Combatting porn with digital cameras

Texas anti-porn crusaders are taking a legal — and sneaky — approach to the “problem” of… Texas anti-porn crusaders are taking a legal — and sneaky — approach to the “problem” of adult entertainment in their area.

Members of the Oakcrest Family Church in Texas, led by pastor Jim Norwood, have begun taking aim — with digital cameras — at those that patronize adult entertainment stores. Church members photograph cars parked at adult entertainment stores. Then, they find where the car is registered and mail a postcard to the address.

The postcards feature a picture of the car at the establishment in question on the front, and a note on the back telling the customer their presence in the neighborhood was noted and inviting them to church services.

The idea behind the shame campaign, according to Norwood, is to reach out to and help those suffering from pornography addiction, which he claims is one step along a dangerous road to drug and alcohol addiction and to criminal sexual behavior.

In Texas, photographing cars and tracking down owners is not an illegal practice. Such information is public record, and can be found online for a fee.

In the United States, purchasing a copy of Hustler at Bubba’s Porn Shack isn’t illegal either. Debate on the morality of pornography continues, and probably should. The dangers of consuming porn are probably on a continuum, with some being completely innocuous, some distasteful, and some downright violent and degrading. Who are the members of Oakcrest Family Church to determine what’s being purchased, and for what reason?

The church members’ actions, while legal, are slimy. It seems highly unlikely that a porn consumer, upon receipt of such a postcard, will feel anything but affronted and invaded. It would be interesting to find out just how many new members joined the church after getting a shame-o-gram in the mail.

The majority of consumers of pornography are not rapists or child molesters or even particularly creepy. Perhaps the customer in question was picking up a magazine to enjoy with her husband as a normal part of their healthy, married sex life.

The church has spent $1,500 so far on digital cameras and other costs associated with this enterprise, mostly from private donations. While not exactly a princely sum, it’s likely that a few needy people could have been fed a dinner or two for that money.

Rather than invade the lives of adults consuming a legal product that they find disgusting, perhaps members of Oakcrest Family Church could go out on a limb and actually help someone who needs it.