#19 | October 9 - 22, 1997 
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by Cy Borg
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The internet is a budding wonderland that gives new meaning to the word freedom. The reason for this is that it is in essence more harmless than not. And if it is harmful , like really harmfull (please keep passive smoking and dirty language out of the argument) It has to be a clear pointed harm. The reason for this is that we all want to tell the world what to do and we all have our definitive solutions just like America has Hillary Clinton. But to assertain what this freedom is we have to make hundred percent sure about what our perception of this freedom is. Firstly freedom sure isn't empowerment. You get an AK-47 you are empowered and can kick butt, but is that freedom.? Rights? Right to education, right to medication? Ba Humbug! That sure aint freedom. That is dependancy and giving the sheepish masses some hay to stock up for the winter.
Freedom on the Internet is to do whatever the hell you want! Yet the natural turn over of this situation is that you have to take the consequence. And believe me the shrinks of the world will have a field day concerning the poor souls that DO THE DEED with some person thousands of miles away! Do you like yourself ? and so on and so on. You know the standard : Oh I am so inferior type of questions. The fact of the matter is that the Internet has created an invisible demonstration on any form of 'government' or 'control'. Furthermore despite the chaos that is the Internet it is becoming chaotically organised at a rapid rate which means it is getting better. Just as music developed and got better over the years, a piece of WAGNER's took 4 days centuries ago now we have to only to cry for three minutes when OPUS's Life is Life plays on Russian radio (god, have you noticed that? the WHOLE DAMN time) And this wonder of developement is making the world promiscous again like the good old 60's. But it is better and safer this time around. No need to worry about herpes, hepititis B or HIV. Just pure plain verbal sex. The people in the know does say that the brain is best sexual organ around. Well the net does offer those who have hang ups and insecurities about their sexual capa- or incapability some sort of journey to self discovery. You got a question about that? Well check out this URL http://www.thehearth.com/dearpaula/dearpaula.html. A regular agony aunt that doesn't just cater for the incetous redneck families but also answers questions about men who are under-endowed, woman who had sex with over-endowed men, group sex, anal sex, gay sex, prostates......need I go on? The hilarity of the situation is that you use any word that is more crass than BITCH you get kicked off faster than a pedestrian gets knocked over on a Moscow road. The internet makes everybody a hero and a person with a problem that needs to be solved. With all just-add-water psycologists running around on the world wide web we like this one for instance http://www.drpaul.co.za/, soon there won't be any hangups around!. Yet the problem is if sex is so open and free as the world proclaims it to be why does Hugh Grant get busted on Sunset Boulevard in a Divine comedy.
Right so the approach is as easy as taking candy from a kid. There are places such as #bathtub which is open 24 hours a day 7 days a week. People drift in and hangout with weird names like "hard charger" or "lush lady" and "Bubbles" who usually tries to catch my eye but it is well known that s/he is a notorius transvestite so I keep my distance. However no one ever gets wet just a little damp as the flirting progresses. If you do find someone too your fancy you get a private channel go in and swop fantasies until you are finished, exhausted or just plain bored.
This hot swop place doesn't exist in the real world, it is a "room" on the Internet Relay Chat or IRC for short. The IRC is basically a collection of discussions in the virtual world. Think of a CB radio with an unlimited amount of members. This virtuality and playtime sex upsets a lot of people just as much as it turns a lot of people on. Should William Burroughs still be alive he would have become a puritan as to what I have observed, stictly as a proffesional of course. In one day you can read more 'confessions' than there are in 10 years subscription to 'Hustler', 'Playboy' and 'Penthouse' And the irony is that online it is as far ranging as the wildest parts of the Human Imagination. A virtual interdimensional playground of the the human essence. But do not be fooled. Cyber Sex has been around since humankind started lusting! The virtuality of the Internet has just given it a new package to be delivered in.
As with all mass mediums there are two main drinving forces that usually 'breaks it in' to make it main stream. Those are revolutionary politics and sexual fantasy. These topics usually do fade away as the mass market appeal of the medium increases. The printing press is a prime example of this. Look at the Bible, the Quran even the Marquis de Sade's 120 Days of Sodom.
The 19th century when photography became the mass medium, one could purchase great photo's of Queen Victoria or Abraham Lincoln OVER the counter or some naughty snaps UNDER the counter. As for telephones I do not even want to start to contemplate how many minutes after the first network got installed did the first obscene call go through. The developement went on. Believe me not all people buy video cameras to make home videos of their holidays or their dog's stupid tricks. Some people actually use it for politics, ie the average terrorist making silly demands, or sex like Rob Lowe or Tonya Harding.
So why not computer networks? Their prime energy source currently are the two above mentioned topics. But roaming this network one has to be carefull to differentiate between erotica and smut. Erotica is classy or saloon smut, smut is smut. With Erotica one can order costumes such as black leather harness with studs, smutt is ordering John-Wayne Bobbit's porn video.
Some use the Internet as a pickup bar and a place to set up real assignations and take note not everyone who does this is male, by the way. Indeed, recently on America Online, a woman with the handle "Stolen Kisses" became the object of many others' fancy after she wrote an article in Penthouse magazine titled "Confessions of a Cyberslut." While it was once the case that women willing to engage in erotic give-and-take on the networks were in short supply, they are becoming much more prevalent as the medium expands.
The lowdown is that some boards or chat rooms are going to be EXTREMELY pornographic. And a lot of people are not gonna like this. Some ambitious puritans like our good friend Jimmy Swaggart again will have to "do something" about it. The second problem is that Cybersex is VERY addictive and tends to leave a lot of lets say UNDESIRABLE files lying around on your computer. And face it , nobody brags about their collection of porn videos and mags at the bottom of their closests.
The Internet's answer is freedom again. Go onto the IRC and live out your wildest fantasy and then come back to earth, put on your grey suit and trudge too work in a mild state of euphoria. AND NO ONE NEEDS TO KNOW! Sure the morally self righteous would claim that pedophiles, rapists, gung ho gay bashers (who were shown by their father's why not to be gay and probably come from Louisiana) get together on the net and plot their Devlish campaigns. And that is a fact because at http://www.password.org. There you go all you ideal orientated people, get a campaign going against that one. But on the flip side of the coin we have the other side where the CYBER JIMMY SWAGGART's hang out. for instance here : http://www.graceu.edu/kroa/ministries/ What do you want more? nudity or sheep - idty. Something which doesn't feature on any side of the coin are the CULTS like these guys http://www.rru.com/rru/. Road Kills Are Us. It is obvious that Toys are us did sue them.... But I hasten to add they did not win. One for the freedom of doing what the hell you want and living with the consequence of you actions!
The fact of the matter is if in any society a standard hundred people are picked you will have X percentage of deviants and X percentage of prudes and X percentage of self righteous and so on and so on. That was the way it was even before the Internet was around, do not expect it to be any different now that there is a NEW medium around for it. Besides the only virus you can get from the net is a computer virus and all though distinctly a pain in the ass it sure isn't lethal.
All I can really say is long live freedom of speech and the ULTIMATE form of contraception and safe sex.
- http://www.thehearth.com/dearpaula/dearpaula.html
- http://www.drpaul.co.za/
- http://www.password.org
- http://www.graceu.edu/kroa/ministries/
- http://www.rru.com/rru/
