Kenny MacAskill and the Scottish anti-porn bill (0)

skyfox's profile

Posted by skyfox on Fri 10 Oct 08, 4:02 PM

Kenny MacAskill is the current Cabinet Secretary for Justice and MSP for East Edinburgh and Musselburgh. It is his name and photo that appear on the CJLB foreword. He is currently picking up a lot of flack for the whole Under-21 off-sales ban, gaining the name, including being dubbed MacAskilljoy in Scotland on Sunday. This reference is notable because in it he compares drinking at home to child porn. His stance on alcohol is comprimised by his 1999 arrest for "suspicion of being drunk and disorderly".

He is most vocal on issues relating to women, which (thanks to overactive archaic feminists) includes pornography. Judging by his stances on alcohol, child porn, human trafficking, and prositution, I think it is safe to say that the CJLB acurately reflects his own personal politcal and moral beleifs. Thus, I would feel safe saying that the CJLB stance on extreme pornography reflects his own views as well.

On his homepage. MacAskill lists a number of interests, among which is human rights. I, for one, question what he qualifies as human rights. Privacy is apparantly not among them, as shown by his willingness to regulate activities inside people's homes. While I find his general interest in community welfare positive, I question his methods, and moreover question the ability of the extreme pornography section of this bill to meet his general concerns.

As the Cabinet Secretary for Justice, MacAskill obviously weilds a great deal of influence over the contents of the CJLB. However, if his show of stubbornness about the under-21 drinking thing is any clue, he is unlikely to change his mind. However, the vast public outcry over the under-21 drinking thing has cast doubts over whether it will pass. Without public pressure, he will not budge, and nobody else will either.

Quite possibly the most effective thing to do to gain public support against this bill is to engage the public and bring it into public light. If we can point out fallacies of the law in a public forum, we may be able to put a bit of reluctance into their steps.

Perhaps a good place to start would be Metro forums. If approached with a sense of humour, your comment could very well be published for all to see. Another option might be your uni student newspaper to help spread awareness, or your other local Scottish newspaper. When doing so, just remember to quote from the CJLB, not use BDSM jargon, and maintain a sense of humour. In fact, if you have the ability to be funny and clever, you should totally open your mouth on this one! (Me --> not funny at all. )


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