Putting It Out Into the World: How Far is Too Far?

About a week or two ago, I joined the erotica writing community Desdmona. I was a member before but closed my account when I took a break from the internet. I like Desdmona for a few different reasons. It’s a closed community. In order to read the stories you must become a member of the site. In addition to protecting members from drive by crazies, a closed community also protects your publishing rights. Publishers don’t consider stories posted to closed critique boards to be previously published and you can still sell them.

Second, they have a feedback system that is fair. Before you can submit your writing, you must comment on the stories of other members. Let’s face it. The biggest problem with writing communities is that everyone wants other people to read their stories but don’t want to put any effort into giving feedback to other authors. You know who you are.

The main reason I like them, though, is the fact that anything goes. Except for child pornography and bestiality, you can submit stories about any type of sexual activity and the community won’t pass judgment on you. This is important when you are writing about the sexual fantasies that turn people on.

I don’t know why it is this way but erotica writers are assumed to be perverts. It’s the craziest thing. I don’t think anyone assumes horror authors are secret serial killers or paranormal writers are blood sucking vampires. However, no one thinks twice about believing erotica authors are sexual deviants who can’t get enough of the slap and tickle. Seriously? Really? Come on now.

In the forums of Desdmona, the question of censorship came up. The poster was wondering if and when censorship is appropriate. Personally, I believe censorship is only appropriate in a select few situations. I think people should be able to express themselves however they wish. The only time something should be censored is if life and death is on the line and even then you have to be very careful because anything can be turned into a life or death situation with a little tweaking.

What I do believe in is taking personal responsibility for what we put out into the world. If you put something out there, you should be prepared to accept the benefits and the consequences of your actions. The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech. However, if you write a manual on how to seduce children, don’t be surprised when the police come knocking on your door.

My question is where does that line of responsibility end? Am I responsible if someone takes the words I write and twists them to suit their own nefarious purposes? I ask this question because Sarah Palin, who I hate with a passion that burns hotter than a thousand suns, has found herself in this exact situation. The media is connecting a poster containing crosshairs over the districts of state representatives with the recent shooting that occurred in Arizona.

Now I agree that the rhetoric used by Sarah Palin and others just like her has been provocative. An article on Huffington Post made an excellent point that when you use language that only a crazy person would take seriously then you shouldn’t be surprised when a crazy person takes you seriously. On the other hand, should she be held accountable for the actions of a deranged lunatic? After all, he is the one who made the decision to open fire on a group of people killing six, including a 9 year old child, and severely wounding Giffords.

Personally, I think the responsibility should be shared. I do agree that these media personalities really need to think about what they are putting out into the world. The rhetoric over the last three years has been nothing but a cacophony of fear inducing insanity designed to undermine the political process. There are ways to disagree without being obnoxiously disagreeable or asking people to be disruptive. I don’t think civil discourse has ever incited anyone to war or inspired an assassination attempt.

At the same time, though, there will always be people who take things the wrong way for whatever reason. But they have to be held accountable for the way they perceive the world. If someone lacks the mental capacity to discern fact from fiction, I’m not sure anyone but that person can be blamed for their own failings.

So what do you think about censorship? Where does the responsibility for the things we say begin and end. Leave your opinion in the comments section.

(Photo From Photos8)

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