Dateline To Catch a Predator: thoughts?

I have absolutely no sympathy for child molesters and would be child molesters

But I do worry about how far that could go. Not that I currently live in the states, but I could end up there eventually and, yeah, the privacy laws you people have goin on are scary as fuck. It seems like everyone has random drug tests too, for the piddliest little jobs. Bizarre.

 

Rabbi!? Wow... . There are a lot of spoofs on youtube. People seem to inherently sense that MSNBC's motives are questionable, and that the whole thing is lurid.

 

I Think It Is Funny As Hell ,and It Sends A Message To All The Sickos Out There. I Also Feel That Since It Is Not Really An Underage Decoy, There May Not Be A Real Crime At All. The Decoy Should Be Underage, And Then I Would Like It Better. I Hate Child Molestors, But I Am Also A Man Of Principles.

 

I think Msnbc's motives are quite clear. Ratings. I have to admit, I find the show to be very entertaining. I mean, come on, what is going on in these guys heads? Half of them suspect that it may be a set up, and they show up anyway. The teacher was by far the funniest one. He walks into the house, the host comes out, and the guy shouts "See I knew it!!".
There was one guy who had an letter prepared in his car, stating that if he should get caught, his motives were strictly to provide mentoring and friendship.

.......

Exactly.

And I must admit I am tempted to start my own group that poses as 13 yr old girls online. Only when we lure them to the meet up spot, couple a big guys with baseball bats are waiting for them.

 

i just don't know what goes thrue people's heads some times
totally sick sick sick if you ask me!!

 

Intelligently and with integrity? Huh? She just says "it's awful" 4 or 5 times, and then plays a clip where the host mispronounced "penis" to make fun of him.

 

That's a very good observation.

 

one of the bigger complaints against the show is that they are purposely luring potential sexual predators into a community without the community knowing. what happens if the perv gets lost and figures why not just pick a random child off the street instead? -that might be a worst case scenario, especially if the community at large doesn't know whats going on

 

well i'd like to think fitz example is a bit extreme, but im in no way a fan of the show. while the premise of stopping predophiles rings a positive note in almost anyones hearts, many of the precedents the show is seting for future reality prosecution shows is a little disturbing. first of all they're all supposed to be innocent before proven guilty, yet they're broadcast anyways. i've heard LOTS of bad things about the guy who they're paying the consultant fee to, how he's destroyed peoples marriages who he had a personal grudge against by pretending to be a girl on the net for months on end. its also a bit of a thought crime, nothing takes place, no such minor even ever existed, no act needs to be taken and everything you say on the net is taken litterally. they show you them arresting the guys that show up, but they dont show you them arresting the guys that never showed up. the ones that had a change of heart for the better, did the right thing, or never intended on doing anything anyways and stayed away.
i just dont like it, the long arm of the law and all.

"As far as the cops setting these people up. I look at it this way, If you aren't doing anything wrong, then you shouldn't have anything to fear."

I absolutely despise that mentality, thats the reasoning for SO many bad government powers, police powers, snoops, and the personally intrusive. that mentality invites searches without warrants, tracking and keeping tabs on the public, it allows for zero privacy and forces one to trust the powers that be, on all levels, believing they have nothing but the best intentions for the public, which to say the least would be niave.

 

I guess kids that are taken advantage of are never DUPED LURED or HUMILIATED?

These guys have completely distorted perceptions, some even work with children(of course), and are indeed predators! They need to be sought after in this manner, if it was my brother or father I'd want him caught too.

 

i agree with all of that. my example was a bit extreme, i did say it'd be a worst case scenario. but everything you said i fully agree with.

 

it's really strange, but yeah, to work a lot of minimum wage jobs you have to pass a drug test first and they conduct random ones throughout your employment

 

Exactly. It's not about them. It's about the implications for a society which claims it is a democracy, and that there is due process and a presumption of innocence. This is basic, basic law school stuff. Broadcasting their humiliation is a punishment before they have been convicted.

Maybe Mr. Hanson would think twice about doing this again if he cornered the wrong person, who got desperate, and took him hostage.

Now that would make good ratings, people. By and through their own logic, their modus operandi in presenting this lurid spectacle, MSNBC should broadcast Mr. Hanson's ordeal as well.