Porn and Policies

Scan page 12

DAVE SPENCER suffers more from muddled thinking than I do. (SO74 letter).

My point is not that pornography is not sexist, but that the way to fight or destroy sexism is not by bans and censorship, whether these come from the state or the women's movement.

If pornography is to be banned because it is sexist, then we must be consistent and ban everything that is sexist. Dave Spencer is in favour of shutting down sex-shops - is he then in favour of closing every newsagent in the country?

He should be, because they all stock the Sun - not to mention explicitly pornographic magazines.

If he thinks the way to challenge sexism in newspapers is to rip them up and tear them down', then where does this policy begin and end? Presumably we would have to tear tu pieces every newspaper from the Daily Telegraph to the Militant. And what about novels and paintings?

John Ruskin destroyed all of Turner's erotic paintings after Turner's death. It is probably fair to assume that these paintings were sexist - did Ruskin do a service to women? Not only did he not do a service to women, but he also did an immense disservice to art: I would have liked to have seen those paintings, sexist or not.

It may be a tired old liberal argument, but it is nevertheless true that banned books and magazines gain a certain mystique simply because they are proscribed. Even it it were possible or correct, banning pornography would nut get rid of it.

Dave is right to point out the way in which the 'sexual revolution' has benefited men more than women. But the answer to this is not to go back to the days of puritanism and monogamy: the gains may AS part of the Turkey Solidarity Campaign's drive to draw attention in Britain to the plight of trade unionists in Turkey who are facing death penalties by the military prosecutors of the Junta, we have planned the following event.

This is a tour around Britain of several leading members of DISK (the progressive trade union confederation), TOB-MER (the teachers union representing 100% of unionised teachers), TMMOB (the union which represents all the architects and engineers in Turkey), Tabibler Birligi (the doctors' union) and the owner of the newspaper, Demokrat, which was the sixth largest daily newspaper before the coup when it was banned.

Abolished

DISK had about 800,000 members before it. was abolished by the military regime immediately after they seized power. All the people who will speak are presently exiled in Europe.

The purpose of the tour is to create an awareness in Britain of the threat to trade unionism in Turkey, and to point out the links between the two countries.

These are both political and ancial, and include common membership of the Council of Europe and NATO, IMF links and British firms having investments in Turkey, such as British Leyland, international Harvesters, and Lucas Electric Diesel Motors.

Furthermore, the present British government gives unconditional support to the five-man Turkish junta as witnessed by the £15 million military aid package proposed, and by various statements made by conservative MPs after the coup.

The speakers will be able to answer questions about the latest situation of their 52 colleagues from DISK whose trial began on 24 December 1981 and who all face death penalties; the many thousands ..of trade unionists who have been held for long periods without trial or being allowed access to their relatives or lawyers, and about the tortures being done to them in the prisons.

Finally, they want to discuss what sort of effective solidarity actions the British labour movement may be able to take in order to help their brothers and sisters in Turkey.

*Give your name, or the name of your organisation as a sponsor of the tour.

*Help to support 1 tour financially fit will c in the region of £2,000), sending a donation to l Box 5965, London WC 3XX. Cheques payable Turkey Solidarity Campai!

* Organise meetings which the speakers invited. These could be the form of one to one mi ings with MPs, trade un leaders, etc., workpl meetings, informal dis sIons or larger even events.

Detaits of tour meetin! see page 11.

Turkey Solidarity Campaign: Box Bl 5965, London WC 3XX.

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• THE EXECUTIONS. STOP TURKEY