Someone please tell Telus to stop trying to justify their decision to sell porn
February 21 edit: well, looks like Telus has officially stopped selling porn! A small victory? Perhaps!
This is a bit of a difficult issue because many people feel that it's just a matter of choice as to whether someone wants to view porn or not. What irks me most, however, is how Telus justifies its decision to sell porn. If they want to make money selling porn, then I suppose that's a good business decision (not that I support that decision...). After all, a recent news story is that Telus has tripled profits. But don't try and tell us that you're looking out for your customers.
Spokesman Jim Johannsson, says: "We feel that the responsible thing to do is put in place age verification controls..."
So should we be applauding regular porn sites who also have similar controls? Telus is now a porn provider, just admit it. You only need to put age verification controls in place if you're selling porn. Granted, people can access porn sites through cellphone browsers on all providers. It's not like Telus is blocking that. Telus is making it easier for people to find porn.
The company also says that it is protecting customers from getting online viruses. If someone gets a computer virus from accessing porn, how sympathetic should you really be? In fact, Telus is thus encouraging the downloading and viewing of porn, as it can now be done safely!
Comments
pkeung, I admire your
pkeung,
I admire your resolution. Not only does Telus not respect that stand but most of us don't have enough energy around the issue to lobby for it. Telus has a complicated place in my heart. We grew up with BCTel, like we grew up with VanCity. But Telus is a disconnected beast. One way for them to be different from other phone providers would be to stand for treating staff well, saying no to porn, investing in ethical issues generally. How powerful would it be if Telus and VanCity shared a vision?
cj
- Login to post comments
I'm not sure which is worse,
I'm not sure which is worse, Telus offering porn or the Catholic church ordering their members to drop Telus.
- Login to post comments
Porn is a special present.
Porn is a special present. Manna from Heaven, so to speak. It is without exception the most profound gift ever bestowed upon a largely confused, easily distracted, and tragically color uncoordinated species of primates. It's like cornflakes and milk.
S'good!
- Login to post comments
Oh. I don't want to be a
Oh.
I don't want to be a stickler or anything, but it's worth noting that the Catholic Church has spent $1.5 billion to date in legal fees fighting charges against its clergy for child molestation. Now that's nasty and some people will say it's not fair for me to mention that. I would suggest that that $1.5 billion could be better spent.
Physician, heal thyself.
Figures released from nationwide audits last March, coupled with previously released figures, indicated that clergy sex abuse cost dioceses more than $1.5 billion since 1950. Most of those costs were incurred since 2002.
U.S. Catholic Church faced more financial troubles in 2006
http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=22382
They got some real nerve telling others they can't look at smutty JPEGs on their cellphone when they're engaged in an all-out war against victims of some truly heinous crimes.
- Login to post comments
Well put P. Keung. I
Well put P. Keung. I congratulate you for standing up for what is good and honourable. I feel ethics and professionalism is falling all around us. More people have to voice their disgust with post-modern societal values these days. Are we sliding toward Gomorrah yet? It seems more and more society is marketing sin, instead of good things like love, goodness, peace and temperance.
Let's all do the right thing.
A.
- Login to post comments
Interesting comments, all,
Interesting comments, all, but if you'll indulge one more. Aside from the question of whether a phone company should be in the porn-selling industry or not (what's the difference between them and an ISP? The only difference is who is pocketing the cash) what I feel is a better question is why we have such strong reactions to people looking at jpegs of naked people. I am continually shocked at the hypocracy of how much extreme violence is accepted in the media but the puritan attitudes towards nudity and sex in our society remain. Why is nudity so shameful, and why do you call it sin? Somehow we've become accustomed towards movies with a double-digit body count but when Janet Jackson bares a breast on tv you'd think the world was about to end. Which, do you think, is more harmful to society in the long run?
I'd love to see a similar outcry about the next Die Hard movie.
- Login to post comments
That is a great point. Why
That is a great point. Why is it OK to kill each other but it isn't to *ahem* love each other?
Well, I certainly don't accept porn as the equivalent to love, but yes, we are in fact foolish to not want to take a stand against violence...
- Login to post comments
Interesting comments.. :D
Interesting comments.. :D