Collegian musings: Porn, grammar and the honor code
Mark Perkins
Issue date: 10/25/07 Section: Opinion
Mary Petrides' article regarding porn displays a basic misunderstanding of the problem and scope of porn and lust.
The response to "man up" simply does not cut it. As I am the son of a man who has spent thirty years discipling men full-time for a Christian ministry organization, porn and masturbation have been an open subject as far as I can remember knowing what they were.
Mary seems to think that an overwhelming sense of shame and a white-knuckle test of will are the only necessities for combating the insidious sin that is lust.
In discussions with my father, and the men who labor alongside him, and in my own personal experience, that attitude is only prevalent in two sections of the population: Those who don't understand (namely, women) and those who are conquered by this addiction. The first group speaks out of ignorance; the second group speaks from deep shame and self-disgust.
Mary's charge will only make those battling this wicked addiction feel a greater sense of impotence, that if they were only better men, this wouldn't be a problem.
Men, do not believe this lie. It is predicated on the idea that most guys skip through life conquering lust like a lion conquers sheep.
My father likes to say, "90 percent of men struggle with lust, and the other 10 percent struggle with lying." You are not alone, and there is no easy solution.
Furthermore, as I peruse my weekly Collegian editorial opinion, I can't help but think that the Collegian editorial staff spend Fridays and Saturdays searching campus with a microscope to find something - anything - to b---- and moan about.
Perhaps this is an attempt to distance itself from any image of an administration puppet, or perhaps the staff genuinely believes in the horrors of a mandatory honor code or the tragic deficiency of remedial grammar courses.
In any case, I find it amusing that the staff proposes to fix the question of honor by replacing the "vague" honor code with a tax-law-like list of offenses and punishments.
The response to "man up" simply does not cut it. As I am the son of a man who has spent thirty years discipling men full-time for a Christian ministry organization, porn and masturbation have been an open subject as far as I can remember knowing what they were.
Mary seems to think that an overwhelming sense of shame and a white-knuckle test of will are the only necessities for combating the insidious sin that is lust.
In discussions with my father, and the men who labor alongside him, and in my own personal experience, that attitude is only prevalent in two sections of the population: Those who don't understand (namely, women) and those who are conquered by this addiction. The first group speaks out of ignorance; the second group speaks from deep shame and self-disgust.
Mary's charge will only make those battling this wicked addiction feel a greater sense of impotence, that if they were only better men, this wouldn't be a problem.
Men, do not believe this lie. It is predicated on the idea that most guys skip through life conquering lust like a lion conquers sheep.
My father likes to say, "90 percent of men struggle with lust, and the other 10 percent struggle with lying." You are not alone, and there is no easy solution.
Furthermore, as I peruse my weekly Collegian editorial opinion, I can't help but think that the Collegian editorial staff spend Fridays and Saturdays searching campus with a microscope to find something - anything - to b---- and moan about.
Perhaps this is an attempt to distance itself from any image of an administration puppet, or perhaps the staff genuinely believes in the horrors of a mandatory honor code or the tragic deficiency of remedial grammar courses.
In any case, I find it amusing that the staff proposes to fix the question of honor by replacing the "vague" honor code with a tax-law-like list of offenses and punishments.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
steam-machine
posted 10/28/07 @ 1:20 PM EST
Porn and masturbation for many people is not a matter of shame or self disgust. More enlightened individuals who are not weighed down by the restrictive confines of a dogmatic moral mindset see porn for what it is: nothing more than cheap entertainment. (Continued…)
David talcott
posted 11/01/07 @ 11:38 AM EST
To steam-machine (one wonders why you're not willing to put your real name since you think there's no shame involved), you are quite wrong. Porn and masturbation are extremely harmful--damaging the souls of everyone involved in them. (Continued…)
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