America's schools have been on a downward slide as of late. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation, our education system fell to an "Average" ranking, with our reading scores being the 14th best in the world.
With news like that, everyone knows the importance of pitching in and ensuring our schools get the attention they need, and non-profit groups like Read Across America (RAA) take on an enhanced significance.
So when someone comes along to help fight for the cause and get kids motivated about reading, why turn them down?
Well, a couple of stories centered on adult film star Sasha Grey have cropped up in the past month where it seemed like RAA was turning away support because of Grey's background.
Of course, as is common in the rumor-mill-style 24/7 Internet news death cycle, some of the finer details got lost in translation. Okay, maybe some extremely important details got completely ignored.
It starts in Compton, Calif. back in November, where a local non-profit group named RAA was having a guest reader program for the community's schools. Grey was one such reader.
What didn't get reported much (if at all) was that this local RAA was not affiliated with the national RAA that is controlled by the National Education Association. Instead, America got on its high horse and went on a witch-hunt.
Someone in the classroom took photos as proof that Grey was reading to the students (an immense travesty indeed), and the news spread like a shockwave.
During the crossfire, the smaller local RAA was damaged beyond repair and shut down.
Fast forward to Monday, a porn production company named Assence Films announced it was planning to donate the proceeds from the latest film to feature Grey to the national Read Across America campaign.
Grey retired from the adult film industry in April, but companies still have the right to buy scenes that she filmed and distribute them. In a public statement, Grey denounced the company for using her name to publicize a film and take attention away from a serious cause.
Sure, it's not cool for a company to use Grey's name for free publicity, but why is it that America has a sick fascination with looking down on porn actors and actresses as if they're not really people?
She wanted to help expose kids to the world of literature and culture, but the public was more content to see a group dedicated to that cause die because they let a person who used to be a porn star read to some kids.
Do people think that she carries an aura that drives kids insane and dooms them to a life of sexual deviancy simply by being around her?
This also led to the climate that allowed her to be exploited by Assence Films. If people actually viewed porn actors and actresses as people and not orgasm demons, whether or not said porn stars give to charity would be irrelevant. We give power to the exploiters by looking down on the exploited.
America needs to get over its idiotic witch-hunt of the porn industry. Sex doesn't make someone an untouchable, but being judgmental does.
