This is the fifty-first installment in The Sounds of Fundamentalism series. This is a series that I would like readers to help me with. If you know of a video clip that shows the crazy, cantankerous, or contradictory side of Evangelical Christianity, please send me an email with the name or link to the video. Please do not leave suggestions in the comment section. Let’s have some fun!
Today’s Sound of Fundamentalism is an anti-porn rant by Dawn Hawkins, the senior vice president and executive director of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCSE). Hawkins is a Mormon.
Most people would agree that watching porn in plain view of strangers — especially on an airplane — is inappropriate. However, in the process of listing every minute detail of what the man was watching, Hawkins forgets that she too was watching porn. If watching porn is a sin, why was Hawkins watching it? Hawkins intently viewing what was on the man’s screen and then complaining about it is akin to someone getting drunk and then preaching against alcohol use. I highly doubt the man was watching child pornography. Hawkins knows this, but suggesting that the man “might” have been watching child pornography gives the story a salacious appeal and likely promotes increased giving to NCSE by outraged Christians. Hawkins reported the man to the police. I found no public record of anyone being arrested for watching child porn on an airplane.
Text of the video:
Hi everyone! My name is Dawn Hawkins, I’m the Executive Director of Morality in Media. I direct a number of anti-pornography campaigns, and I just wanted to share with you my experience from the weekend. I’m kind of emotional about it still, so bear with me.
So, I was heading to Texas from DC. I was asked to speak at a conference about the links between pornography and sex trafficking. And I boarded my flight in Baltimore, at 6 AM on Friday. Only to find that the man sitting in front of me was looking at pornography on his iPad. Of all people to be sitting in front of, he was right in front of me. I was speechless, I was stunned, I didn’t know what to say. I could not believe he was looking at pornography right there on the airplane, at six am in the morning.
So, I sat back, for enough time for him to for him to flip through about eight images. They were all of very-very young girls. I couldn’t tell if they were 14 or 18. They were definitely young. They were all Asian. And a couple of the photographs were very violent in nature. One of them even had one girl whipping the other girl. With a whip.
As soon as I gathered myself, I couldn’t help it, I definitely said something. Somewhat loudly, I asked him if he was really looking at pornography at that time. I said, you know, “is that really pornography?! Are you looking at pornography right now, on this airplane?” “Are those girls even 18? Is that child-pornography?!” I was making a fairly big deal about it. And everyone seemed to be look at us. “Are those girls even 18? Is that child-pornography?!” I was making a fairly big deal about it. And everyone seemed to be look at us.
And I turned around, and there was a flight attendant right behind me. A male flight attendant. And I said to him, “Sir, this man is looking at pornography. Will you please do something about it?” The flight attendant just stood there. He did nothing. He said there was nothing he could do. That he refused to do anything, especially because it was making me and other passengers so uncomfortable. And I am so sure it was making the other passengers uncomfortable as well.
Anyway, the guy put it away. I was sitting there, shaking. I was so upset.
A few minutes later, I leaned forward and in a much quiet voice, directed just at the man, I said to him, “Sir, I’m head right now to speak at a conference about pornography and sex trafficking. You are contributing to the problem. You’re exploiting millions of women. And children. You’re creating the demand. You’re the one contributing to all this harm.” And right then, a woman who was two rows up from us, she stood up and interrupted me. And she faced me and she said, she was probably in her 50’s, she said, “be quiet! No one cares!”
I couldn’t, I could not believe that a woman, of all people, would stand up and tell me to be quiet. She didn’t tell the man to stop looking at pornography! She didn’t say anything about that! She just said, no one cared, that he was looking at pornography. What was likely child pornography.
We know that pornography is so addictive, and that man was likely very addicted to whatever, that’s why he was looking at porn right there. And that early. He couldn’t help it! I feel really bad for him. Part of me does. Just because I understand that he was struggling with these urges, and I’m sure that he doesn’t. He’s not happy and he doesn’t want that.
I just wanted to share this experience with you all. Have you experienced pornography on your plane? Is this the common danger to us? I mean, I’m involved, every day, in the fight against pornography. And I did not realize that there is a danger to us on airplanes in the United States. I got off the airplane and I reported it to a police officer, who promised to investigate. He went to man’s next gate, especially because the likelihood that it was child pornography is very high.
Needless to say, airlines need to have a policy. It needs to be spelled out. That obscenity and pornography is not allowed on an airplane, especially since it’s a danger to all passengers, and flight attendants. It would be a very unhealthy working place.
I work for Morality in Media, we direct the war on illegal pornography at pornharms.com. I hope to hear from you soon!
Note
Morality in Media changed its name in 2015 to National Center on Sexual Exploitation.
Well, interesting. I wouldn’t want to see porn on a plane, either. But if the guy in front of me was flipping through his own pictures, I’d probably look away, or ask him to keep his iPad down where I couldn’t see it. If I was getting on a 6 am flight, I’d probably be too sleepy to notice. ???
But what would this woman think if someone was watching a movie that was approved for in-flight viewing but she considered to be offensive? Two years ago, my then-19-old-son and I flew to Europe. I stated watching “The Wolf of Wall Street.” There’s a scene at the start of the movie where the subject of the movie is in bed with a naked prostitute, sniffing cocaine from one of her “lines” while she’s on her hands and knees. Wouldntcha know it, that was the time they decided to make an announcement that was more than 4 minutes long, which meant that the video was frozen there the whole time.
My son looked up from his phone to see me looking for the button to turn off the movie screen. He cracked up laughing when he saw what was on there. Then he took a picture of it and Tweeted it to his more than 2,000 followers. And THEN he helped me shut the screen off, and went back to his phone. Thanks, son!
This post made me think: if that woman had been sitting near me, what would she have said? Would she have accused me of watching porn, even though I was watching a movie provided by the airline? Would she have accused me of “corrupting” my adult son? Do I, a 50-something woman, need to be worried about this? I wasn’t — until I realized that this woman could throw a hissy fit and make a huge issue out of it.
As you said, if the woman was paying this much attention to these pictures, she’s viewing porn, too. I understand her distress, but there are better ways to handle this.
Are US planes laid out differently to European? I say that because here I’m used to being packed like a sardine (I’m retired and not able to fly anything other than economy) and with high back chairs there’s no way I could see what the folks in front are doing.
I’m wondering if this dear lady hasn’t just invented this whole tale to further her personal agenda.
No, US planes are basically sardine cans, unless you’re in first class. It would be very difficult to see what a person directly in front of you was doing without standing up and peering over his shoulder. I’m pretty sure the anti-porn crusader made this one up.
Yet another Talibangelical who is pathologically unable to mind her own goddamned business. The only thing she is “in danger” of is developing a neck problem from constantly craning it and trying to spy on whatever everyone else is doing. She literally tried to get someone thrown in jail because she didn’t like what they were viewing on their own iPad. She thought she could revoke someone’s freedom just because of her God. Shit! Sharia law would look like a trip to Disney World compared to what Christians would like to impose on us! I wish she’d be charged for filing a false report.
Abuse of women in the porn industry is not a fiction. Abuse of women in Doug Wilson’s church is not a fiction. And Dawn Hawkins just makes me tired. And I can’t help seeing her in my porn mind wearing Mormon underwear! I apologize for sharing that at 6 a.m. on this flight into Wednesday.
I’m wanting to call BS on this story. This is too much like a Jack Hyles story.
I’m positive people watch porn on planes. But, unless your seating arrangement is perfect, you would be hard pressed to see it. Because of the stigma of porn, I’m sure it is a hidden thing, too. You aren’t going to just whip out your iPad and fire up big images of S&M.
The kicker was the 50 year old woman who was sitting two rows ahead, being able to hear a directed comment. Planes are loud, no one is going to hear what you say to the guy behind them. And, what motivation would the 50 year old lady have for telling Dawn to let it go?
This story was well rehearsed. Pauses in the right places, lifted eyebrows, cracking voice. It all adds up to a prepared speech. Throw in body movements that are tells for lying and she has zero credibility in my book.
I’m all for ending sex trafficking. I have no doubt that there are people who are hooked on porn that use sex slaves. I just hate pandering and telling sob stories to further your agenda.
Le sigh, I hate that these purity idiots think they can make a point with stories they obviously pull right out of their butts. There is no way with the plane layout and all of us squished in like sardines that she could have seen what the man ahead of her was viewing. Perhaps she got a flash of tits or thigh as she went to sit down and proceeded to throw a loud obnoxious hissy fit that made the woman two rows ahead to tell her to shut up. This all just makes her look so so silly and petty.
What a surprise, this lady made a big deal out of something that was not her business, and people told her to quiet down and mind her own business… film at 11!
Really, the whole idea of porn being “addictive” is over the top. Personally, I think that’s been latched on to by many conservative Christians because we ban/regulate addictive drugs. It’s a justification for banning/regulating something when there really isn’t any other justification.
Ending sex-trafficking is a worthy goal, however, there has never been any link presented between porn and sex-trafficking. How about working to end any form of forced-labor and letting people do whatever the heck they like sexually? Is that too radical?
Guess what, Super Rude Person Who Thinks The World Is All About You? NO ONE DID CARE. Also you have no manners and need to mind your own business. My stars, what a busybody.