This week, a federal judge blocked a prosecutor from filing child pornography charges against three teenage girls in northeastern Pennsylvania over risque cell phone pictures they took of themselves. This respite from the bizarre “sexting” scandal allows time for a national dialogue on an issue that goes deeper than simple changes in technology. “Sexting” is short for “sex texting,” or the practice of sending racy pictures via text message. Twenty percent of teens admit to distributing nude photos of themselves, according to a recent survey.
There is no justification for threatening to prosecute sexters. The most seductive is that the practice exposes the sexter to possible harm. However, the idea that you should protect one from potential harm by inflicting real harm is so flawed that it can pass only on emotional grounds, which should not drive prosecutors. Reagan ran on getting gov't off the back of the people, but the moral majority is working hard to get gov't involved in regulating private lives to enforce their own views. The real predators in these cases are the prosecutors and "educators" who twist the laws to suit their purpose.
The job of policing our children and others is the job of the community and NOT the government. The "government", whether federal state or local, is to enforce the public's will where the individuals cannot. The government should not be used to take responsibility for what we are all too lazy to handle. It is our individual responsibility to handle members of society. We should ask for help only when it is needed, not when we don't feel like living up to our responsibilities...
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'Sexting': Zooming Out to See the Bigger Picture
Posted by: Sonia Arrison April 3, 2009 04:00 AMThis week, a federal judge blocked a prosecutor from filing child pornography charges against three teenage girls in northeastern Pennsylvania over risque cell phone pictures they took of themselves. This respite from the bizarre “sexting” scandal allows time for a national dialogue on an issue that goes deeper than simple changes in technology. “Sexting” is short for “sex texting,” or the practice of sending racy pictures via text message. Twenty percent of teens admit to distributing nude photos of themselves, according to a recent survey.