to look inside themselves and think about what will truly make them happy. Our FAQ gives people some guidelines to think about…
Porn vs. Erotica
We distinguish porn, which is generally harmful, from erotica, which can be harmless or even beneficial. The distinction is not absolute, but we suggest that erotica is that which supports love, and porn is that which destroys love.
Here are some characteristics we associate with porn:
mechanical
mindless
uncaring
exploitative
imbalance of power
taking without permission
selfish
careless
simplistic
shallow
deception
violation
rough
harsh
unloving
Here are some characteristics we associate with erotica:
humane
mindful
caring
respectful
communication
listening
consent
balance of power
integrity
wholeness
sharing
thoughtful
deep feelings
loving
A complex work of art may have characteristics from both groups. It might be hard to apply a simple label to it. However, most porn is not that complex.
Ultimately, the difference between porn and erotica has to do with the long-term effect on the viewer, as well as the conditions under which the entertainment was made. By educating people as to the potential harms of adult materials, we hope they can look inside themselves to judge the healthiness of their media diet.
The following might be signs of unhealthy consumption of porn:
You feel guilty, ashamed, alienated, sad, confused, unsatisfied, or angry after viewing porn.
You’re afraid other people might discover what you’re watching.
You experience negative consequences at work from your consumption of porn, or you fear possible consequences.
You start looking at pretty people purely as sex objects that you’d like to possess.
You find that you are becoming increasingly critical of other people’s physical imperfections.
You find it stimulating when porn performers appear to be experiencing pain, or are crying.
You notice your relationships, particularly your intimate ones, becoming unstable, coarse and conflict-ridden.
You find that you prefer spending time alone with porn, rather than engaging with a companion or attempting to find one.
You sense that you are not growing emotionally as time passes, that you are stuck in habits that are not very satisfying.
You find that you have to consume more and more porn, or more explicit and violent porn, to become stimulated.
You experience unwelcome attention from the law due to your porn consumption or sexual activities.
The experience in Hollywood, Boston, New York, Blaine and elsewhere clearly suggests that on balance, adult uses are likely to harm a neighborhood economically.
If there are people stimulated by media like “Use Em’ Abuse Em’ and Lose Em’ #9” and “World of Black Bondage”, I would be concerned about a large porn shop attracting numbers of them to my neighborhood.
The gender or sexual orientation of people depicted in movies or magazines is not what concerns us. The problem is imbalance of power and indifference to suffering, whether it’s in the magazines sold by Capital Video (“The look in her eyes tells us that she would like this bondage session to end pretty soon. Forget it, girl!”), the movies (“Ride along as we pick up ordinary young women f***’em senseless and dump’em! It’s all good clean fun!”), or the conditions of porn workers (“The Adult Industry Medical HealthCare Foundation (AIM), an industry- backed clinic in Sherman Oaks, administered voluntary tests to a group consisting primarily of adult film workers. Of 483 people tested between October 2001 and March 2002, about 40% had at least one disease. Nearly 17% tested positive for chlamydia, 13% for gonorrhea and 10% for hepatitis B and C, according to Sharon Mitchell, a former adult actress who founded AIM.”)
Our offense is more important than yours because real people and real communities are suffering real harm from adult businesses. Tolerance for this is not a noble virtue. It’s just callousness.
If Cap Video were targeting people from out of town, it would have bought or leased land closer to the highway exits. What is really offensive is that nopornnorthampton would prefer to ban porn to where the people of downtown northampton would have to drive to purchase porn like out of towners, rather than walk to their local porn shop just as they can walk to any other book/video shop that wants to be located in the downtown area.
Yours/AC
A mile and a half seems plenty close enough to the highway for me. It would be a straight shot down King Street for someone coming off of Exit 20 on I-91. Also, the corner of King and North Streets gets lots of traffic, as vehicles are funneled under the railroad there, so that might have been part of its appeal.
Asking porn consumers to travel an extra mile or two from the center of town seems to me like a small imposition considering the potential harms to our neighborhood of having a large porn shop right next to homes. For those who have no car or prefer not to drive, a PVTA bus (number 44 PDF) will get you access to North King Street.