Letters

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Wednesday
June 13, 2001

Potential harm

In response to Naghmeh Sohrabi's article "Harming whom?", I would like to clarify some issues. Nooneh's stories potentially harm three groups. I use the word "potentially" since an absolute proof is out of my reach.

It may harm the publisher. Why? If her stories cause some people to leave this web site the publisher has obviously been harmed. The publisher tries a lot to make Iranian.com an attractive online magazine. He has done a great job doing so. I personally like both the design and content of the site. If some leave the site or stop visiting it, the publisher is harmed.

Of course one may argue that Noneh's stories have increased the number of people visiting the site. If that's the case then I am probably wrong regarding this aspect.

It may harm the writer. Why? The unknown writer is a talented one. She can spend her time writing articles/stories with more positive effects. Once she gets rid of this obsession with sexual relationships she may start seeing many other aspects of life. Since most of the writer's relationships are failures (at least this is true for the stories I found the chance to read) it may also harm her emotionally. It may be more helpful if she visits a shrink. That is a more reliable way to heal such emotional wounds.

It may also harm the reader. Why? Every reader spends a limited time on the internet. The site has a limited space both for general material and stories. Once Nooneh's stories are removed or given less space, other material find the chance to show up. Once that happens our lucky reader may find the chance to learn more about the world he lives in, his Iranian history and heritage and many other useful issues.

So as I explained, Nooneh's writing may be harmful. Of course, all my reasons could be used against any other kind of material published, including this letter itself! So what is my point? I believe the right way to debate such issues is not trying to prove if an article harms anyone anywhere in the world. Of course it does. The real challenge is to compare harms to benefits and judge the issue on its final outcome considering all its consequences.

We all know that free speech can harm many. People defend free speech not because it does no harm but because it brings so many benefits. When it comes to harm, nothing is harmful as dictatorship and social suffocation. Wise intellectuals are ready to tolerate all the harm coming from worthless published material in order to avoid huge harms caused by dictators and totalitarian systems.

Kiddo

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