"M. Eglestone"  writes:

>  ME: The vast majority of the people I associate with are perfectly
> capable of making a distinction between what is shown on a movie
> screen, and real life situations. No one that I know of runs around
> playing movie hero with a fire arm. However, I do recall playing
> Cowboys and Indians with my cap guns as a child. I also, on occasion,
> fantasize about being the super hero and saving the world. However,
> what goes on in my fantasy world doesn't translate into the real world
> activities that I indulge in.

I sometimes hear of these Cowboys and indians, cap-guns-as-a-child,
and super-hero-saves-the-world fantasies.  How come I never hear
anyone say they fantasize about blowing somebody away with a bazooka?
Could it be that the bazooka-fantasizers have learned not to
admit it?  Or perhaps there's a natural-selection evolutionary
process going on:  those who have admitted to destructive fantasies
are less likely to be let run around free.

I bet 99% of the fantasies you hear about are NOT incriminating.
Wow, I bet such a statistic would prove something useful
in an argument ...  :-)

> 
[...]
>  Drugs, Guns, Dirty Books.. It makes no difference. The more people
> you can get to object, the more sales you can expect from the buying
> public. That's the way it works, that's the way it has always worked.
> People "always" want that which they are NOT supposed to have.


Do you think it works that way for cigarettes?
How about with poison, for example household
products labelled poisonous -- does that incite
consumption?  Not as much as it prevents consumption,
I think.  About cigarettes:  I can't imagine getting
hooked on them now, but before the knowledge of
their poisonousness was widespread I might have
smoked more, just for the fun of it, even more with
cigars and pipes.  Some tobacco smells pretty good.

  jrl