Do Lit. Non-Consent Stories Feed The Twisted?

I was watching the news last night and was shocked watching this story of abuse:

http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/metro/0402/24captive.html

It's a story so bizarre a made-for-TV-movie would do it justice.

A woman is abducted by a truck driver and held against her will for a year. She is rescued after she leaves a note written on the bathroom wall of an interstate rest stop.

The note reads, in part: "Won't let me out. Beating me. This is no joke!"

That's Katina Shaddix's version of events. And police in Laurens County are beginning to believe her story. They have brought aggravated assault charges against the truck driver, Shannon E. Jones, 26, of Delhi, N.Y. And Laurens County sheriff's Sgt. Gerald R. Frazier said the FBI will seek a kidnapping warrant against Jones today.

Jones is in jail awaiting a bond hearing while Shaddix, 24, is in a Dublin hospital, recovering from cuts and bruises and internal injuries she told police were the result of many beatings by Jones over the past year.

"She said their relationship began as a mutual affair, but much later she determined he was abusive, and he has been that way for the last six months," said Frazier. "She'd tried to get away from him, but the man would constantly stay at her side, even to the point of going into the ladies' restroom with her late at night and standing outside her stall."

Shaddix told police that she and Jones stayed on the road and lived in his truck. She said she had left "over 100 messages" in restrooms all over the country similar to the one she left Friday in a rest stop on I-75 in McMinn County, Tenn.

Janitor Binford Aycock found the message on the wall of the women's restroom early Friday night and called 911. The note gave the name of the truck and the trucking company: "Cannon truck 383."

McMinn County police contacted Cannon Express in Springdale, Ark., and tracked the location of Jones' rig through a global positioning system beacon on the truck.

Police in Laurens County found the truck in a rest area. They found Shaddix, bearing fresh bruises, wrapped in a blanket in the truck.

Dean Cannon, president of the company, said Tuesday that Jones was hired on Jan. 4 and that on Jan. 10, Jones and Katina Shaddix signed a company form authorizing her as a rider in Jones's truck.

"We don't want to pass judgment until the facts are out," said Cannon. "But it sounds like a lover's spat rather than a kidnapping to me."

The janitor, Aycock, said when he first read the note he thought it was a joke. "I see a lot of things written on the wall," he said. "But when she wrote 'this is no joke,' I decided to call police."


It reminded me of an awful story I'd read on Literotica entitled: A Good Little Lot Lizard

http://www.literotica.com/stories/showstory.php?id=9612

I hope they lock the asshole up and throw away the key! And put big bubba in as his cellmate!

Define "twisted".

Since you are reading these nonconsent stories, I think you have answered your own question.

Non Consent...

...stories and role play are a rich part of many lovers' sex lives. "Non consent" fantasies are actually consensual between lovers.

What happened to the woman in that truck is no fantasy. Further, it illustrates a common phenomena experienced by women in abusive relationships--an inablity to escape--even if the opportunity presents itself. After a period of time the woman involved becomes powerless to resist or escape. We have worked with a number of women in these situations and it is very real.

I understand that the woman involved suffered broken ribs and a cracked pelvis so for her there was genuine fear. It may have started out voluntarily but it certainly didn't end up that way.

The man involved is probably not a great fan of erotica on lit or anywhere else. His drive was not about sex but about power and violence. Two very different things...IMHO.

That "Good Little Lot Lizard" story is fucking disgusting... I had no idea there were stories on Lit like that! I mean, I must have had some idea, but I thought people had more fucking taste than to write shit like that. Yuck.

I don't know how much these stories feed the twisted, though. I'm sure there are some sick motherfuckers who come to the site to read the stories that are on the disturbing side, but to hypothesize about how many of them are inspired to commit crimes like the one the man named Shannon (there's a problem right there) committed is like blaming rock music and video games for school shootings. It's more scapegoating than actually looking for a real cause.

Stories like "Lot Lizard" might feed the perverse fantasies of some people, but I don't think they have any more of an impact on whether or not they carry out those fantasies than listening to Marilyn Manson will make a kid take a gun to school and pump people full of lead.

Re: Define "twisted".

BlondGirl said:

Since you are reading these nonconsent stories, I think you have answered your own question.

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I read everything on Lit. Everything. Non-consent is my least favorite category followed by incest. But I have read good erotica in both.

I'm posing this as a general comparison, not necessarily as a judgement.

This story does give one pause in what one submits to Lit. however.

I haven't read...

...the story in question but it sounds like it must be disturbing. I will say that we publish non-consent stories in our books BUT the proviso is that at some point it has to become clear that it is role play or has some other element that suspends disbelief.

BustyTheClown said:

Stories like "Lot Lizard" might feed the perverse fantasies of some people, but I don't think they have any more of an impact on whether or not they carry out those fantasies than listening to Marilyn Manson will make a kid take a gun to school and pump people full of lead.

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While I don't believe in governmental censorship of anything, it still saddens me to know that this is anyone's idea of fantasy.

Interesting side-bar to the discussion: Did you know that detective magazines with their macabre illustrations and detailed analysis of crimes are huge favorites of serial killers? So much so that F.B.I. profilers like Robert K. Ressler always look for them in the homes of suspects. I remember reading in Ressler's "Whoever Fights Monsters" that across the board, jailed serial killers wanted few things from their free spree lives but always wanted back momentos of victims and their detective magazines.

Literature does inspire both good and bad.

non consent stories are to reality rapes like
that devil music is to suicide and school killing sprees.




If media and stories we read effect us to the point where we have no control over our actions, why am I not jogging down the beach looking like Pamela Anderson and saving lives.

Marxist said:

While I don't believe in governmental censorship of anything, it still saddens me to know that this is anyone's idea of fantasy.

Interesting side-bar to the discussion: Did you know that detective magazines with their macabre illustrations and detailed analysis of crimes are huge favorites of serial killers? So much so that F.B.I. profilers like Robert K. Ressler always look for them in the homes of suspects. I remember reading in Ressler's "Whoever Fights Monsters" that across the board, jailed serial killers wanted few things from their free spree lives but always wanted back momentos of victims and their detective magazines.

Literature does inspire both good and bad.

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Hm, I didn't know that. But you're right -- there's something about literature in particular that people take seriously. In my Renaissance Literature class, we discussed the difference between seeing a poem in handwriting versus seeing a poem in print -- would we view them differently? We said yes: the handwritten poem would probably be taken more lightly than the printed one. Something about the look and stamina of a work in print -- be it on paper or online -- has a kind of authority about it that people take to heart. "If it's in print, it must be important and worthwhile!" So I can see where you'd ask that question from.

I still don't know if I agree wholeheartedly that literature like detective magazines or violent/abusive erotic stories, etc., have quite as much power as you seem to be suggesting when you say those mags are the favorites of serial killers. But it's certainly a valid point.

Even though this is an old, old question, I think it's one that we need continually to ask. Like you, Marxist, I am philosophically and politically against censorship in any form. At the same time, I am certain that symbolic action in its various forms--stories, poems, TV and movie dramas, speeches--does influence people's attitudes, values, and behavior. My knowledge of the world, my ideas about what I and others can and cannot do, should and should not do, all have been shaped by symbolic action.

That's the warm and fuzzy part.

But if we admit that symbolic action can have effects, then we are obliged to admit that those effects are not necessarily benign. People can be moved by symbolic action to do things like try to exterminate all the Jews. And if we admit that symbolic action can have malignant effects, then we have to entertain the notion of censorship as a means to control those ill effects.

It is ironic that many media producers and distributors--the major TV networks, for instance--are vehemently against any sort of governmental control or censorship of media content. They point to the fact that there has been no hard scientific evidence as yet, no "smoking gun," linking antisocial behavior to exposure to violent or sexually explicit media content. At the same time, of course, the media industries today are built on a foundational belief in the ability of media content to influence behavior. If they didn't believe that at some level, why would the practice of advertising exist? And why would they use so many sexually suggestive images in advertising if they didn't believe that such images worked?

perky_baby said:

non consent stories are to reality rapes like
that devil music is to suicide and school killing sprees.




If media and stories we read effect us to the point where we have no control over our actions, why am I not jogging down the beach looking like Pamela Anderson and saving lives.

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I think it's formulaic, no one piece being larger than the whole of who and what we are.

Media (music, books, etc...) inform our everyday decisions and in those people without impulse control they might help in overriding them.

I'm not a dupe that believes that if we outlaw anything it'll solve any one strain of violence. I simply thought the two cases, one fantasy, the other very real, were sickeningly similar and wondered to myself: "Do I, as a hack writer, have a moral responsibility on ANY level?" My answer so far has been a resounding "no."

But it makes any conscientious contributor pause if nothing else.

Two issues Marxist.

The first is the news story. It's very troublesome on the surface. But I do have a problem with finding the man guilty, much less sentencing him without a full review of the facts. There are many here at Lit., on this thread even, who are against capital punishment. One of the arguments being the posibility, and proven instances, where an innocent party was executed. Is it not possible that this same judgment of guilty when indeed the person was innocent, could be applied in lesser cases? Or is the argument only valid for capital cases?

To the literature aspect. Closet Desire pointed out the issue quite succintly. Non-consensual fantasies between consenting parties are not only NOT a crime, they can enhance the sex life of those that engage in such activity. (I'm not of that school, but I acknowedge that such activity takes place and I pass no judgement whatsoever on same.) However, there are probably some few that enjoy the actuallity of such behavior and could possibly be encited to actually act out their fantasies with an unwilling party. I don't think that possibility can be denied.

I don't think that the existence of such literature is an excuse, or a defense, for felonious behavior. The First Amendment protects both parties until such time as fantasy becomes felony.

Ishmael

Marxist said:

But it makes any conscientious contributor pause if nothing else.

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*pause*?

For what purpose?

Pausing doesn't stop anything. Pausing doesn't stop women from being raped, children from being abondoned and abused, teenagers from comiiting suicide and killing others. Then again, neither will discontinuing writing fantasy stories.

If you're just pausing now<how old are you, Carlton?> You've bypassed some major decisions in your life.

perky_baby said:

If you're just pausing now<how old are you, Carlton?> You've bypassed some major decisions in your life.

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At the moment, I'm 30. But I hope I'm still given to the act of pause when I'm 70 or 80.

Maybe I think too much.

I dont think any story or show feeds the twisted.

I think it gives healthy release to fantasies that people who are not terribly crazy have all the time.

I like non consent. I will try to write one,but that doesnt mean I want to be raped either.

I think blaming certian things is a cop out.

"I killed,raped,tortured because I read this book and it made me do it."

Yea right.

I read,watch,and follow true crime stories. To the point that I think Tiger is a bit worried about me. It doent mean that I am going to try to kill someone and try my best to get away with it,it just means that I like it.

There is never going to be a 100% agreement on what is or is not good for our poor minds.

Either you have complete freedom in choosing what you like,or complete censorship,there cant be a pick and choose type deal.

Ishmael said:

I don't think that the existence of such literature is an excuse, or a defense, for felonious behavior. The First Amendment protects both parties until such time as fantasy becomes felony.

Ishmael

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OMG, I agree with Ishmael!

I write stories for this site, and other venues as well. I have a couple non-consent stories that perhaps someday I'll post. I enjoy reading them occasionally, and I know that others do too. I don't feel that I am responsible if some sick fuck reads my stories and gets ideas.

I'm not responsible for someone crossing the line between neurosis and psychosis. If it's not my story that gives the criminal ideas, it will be someone elses, or the neighbor's dog, or the douche commercial on TV.

Yes, it's disturbing what happened to this woman, even if it started out consensual. Yes, it's even more disturbing when compared to the story that Marxist linked. I'll admit that if that was my story, I'd be really creeped out right now. But I wouldn't feel responsible.

Some people have written Non-consent stories as a form of closure, those that have experienced the violence first hand...

Now some people here may not understand people that write their rape out for others to "get their rocks off" with, but I know someone that has done just that.

She hadn't told anyone the details of the rape, she had never reported it and so it was sitting there untold in the back of her mind like a knife in the heart - By writing it and posting it on the net she has managed to distance herself from the torment of that experience, to make it "just a story" and therefore she has been able to move on from it.

Just another angle on the discussion.

Marxist said:

At the moment, I'm 30. But I hope I'm still given to the act of pause when I'm 70 or 80.

Maybe I think too much.

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There are choices that we make during our life. I suppose I am not telling you to stop thinking about things, about the choices you've made. Yes, I still *pause* as well. The thing I'm asking is why are you thinking about this particular subject. Not why are you aware of it<I've seen the news too> But why are you second guessing the choice you've made?

Do you think you have an ethic and moral responsibility to your readership?

I'm not well-versed with your writing. I don't know if you've written a non-consent or otherwise extreme story. I have. I chose to.

I don't believe writing a non-consent story is unethical. Putting pen to paper, conveying thoughts and feelings, even when they are of a debatable nature is never unethical.

I don't have to pause on this one.

There are many other topics that I do, and it's because I really haven't become this firm on my decision about them. Maybe that is why you are pausing.

I thought the exact thing that Perky posted the first time, about saying that's like the media blaming music or movies for violence.

If someone is going to do something, they'll do it, not neccesarily influenced by something they heard,read or saw in a movie or on TV. That's an easy out, to blame everything and everyone but the person who did it.

*Shrugs* All I know is that I don't read such stories. They make my stomach uneasy... at LEAST.

Re: Non Consent...

Closet Desire said:

His drive was not about sex but about power and violence. Two very different things...IMHO.

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At one time I would have been inclined to agree with you. How many times have I heard that cliche: "Rape isn't about sex, it's about violence."

But there is more going on here than the typical rape and flee. There's something overwhelmingly sexual about the kidnapping aspect to both the "Lot Lizard" and the real-life story. It's very much like the serial killers I pointed to before. They kill, yet their crimes have little to do with the sheer violence.

I dug up my Robert Ressler book and this is what he says about his detailed study of serial killers in a chapter entitled "Childhoods of Violence":

The key to these murderers, if there is one, lies in the unremmitingly sexual nature of their deeds. To a man, they were dysfunctional sexually; that is they were unable to have and maintain mature, consensual sexual experiences with other adults, and they translated that inability into sexual murders.

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And before anyone says I'm stretching, that neither Shannon Jones nor the Trucker in the "Lot Lizard" murdered any one, consider the lack of regard they both show women. Jones' victim was dicovered bruised and rolled up in a large blanket. I don't think I'd be stretching it far to say that he probably would have rather killed her than had his crime discovered.

Regarding perkybaby's assertion that one is not motivated to act by literature, I only have to ask Am I the only one that's jerked off to a story on Literotica? Wasn't that a motivation to act? Man, I'm lonely.

Got to go meet my boss, y'all be good.

Interesting reading. I don't write stories, I just read them. I don't think a writer is responsible for actions their readers take. I don't believe that Ozzy Osbourne is responsible for teenagers killing their classmates. I don't believe that tittie bars lead men to rape the next woman they see walking down the street. We are all responsible for our own actions. I don't think it should make you pause before you put down on paper the thoughts and ideas running thru your head, you are censoring yourself if you do that.

Re: Re: Non Consent...

Marxist said:

Regarding perkybaby's assertion that one is not motivated to act by literature, I only have to ask Am I the only one that's jerked off to a story on Literotica? Wasn't that a motivation to act? Man, I'm lonely.

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Motivation to rub one out while reading a fantasy is altogether different than fucking someone while you hold a blade to their throat.

You're using the gateway theory. If you smoke marijuana you'll end up a heroin user. If you read porn you'll end up a rapist.

Dare I say humans have more choices over their actions?

I don't believe the authors are responsible for the acts themselves. That much I agree with. *Shrugs.* There's still a large element in me that says, "Regardless. That's just... wrong." And I can't understand the why's. Well... rather, I can, but I just don't want to. Too much pain.

But whether or not I agree with it on a personal level doesn't quite matter.