Ka pai Nick Willis

This past weekend a New Zealand athlete went public about his struggle with porn. He was rejoicing that he has been 2 and a half years clean. When I saw a Facebook article on this I was ecstatic that the triumph of something so hidden and deemed "fine" in society was out for all to see. I couldn't think of anything more encouraging for someone also struggling with a porn addiction. To see someone making it known and that it is a problem, something to overcome and that it is achievable.

Monday morning, 6:20am driving to the train station with my husband. 3 of our favourite talk show hosts bring up the topic. Cool! More awareness that this crap takes over lives. Their response to the news was very different from mine and my husbands. Where ours formed pride on his behalf, theirs formed confusion and laughter. They couldn't understand why, after it not being a problem for 2 and a half years, he would go public about this. Their view was that he had gotten away with it until he "spilled the beans." They saw no benefit to anyone through this news. 

Not only is it good to confess your sins, it can also be inspiring to others if you speak up publicly, especially if you are someone of influence. 

They commented on how bad could it really be as he still had time to train for his running. They joked (or were possibly serious) that it wouldn't be considered bad unless it were 10 times a day. They decided to judge the sin on the amount of it rather than the damage that it would be doing to the various aspects of his life. His marriage would have been suffering, his mind would have a hard time focusing on anything else, he would view women and the role of sex differently. This is an all consuming addiction whether it be once a day or once a month. 

They did say at the beginning that they agreed it was as bad as an alcohol addiction but still said that he had to be watching X amount of porn for it to be bad. "I just wanna know how much!"

I was disgusted by their dismissal of his problem due to amount. 

"He's a bit of a weird guy." So what? What does this have to do with him struggling? Most people are a little weird.

"We can't understand it because we think it is normal." Confessed one of the hosts and then they moved back on to ridiculing him. 

I have never felt so separate in my views. I often disagree but I felt like they were looking at the world upside down. Or is that me? 

I'm not sure whether they were told to be funny and poke fun but it is not helping popular culture overcome any of the addictions it currently faces. Porn is so widely accepted as something that nearly every male (and some females) participate in. Just because many people have an issue doesn't mean that its okay to stay that way. I means that our culture is stuck in a "if he's doing it then it's okay that I am" rut. 

Lastly they critcised his wife for speaking up about sex trafficking, their response, "What was he watching!" Like it's out of the ordinary for the porn you see on a website to not be forced or the product of abuse or sex trafficking. Most of those women (and men) are not there for your pleasure despite how you feel about it. 

Dear thoroughly enjoyable radio hosts. Don't use your voices to destroy someone and their accomplishments. Please don't advocate this disgusting world that goes beyond a click of a mouse.

I found a video that pretty well explains this. I'll just leave it here.

S