I tend to stay out of these but I find myself in agreement with some of what Drew is bringing up and since his seems to be a minority opinion I shall add my piece. Unfortunately it is a long one; I apologize. I am a libertarian at heart and some of these issues strongly concern me.
First, I must agree with any assertion that someone asking these kids to record was a bad thing indeed. I don't think Drew was supporting this; at least, I didn't see that in his posts. If the kids did it on their own with no prompting and this guy found it fine; the kids wouldn't have been asked to do anything and wouldn't be harmed by any watching of it that he did. But when he actively attempts to communicate with them I have a problem. That's the first step to asking some other kid to meet up with him and that is not good at all. Period.
What people do in their own homes..is a lot different then doing it in their own homes and then POSTING it to the internet, guy.
And once it starts in the home..it has a lot better chance of becoming an addiction. And what happens when he gets tired of seeing it and wants to LIVE it? Then what, man?
Then he's going to take it to the streets. Then shit is gonna get stirred. Cus just like a crack head..he's gonna be lookin' for a fix.
This I don't agree with. I oppose any attempts to criminalize thoughts. If someone does something in their own home that doesn't cause harm to anyone (other than a consenting adult), I can't bring myself to find problems with it. What other people do or watch is their business, not mine, when no one is harmed by it. This video doesn't fit that; he actively sought these kids to make it. But if the guy is getting off to pictures or videos that were done totally without any input from or intent to make for a pedophile (say these kids filmed this on their own, completely, never prompted by him or anyone else) then how can we say anything? Who has been harmed?
The argument that allowing them to get off to media that was never intended to arouse (this video was intended to arouse, since he requested it) will lead to "living it" scares me. So now we judge these people, who have done nothing to anyone, as being destined to commit crimes? How can we do this? Somehow we can call them guilty when they've done nothing. That goes against both my own sensibilities and, if you are a US resident, the idea that all are innocent until proven guilty. The counter argument is that if it prevents harm to a child it is worth it to shut these people away forever. This is great, provided you are always right in your prediction that they will commit a crime. If even one innocent person is demonized and sealed away for having done nothing and was never going to do anything I feel that society has failed to the highest degree.
Depriving people of their freedom is the highest punishment society can dish out. Recall Thomas Jefferson in the US Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." If you deprive someone of these rights, any one, then you had better have a damned good reason for it, and protecting from crimes we *think* will happen isn't reason enough for me.
Now, that's done. But how to prevent this specific sort of thing from happening? Specifically, how do we protect kids from being enticed into this? I personally say it is all on the parents. Like any other part of raising a child, I'd say keeping them informed of the risks and setting limits is the greatest protection. Tell your kids about the dangers of what is online (and who). Show them, if you feel they are old enough, the stories of the kids who have been kidnapped, murdered, raped and any other horror you can think of by people they met online. Set up limits on computer use, both in where they can go, how long they can stay on, and what they can do when they go places online. Watch where they go; review IMs or emails if you must.
The response I often see to this is that "it's too hard to keep track of my kids; that the world we live in now is too big and complicated for anyone to manage their kids". My only response, if you'll pardon my language, is tough shit. Parenting isn't easy; I'm no parent but I can tell that much. You will have to work hard and you will have to spend time keeping an eye on your kids. That's what being a parent is about. Numerous tools exist to help parents, from suites of Parental Control software to online filters that stamp out bad sites. If you want to be totally safe restrict the internet completely. Guess what? Kids don't need internet to survive. Wait until they are ready and you know you have instilled the proper values in them.
When I was growing up I used to ride all over the neighborhood on my bike, seeing friends I knew and looking for fun stuff to do. I know my mother always asked me where I was going before I left and, when I returned, where I had gone and what I'd done. I don't see how this is any different from today. Ask your kids where they've been going online and what they did there. Look through the logs of your parental control program (and they are set up for even the most tech-challenged parent) to see where they went and what they did. If a parent is worried that their kid will circumvent the controls, lie about where they went, or change the logs then, in my opinion, there's a trust issue there that goes way beyond anything software can hope to correct.
I've never been able to fathom the growing "protect our children" hysteria that has gripped the world. It's not because of an increase in incidence; every study I've seen has found incidents of such crimes haven't gone anywhere near the levels proclaimed by those who say "no street corner is safe for our children". Maybe it is because we live in uncertain times, with terrorism, global unrest, rising prices and whatnot to worry about. I just don't get it. Reminds me of a certain South Park movie, actually ... but, I digress significantly and shall cease.
