Marriott and porn, part deux

The Marriott P.R. folk replied to my earlier letter by saying, basically, sorry you don't feel comfortable with that, and you can block that stuff if you like and still watch G-rated movies. Here is what I wrote back, with the PR person's direct quotes elided:

August 23, 2008

Dear S_____ H_____,

Thank you for your prompt reply. I apologize for the delay in following up with you; it is sometimes annoying to have a day job :)

>> Paraphrase of Marriott PR reply:
>> sorry you don't feel comfortable with that, but you can
>> block it and still watch G-rated movies. 

Indeed. Perhaps I have been unclear. Here is my concern, which I fondly hope you can relay up the chain-of-command there:

That the Marriott Corp., despite its family-friendly image, encourages and enthusiastically promotes so-called "adult" entertainment at its properties.

I appreciate that this promotion is done in a way that will not corrupt young children (there's progress since the '80s).

What is offensive is the subtext of the announcement:

We have smut available! And if you're concerned that your wife or boss will see what you've been watching, not to worry! Titles will not appear on your bill!

I'm not talking about censorship (until #4 below), but here's how you guys could back off on the enthusiastic promotion of porn -- roughly in order of difficulty (easier to harder)....

1. Don't mention "adult" in the list of films available.
   Why even mention "adult" as in "Drama, suspense, adult -- it's all here!" Why not instead "Drama, comedy, action -- it's all here!"
   
   I suggest this because if they're not thinking "I wanna see some skin" then you don't have to tell them you've got it. This will tend to reduce smut-viewing on your properties without unduly cutting into profits.
   
   
2. Don't mention on the TV screen "Titles will not appear on your bill"
   I suggest this because it'll put a little damper on weak-willed men who might otherwise succomb to the false promise of skin-flicks.
   
   
3. Actually print the titles on the bill
   In step#2 you don't tell 'em; this step is harder because some porn-viewers will become irate. They'll only do it once, though.
   
   
4. Don't offer skin flicks -- i.e., nothing X-rated at all
   Your shareholders might complain, but taking the moral high ground should not, I hope, be an alien concept to J. Willard et al.
   
   Please don't say "Marriott never takes the moral high ground; we always prefer profits to prophets" :(

Where do I come off making these absurd suggestions and wasting your time?

Here is a frightening poem written in a mainstream (not religious!) magazine:

http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/poetry/antholog/hall/husband.htm

Things like this happen in our society every day.

Now the link between broken homes and misery suffered by abandoned children and spouses is incontrovertible. Pornography ("adult" entertainment, smut, whatever) is one of many factors contributing to the destruction of American families.

And any number of feminists will tell you that pornography degrades women. Do you suppose a degraded view of women's dignity contributes to domestic violence against women?

I would like to think that the Marriott Corp. is not accelerating this destruction and decay.

I hope that you can raise this concern up the chain and that the Marriott Corporation will help stem the decay of our society.

Earnestly,

---

Now, in case anybody's wondering why I'm picking on Marriott in particular, well, it's because we happened to stay there. I'm not some kind of investigative reporter, trying to eliminate smut and corruption; that's not my major mission in life. But when I stay at a hotel chain that tries to promote a family-friendly image and they, well, peddle porn enthusiastically, then....