Seattle Library Lets Man Watch Porn On Computers Despite Complaints

The Lake City library is making news for their staunch position on the First Amendment, censorship, and the right to watch porn in the library. The problem started when library patron Julie Howe found a man watching some questionable material and asked him to move to another computer. The man refused and the librarian also refused to intervene when asked saying that the library doesn't censor content. "We're a library, so we facilitate access to constitutionally protected information. We don't tell people what they can view and check out," Seattle Public Library spokeswoman Andra Addison told Seattle PI. "Filters compromise freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment. We're not in the business of censoring information."

Comments

Re:First Amendment isn't relevant here

[mlts]

Best thing is a compromise. Austin's libraries have some unfiltered machines where the monitor is located in the desk. This provides privacy, and keeps someone's hunt for pr0n from annoying the nearby patrons. There are machines with standard monitors, but those are filtered.

Re:I like their position

[DurendalMac]

There may be a legal issue, though. Libraries are not restricted by age. Porn is legally restricted by age.

Re:Why does the library need to be "family-friendl

[Dredd13]

Well, here's the thing. It's always important to remember that the United States was founded by a bunch of Puritans who had sticks shoved up their asses SO FAR that the rest of mainstream Europe was like "Seriously? Get the fuck out, go over there to that New World far-far-away from us. Yeah here's a boat, here's some food. Go. We'll be right behind you. Swear."

Re:I like their position

[hairyfeet]

Ultimately it comes down sadly to two things we seem to be lacking, and that is common courtesy and thoughts for others besides oneself. it wasn't as if anybody was running this guy off, or even making him quit, all that was asked of him was that he switch to a machine in a less highly trafficked area. to me this screams of real life trolling, I can imagine the guy wearing a real life trollface and smirking as the speakers blared 'Suck my fucking cock you filthy fucking whore!"

Maybe there is something to be said for the "baser" way we do things in the south because if someone would have pulled that shit in my local library i can't imagine that guy sitting there more than two minutes before some guy yanked him up out of his seat and said 'WTF is wrong with you? you wanna look at that shit use that machine in the corner, there is fucking kids standing right over there man have some fucking sense!" and that would have been the end of that. if the troll would have called the cops the cops would have told him "Well there are kids just over there and frankly you ought to be thanking the guy that you aren't looking at an indecency to minors charge so i'd suggest you STFU and show some common sense next time".

Sadly we are having to have these kinds of confrontations more often because too many just don't show even the tiniest bit of common sense or common courtesy anymore. Frankly they act little better than animals and for a society to function basic ground rules have to be obeyed in public places. Just as one wouldn't expect to wear a "All niggers must fucking hang" T-Shirt in a public place without starting a confrontation so too should this troll have expected that blasting hardcore porn in the middle of a high traffic area would cause some problems. Honestly i wouldn't be surprised if that was his intention all along, to either take a shot at the lawsuit lotto or to simply be a douchebag. I don't know if its all the GMO food, the plastic in the drinks, or what, but I've noticed lately a hell of a lot more cases of people starting shit in public, even when it gains them nothing or even harms them, just for the sake of starting shit. Its almost like the common sense gene has been bred out of these people.