We already know that moral panics exist. We’ve seen them crop up and cause untold amounts of damage to our free society, from the Salem Witch Trials, to the days of religious persecution (which the SWT were a part of).
It is my belief that other forms of prejudice, such as racism, may also be incorporated into the moral panic paradigm.
What keeps me from falling into the moral panic ‘meme’ is the fact that moral panics have never once produced anything productive or beneficial, and usually cause untold amounts of harm and suffering to innocent people. It’s superficiality at its finest.
I don’t necessarily believe that parents and society is entirely wrong in their fear of, or overall distrust of pedophilia. It’s only natural for parents, and expected parents, to take the safety of children seriously. But when does this instinct become irrational?
Would the desire to ban/censor fictional pornographic material be considered a form of that irrational behavior, considering that the science doesn’t seem to support a causal link or meaningful correlation between the possession/consumption of such material and acts of CSA?
I’m also posting this to reference Prostasia’s Zotero library! I think this is a great thing to have, as it allows all of the research data to be collected into one convenient place. I also think that the inclusion of journals regarding pornography and the lack of harm, ought to be included as well. But that’s just my feedback.
https://www.zotero.org/groups/2249125/csa_prevention/library