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Originally posted by ARTelevision
Cynthetiq, exactly. Very few folks care about what adults can access.
The issue of how to manage what is accessible by children is a real one. It would seem that a response to refashioning notions of how content is made available would need to have some political viability if anything is to actually change for the betterment of everyone.
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The issue of accessibility to children is directly parallel to computer security ala Kevin Mitnick. The weakest link is always going to be those who hold the means to receive media and who do not accurately secure adult materials-the parents. Children cannot be blamed for their curiosity; it's the parent's job to control the flow of information their child is allowed to see. Just as Mitnick exploited people in control of systems to do most of his hacking, children get ahold of content from usecured systems (radio, tv) and get ahold of unsecured media (the Playboys under your dad's mattress) because parents do not take proper precautions to keep these things away from kids.
I agree with the self-censoring DVDs/TVs for those who wish to use it. Their freedom to protect their kids is as important as our right to be free to view those materials. Parental controls are stupid to us, but very useful for parents who don't want a weak link in the system to be exploited by their kids or their friends. Helping parents to keep adult content out of their kid's hands is a very good thing.
The religious "right" use the children to justify censorship, since they know they can't attack adults for making choices of free will without looking dumber than they already are. They know the parents are largely responsible for what their children see, hear, and read. The don't attack the parents when they can just use children as a scapegoat for censorship, sidestepping the real issue of home media security.
Simply put, if you don't want your children to see adult shit, then become a little more proactive in what your child is allowed to view. Put locks on the entertainment center. Use parental controls on your PC and standalone equipment. Log all internet traffic in case your kid knows how to delete the history and cookies. Install a keylogger on your PC if you want. Use Netnanny or a similar program. Ask the parents of your child's friends with if they use similar measures to censor content, and don't allow your child to go to their home if they don't. Don't allow your kids to see any films not rated G.
You *can* keep your children from viewing or listening to adult material in your home. It just depends on how much effort you want to put into it. You can say it's too hardcore, but these things are good for us as adults, since we can point the finger right back at the censors and say "we choose to see these things. It's YOUR job to help us to keep it out of our kid's hands, and ours to use the methods given."
In closing, I realize our culture is saturated with sexual messages and innuendo, and you can't 100% keep you child from being exposed to it. But you CAN keep them from a lot of things and take the power away from the religious "right" by taking action in your own home.