Who's The Wanker?
Is it the guy jerking off in a hotel room to pay-for-porn or the fundamentalist jerkoff who wants to ban porn from the viewing possibilities at hotels? Mark Barna writes for the Colorado Springs Gazette:
Focus on the Family and four other conservative Christian organizations are meeting today with Marriott International executives in Washington, D.C., to persuade them to remove in-room adult movies from their hotels.Tom Minnery, senior vice president of government and public policy at Focus, said it is time for family groups to make a collective stand against hotel pornography.
"Pornography feeds prostitution and sexual abuse," Minnery said. "And it's especially dangerous in hotels because it can become addictive and create a sexualized climate that puts men, women and children at risk."
What, the weary businessman who's jerking off to porn is going to go on some rampage, banging on doors and shooting his way in with the Uzi he smuggled through the TSA workers, and then kidnapping, raping, and killing all the children staying in the hotel on the average business Wednesday?
Not surprisingly, these nutters never bother to show evidence that porn "feeds prostitution and sexual abuse." In the era of lazy media, they just claim it does, and that's that.
And hilariously, these nitwits think they can coerce Marriott into removing the porn from their TV offerings, and that will be that. When I was at the evolutionary psych conference in New Hampshire, my friend Nando found a DVD of 80s hardcore porn on top of his and Kaja's hotel room TV. What are these nutters going to do next, try to ban laptops and DVD players and do a full search upon check-in to make sure people aren't bringing them in -- packed to the electronic gills?
Write to the Marriott to tell them you don't want them to bow to the nutters: internet.customer.care@marriott.com
Oh yeah, and as an Obscure Store commenter noted, if you really want to get the sex and violence out of hotel rooms, you'd better remove the bibles.
via obscurestore
dude, you have no idea how many people in Colorado cringe when these people open their festering mouths...
SwissArmyD at May 17, 2008 10:08 AM
I'd love to get my hands on the reality of their own porn viewing habits. Hypocrisy exposed is always so entertaining.
Amy Alkon at May 17, 2008 10:43 AM
Every business traveler I know has a laptop with a wireless internet connection. If they can't watch porn on the hotel TV they can easily surf porn on the internet.
Darry at May 17, 2008 11:37 AM
I realize that these guys are knee-jerk anti-porn (so maybe they don't object to jerking *knees*) but their stance doesn't even make nonsense. The travelin' man checks into his hotel room, dials up "The Whore of the Rings" on the hotel televsion machine and proceeds to beat himself into submission.
Is that man really, then, going to go out looking for a pro on whom to spend more money just to have her give him what he just gave himself?
Better these guys should leave the hoteliers alone and let the salaryman relax himself.
BlogDog at May 17, 2008 11:57 AM
I think they're just trying to show what effective bullies they can be, exercising their will over the populace.
Amy Alkon at May 17, 2008 11:59 AM
"And it's especially dangerous in hotels because it can become addictive"
Oh really??? The reason Hotels love this service is because it's so profitable. Those movies cost a shitload. (At least that's what a "friend" told me).
Someone watching many movies at a marriot is going to be looking at a huge bill. And business travelers would have some splainin to do about the charges. Although they show up without any indication of what kind of movie it is.(At least that's what a "friend" told me.)
Sean at May 17, 2008 12:10 PM
One of my favorite hotel stories, right before New Year's Eve 2000 when there was all the media-generated panic about what might happen. I checked in and, as I always do, checked out the nightstand (my friend collects the bibles for art projects). I was surprised to find a small black flashlight (which seemed like a good idea at the time, in case). I turned it on to check the batteries and. . .whirrrrr. That was one peppy flashflight. Further investigation revealed some love potions and lotions and candles. I immediately called the front desk to announce my discovery, which I thought was hilarious, and the poor clerk got his boss on the line and the man kept stammering, "How can we make this up to you?" as though I was somehow traumatized by the experience. I told him with the straightest voice I could muster that my only comfort would be to have all employees use the word dildo in my presence at some point during my stay.
JulieA at May 17, 2008 12:53 PM
Typical tactic from a donation-funded organization: attacking a windmill just to prove that they are doing something with the money they received.
On another subject: What about the bibles in the rooms? Why there's no-one screaming bloody murder about that? I can't believe that, in an overtly sensitive America, nobody launched a boycott of any type against Hotels who let a copy of the bible in their rooms. With all the filth, rapes and murders inside, that book could really inspire the worst out of fragile minds...
As far as I am concerned, I make a point to hide the offending book somewhere in the room. I am not in the mood to destroy it or to carry it out. By hiding it, I leave the care of those who put it there to take it out.
Toubrouk at May 17, 2008 2:12 PM
Oh, no! The evil plague of de-spunking going on in hotel rooms across the country MUST be stopped! It gives me a case o' the whim-whams jus' thinking about it!
Ok, EVERYBODY now! "Every sperm is sacred ... "
Jay R at May 17, 2008 2:26 PM
I think Marriott is standing up to the nutters:
We want to thank you very much for taking the time to share your concerns about adult movies in some of our hotel rooms. We certainly respect and appreciate your views on this subject, and so does Mr. Marriott.Please be aware that all guests have the option to block these selections while still allowing for the enjoyment of other in-room entertainment options. Additionally Marriott is in no way involved with the production of adult television programming or in-room movie programming shown in our rooms.
...
Regards,
David Kalfut
Marriott Internet Customer Care
DaveG at May 17, 2008 4:35 PM
My experiences with Marriott have always been top-notch. Those people know what they are doing and take good care of their customers. Well-run businesses don't just piss away revenue streams. There's no way they bow to these losers.
justin case at May 17, 2008 5:50 PM
Honestly, I doubt that too many businessmen do pay per view. Could you imagine that showing up on your receipt for your expense report?
But hey, it is free market, right? Beats liberals trying to criminalize everything that they dissagree with.
That said, I do think that these dorks need to get a grip. They could be spending time on dealing with kiddie porn, or fighting no-fault, or something. Wanker-vision is just a stupid thing to go after.
Smarty at May 17, 2008 8:34 PM
Now that mom's gone back north for the next six months, I have more time to visit my favorite blog with my favorite columnist.
For the party that's so in favor of small government, they sure do like to pry into other peoples' business. This obsession is really unhealthy, both in individuals and in governing bodies. Honestly, does the government have nothing more important to do than worry about the activities of private citizens that don't harm anyone.
Half a world away, our government is killing hundreds of thousands of innocent people and displacing millions more, yet we're worried about someone milking the lizard in a private hotel room.
If God is there, He's rolling His Almighty Eyes.
Patrick at May 18, 2008 1:07 AM
So glad you're back, Patrick. I think the person above -- Toubrouk -- who suggests this is for fundraising purposes is probably onto something.
Amy Alkon at May 18, 2008 1:20 AM
In the era of lazy media...
You mean forever?
Shawn at May 18, 2008 4:25 AM
"On another subject: What about the bibles in the rooms?" Toubrouk
I think everyone figures the market will just sort it out...
Hotel Monaco Denver
What I've never figured out, is why there aren't other religious tracts put in rooms... They likely would do it for fairness, or have to remove the Gideon's...
SwissArmyD at May 18, 2008 11:56 AM
I think everyone figures the market will just sort it out
The market was the first reason where the bibles were left in the rooms. In an area where the faith was monolithic, it makes perfect sense. Right now, it is a liability.
Of course, there's might be a complete collection of faith-related book in the room but it makes no sense. Do any Hotel chain out there want to invest in libraries in each of their rooms? I think not.
Toubrouk at May 18, 2008 5:21 PM
"Do any Hotel chain out there want to invest in libraries in each of their rooms? I think not."
er, Gideon's are not paid for by the Hotel... from the hotel's perspective, this is all free. I just wondered why othere religions don't do the same...
SwissArmyD at May 19, 2008 4:51 AM
I just wondered why othere religions don't do the same
The principle is used by other religious groups but not the same way.
I believe that those bibles are there in the rooms to help recruiting new members for their cult. When you arrive in a hotel room, you are more psychically fragile than the average. You are somewhere you don't know, you are tired and maybe bored. At that moment, the mind is softer and more permeable to the siren call of a cult. This is the perverse reason why there's a bible in hotel rooms; recruiting new members, not conforming old ones.
The same principle (targeting new would-be recruits when they are tired) is used by other cults. The Jehovah's Witness who knock at your door saturday morning or the Krishna singing at the airport are using the same methods. The fact that they are still doing it is the proof that it's works.
Toubrouk at May 19, 2008 5:56 AM
Toubrouk, check out ffrf.org and just search bibles. You'll find some protests they did indeed do -- mostly, with the horrid Gideons targeting school kids but also take on having them on Alaska ferries. Also, they are always encouraging members to complain if one is found in your room. I've done it and most places couldn't give a damn. They usually just say oh, okay, and shove it under the front desk if you bring it down. If you travel a lot, they offer a bible warning stickers ($3/doz) that has a skull and crossbones and warns that literal belief may endanger your health and life. Too funny. And humor is a great form of protest when done right.
Donna at May 19, 2008 10:53 AM
Thanks for the link, Donna. I might just buy some of those stickers.
Toubrouk at May 19, 2008 5:58 PM
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