The idea was that a sober male population that wasn’t sexually charged on pornographic material would be less given to sexual assault. That’s probably a fair assumption.

Does an abundance of pornographic material excite people to sexual abuse? I’d be interested to see that study (though frat boy culture in the States charged on alcohol, misogyny, and porn would back you up there!).

Alcoholism, like drug abuse, is rooted in deeper causes. Aborigines share with many Native Americans in the United States, both similar social circumstances and biological weakness to alcohol.

I’ve not been to Australia, but I’ve been to a bunch of Indian reservations in the United States and it is clear that the main causes of alcoholism there are rooted in economic and social neglect. Think Dublin 8 and heroin.

I like the way you put it, “suffered under the burden of low expectations”, that is certainly half of it.

Steve – Alcoholism, like drug abuse, is rooted in deeper causes.

Granted, taking this point leaves us prone to the charge that we are just bleeding heart liberals, but I totally agree with your point. It’s easy to legislate. It’s much easier at any rate than digging through social problems and trying to come to their roots. But unless those core issues are dealt with, laws are unlikely to sufficiently change things.

Derek – Don’t aboriginal Australians have a huge genetic intolerance for alcohol though? If alcohol isn’t in their culture then perhaps it is best for them if it is prohibited in their communities.

I think it is better to steer clear of arguments of genetic predisposition to things. It is a slippery slope that I think is best left alone. As for what is ‘best’ for Aborigines, who gets to decide? At the heart of the criticism against the Australian government is the sense that they are being paternalistic. How can a people group be treated like children who don’t know what is in their own best interest. The very same thinking was responsible for the atrocities that Rudd apologised for a year ago. Once upon a time, the Irish were also thought of as not knowing what was best for them. That line of thinking goes beyond the slippery slope in my opinion.

As for what is accepted in ‘white’ as opposed to Aboriginal Australia, the same laws apply. Aborigines haven’t asked that child abuse be swept under the rug or go unpunished. There isn’t a desire for a double standard. In the same way that people all over the world are assumed to have the right to live in communities of their choosing, under the law of the land and enjoying the same freedoms as the rest of the state, why shouldn’t Aborigines live in their communities under those circumstances?

From an African perspective, few things can do as much societal damage as the propagation of the idea that a people group is infantile and needs paternalistic protection.

I think it is better to steer clear of arguments of genetic predisposition to things. It is a slippery slope that I think is best left alone.

Absolutely not. The science behind this is solid. Aborigines lack the gene, carried by Europeans, for processing alcohol. There is nothing racist or shady about this, and it should be taken into account.

Just like racists should be taken to account for stating anti-scientific views, so should those who deny the simple truth that is aborigines’ genetic disposition towards developing alcoholism is easier than others.

Steve K.

I think you may be referring to alcohol dehydrogenase, which in humans is probably a steroid alcohol dehydrogenase with specificity broad enough to metabolise ethanol.

There is a variant that used to be known as the Chinese variant, which had reduced activity against ethanol, which therefore persisted longer in the bloodstream. It was somewhat amusing at conferences to watch Chinese scientists get looped on a glass of beer.

I don’t know about Australian natives, but Native Americans share the same variant, which accounts for the supposed effects on them of firewater.

However, there’s been so much intermarriage etc that some Native Americans could drink a lot of Irishmen under the table.

Bryan: is there any evidence that Irish and/or American priests were addicted to porn before committing their abusive crimes? Incest in Ireland may have been fueled by alcohol, but I don’t know where the porn might have come in.

Let’s not all be romanticising what life was like for Aborigines before Europeans arrived. I’m pretty sure they still had high infant mortality rates, suffered from diseases, and presumably rape and incest and physical abuse weren’t introduced by white people.
Before I come to my main point: as for pornography commodifying women, well, obviously it commodifies children as they have no choice, but let’s grant women who choose that profession a measure of respect for their choice. They are adults free to choose their own career paths. It might also come as a surprise to some people that men work in the industry. Does it commodify them or are men less equal than women in that regard?
Look, pornography exists for a couple of main reasons. The first is that human males are poorly evolved in the sense that their bodies produce far too much sperm than what is needed to reproduce. Pornography is simply a healthy device to assist in getting rid of it. One sure way to see a spike in rapes would be to have all men walking around pumped full of testosterone, even though their bodies are screaming at them to get rid of it.
The second (and becoming far more popular) is as a foreplay device for couples.
Plenty of people I know (men, women, couples both gay and straight) read and watch pornography and they’re normal people. They have normal lives and normal relationships. Blaming pornography for high levels of rape and incest is like blaming Marilyn Manson for high school shootings. It is reminiscent of the sensationalist tactics used by the Daily Mail. The problem is a cultural one. I absolutely cannot see how having no job or prospects makes you rape a child or a woman. Please explain how that works.

DesJay – I don’t know of any studies on the correlation between porn consumption and sexual crimes. But links have definitely been suggested by some. Like Rosemary, I think the very idea behind porn is based on exploitation and I’m not a fan. I would like to see less of it in the public domain. But even with something like porn, there are huge dangers in prohibiting it to some people groups as opposed to others. If there are going to be restrictions (which I support in principle), I think they should be universal.

Rosemary – I’m not brave enough to start up a conversation on Priests that abused children. There are some things, I think, that outsiders should have the sense to leave alone.

Maybe you should take a look at the subject?

Derek -I’m sorry DesJay. I was traveling and unable to approve any comments. Maybe I should get a Blackberry or iPhone.

About your original comment, I totally disagree with both points you made. The life of Aborigines before colonisation is neither here nor there. Laws that apply only to them today are wrong regardless of the historical context in this case.

As for pornography, while there may be plenty of willing buyers and sellers on the margins, at the core, I am still convinced that it is based on the celebration of power over whoever is being commodified for the sexual gratification of the viewer. At the core, plenty of ’sellers’ are as willing as poor farmers in the developing world are willing to work under horrible conditions for just about enough to get by.

I don’t know about Australian natives, but Native Americans share the same variant, which accounts for the supposed effects on them of firewater.

DesJay & Bryan.

Apologies, I didn’t do my homework on this one either. Native Americans and some Chinese appear to lack the gene for ethanol processing, but there is no comprehensive study for Aborigines.

In that light, the gazing eye of science has placed genetic pie on my face. Genetic traits not be considered in this debate.

Hi there Bryan, I’m from Australia and came across your entry doing some research on a piece for my own blog.

Unfortunately in some areas of Australia Aboriginal adults act like children. I agree it’s sad that the government has to step in and stop them spending their welfare cheques on drugs instead of their kids but really, there isn’t any other way. We’ve literally tried everything else from food stamps to education – the lazy buggers just don’t get it.

And as for being angry about being subjected to a different set of laws, well nobody seems to be complaining about all the extra welfare you can claim if you identify yourself as aboriginal to the government. Angry about being subjected to different laws of the population indeed.

I know I sound a bit harsh but the general consensus over here is Australian’s are sick and tired of taxpayer money being put towards unsustainable communities. Currently it seems the situation is in stale mate. The government doesn’t seem to want to pump any more money into the areas and the Aboriginal leaders just sit around with their hands held out.

You can read my entry on recent Aboriginal related media here: http://ozsoapbox.com/rest-of-australia/western-australian-aborigines-demand-more-money/