Question from A Reader
November 26, 2002
by TwinRule

I remember, one time, late at night, I was watching WGTW, and I saw an infomercial advertising something called the Phaser. The woman narrating the piece said that women were not safe anywhere, that there was little even the police could do about it, and crimes against women were rising. And, you know what? It immediately occured to Twin Ruler that that very infomercial was a form of cruelty to women, in and of itself! Afterall, same infomercial played upon women's fear of violent crime; on their fear of bodily harm. It even depicted recreations of actual crimes against women. Now, imagine that some teenage girl, already hyped up from consuming caffeine intensive softdrinks, were to have watched it. She would probably have been in tears! Later, her parents would suffer, for she would be begging them to order the weapon advertised. And what if they said: NO! What if they would not want their darling to have such a weapon? That, mind you, would be an interesting social and ethical dilemma, would it not?

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