Larry Flynt

  One guest at a recent White House Correspondents Association dinner may have shocked even jaded Washington reporters. It was porn king, Larry Flynt, sponsored for the gala occasion by John F. Kennedy, Jr., editor of George magazine. As Washington Post columnist Michael Kelly notes, it's important to remember what kind of man Flynt really is: His magazine not only portrays women in demeaning ways, but also jokes about such abominations as bestiality. And if the pornography alone is not enough to exclude Flynt from decent company, you would think the overt racism depicted in the magazine would make him persona non grata among the politically correct. And we should also not forget that Flynt was the man who threatened and exposed the sexual infidelities of Congressmen who dared to vote for impeachment—a tactic better known as blackmail. If none of that were enough to offend Kennedy, he ought to have been offended by the fact that Flynt once published nude photos of Kennedy's own mother, Jacqueline Onassis. Flynt's presence among Washington insiders is even more revolting when you consider that May has been proclaimed "Victims of Pornography Month" by people who care about the victims that people like Flynt leave in their wake. The statistics are heartbreaking. The anti-porn group Enough Is Enough says that one in three girls will be sexually molested by age 18. One study of child molesters revealed that 87 percent of those who molested girls said they were regular users of hard-core porn; some 77 percent of those who molest boys also consume pornography. Another study shows that 86 percent of convicted rapists used pornography. Fifty-seven percent of those rapists admitted that they were attempting to imitate pornographic images when they committed their crimes. Even Larry Flynt's own daughters say that he molested them when they were children. Former Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop says the fact that pornography "portrays sexual aggression as pleasurable for the victim is at the root of much of the rape that occurs today." Pornography affects the wives of porn users, as well, because they are forced to compete against a beautiful, airbrushed paper woman who never makes her own demands the way a real person does. Given the evidence of all the ways pornography harms our society, it is outrageous that Flynt should have been allowed anywhere near the White House Correspondents' Dinner—outrageous, but hardly surprising. Many of our elites have downplayed the destructive effects of pornography. They view the use of pornography as a private matter—a lifestyle choice that has no public consequences. The Fourth Estate, you see, views itself as part of a noble battle to free society from rules and regulations. In their view, moral rules and laws—like laws against pornography—are oppressive, and hamper our freedom to enjoy life. Christians, on the other hand, see moral rules as being in line with our natures—things that free and ennoble us. You and I need to help others understand just how harmful even small amounts of pornography are. Make the case against anyone who says pornography is harmless. Millions of damaged women and children—including Larry Flynt's own daughters—will tell you otherwise.

05/14/99