The Internet has done some amazing things for commerce, allowing consumers in remote sections of the country to acquire esoteric parts and products. But one pro-family organization says the company called Groupon, which emails coupons to subscribers, has gone too far by offering not just esoteric products but tickets to an explicit tour.
A protest is being raised by the War on Illegal Pornography coalition over an email dispatched by Groupon to customers offering a $28 tour of the historic Armory in old San Francisco.
The problem, according to the coalition, is that the building now is the home of Kink.com, an Internet porn company.
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"Groupon even advertises that groups may get to see a live filming in progress," according to the anti-porn group.
Groupon, which declined to respond to a WND request for comment, told the War on Illegal Porngraphy "we strive to offer interesting and exciting deals that will appeal to our diverse customer base."
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The response, from "Christy A" in Groupon Customer Service, continued, "We thoroughly vet the businesses we feature, which is why we take these concerns seriously. Fortunately, this business has proven to be a responsible member of their community and the tour offered in this deal is historical and informational in nature."
That's enough, said the pro-family group.
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It is calling for a boycott of the Chicago-based Groupon over the promotion.
It is collecting names of those who are offended by Kink.com, which is promoted as specializing in the "live filming of 'young sexy teens who are overwhelmed and outnumbered' … who need to learn a lesson by multiple men; of women being 'bound, whipped, objectified and humiliated.'"
Dawn Hawkins, a spokeswoman for the War on Illegal Pornography who has made a video exposing the tour, said the studio features "women 'suspended and tied in rope bondage … tormented beyond all reason;' and of women 'naked, tied up, bound, punished, exposed in public … who are taken to public bars for public sex and public humiliation.'"
"Is this really corporate responsibility?" the pro-family organization asks.
On its site, War on Illegal Pornography lists the executives for Groupon and provides their emails, should anyone want to send them a message about their business offering.
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The report said Group previously offered a similar promotion. That one described the site: "Completed in 1914, the 220,000-square-foot San Francisco Armory has a storied history, hosting the National Guard until the early 1970s, remaining vacant for three decades, and being bought and refurbished for adult-film sets by Peter Acworth, owner of Kink.com."
The tour's features then included "risqué trivia," "the preserved shooting range," "a menagerie of ornate and functional fetish film sets" and "plush lounge and dungeon environments."
Working behind the scenes on the boycott is Morality In Media, a leading organization focused on opposes pornography and indecency through public education.
"Selling coupons supporting the degradation of women is as low as a publicly-traded company can go," said MIM executive director Hawkins. "Groupon frames the tour as a historic one, comparing the opportunity to visiting the Smithsonian Institute because the building that houses Kink has an 'historic history in San Francisco.'"
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"Groupon should be thinking of their wider commercial audience, most of which, unlike Groupon, would not support torture and humiliation of women and girls for the sexual enjoyment of disturbed men," said Hawkins. “But since Groupon not only seems to support Kink, but is happy to profit from the torture of women, we have called for a national boycott."
Her comments: