Wow! A Judge Agrees With Me!

Sometimes, it is really hard to say you disagree with something that is so obviously NOT disagreeable. For instance, how do you say you DON'T like Kevin Garnett? Who doesn't like Kevin Garnett? What's not to like? You might not like that he doesn't play well in big games... Oh wait, he just bitch slapped that argument.

But there are issues even more sensitive than that and there is one in particular that I have always had reservations about expressing my dislike for. And that is the Dateline show To Catch A Predator.

Yes, it has been a while since this show was on the air (thank god), but in case you have forgotten (or just didn't know because you were hopefully not tuning in), the show garnered huge, HUGE ratings. It used to be just a segment, then it became its own show.

And why am I writing about a show that hasn't been on in six months? Because a court ruling yesterday showed me that I wasn't the only person who felt that everything about this show was weird. I hated this show from the beginning and with that court ruling yesterday, I finally have some sense of relief (and pride?) in hating this show.

Because really, what's to hate? This show bags the lowest of the low: Child predators. It takes these internet trolling scumbags who want to buy beer for 13 year olds and embarrasses them in front of millions of people. How could I not like that?

To begin, I've never liked that the show borders on entrapment, which I find to be a despicable (and the constitution and supreme court agree!) tactic. And I've always wondered if we've gotten the full story on each of the so called predators. I guess if they show up at the house with condoms and Captain Morgan and they KNOW the child was underage, then I really have no defense, but I've still always wondered if we had all the "facts."

Another piece of the show I loathe is Chris Hansen. He always seems so righteous and more creepily GLEEFUL to be busting these predators. Maybe he should be and I should be too, but it's his glee that creeps me out. When I catch a student cheating or doing something wrong, I don't take pleasure in busting him. I really don't. No one wants to see that happen. It's like when you find out your uncle is a raging alcoholic. You wish you never knew it and you certainly aren't happy that he is. And Chris Hansen always seemed absolutley THRILLED to be busting these predators and that completely weirded me out.

And what about the people who run the sting, Perverted Justice (to the surprise of many, law enforcement had nothing to do with the show and in fact, had many issues with it)? These people commit their lives to "putting away scumbag predators." But why? Are they really that concerned about the welfare of our nation's children? Do they really hate these predators? Or is there something else going on? Might they be atoning for their own sins? Whomever they are and whatever their reasons, I find these zealots weird.

But mostly what freaked me out about this show were the incredibly high ratings.

Who was watching this show? Did the viewers want to see these scumbags taken down because they saw it as the worst of the worst crimes? Was it our voyeuristic culture that wants to see into everyones lives? Or was it something deeper? Did people WANT to see bad things happen to others because we are all so goddamn miserable ourselves? Or are we as a culture intrigued by sexual predators? Do we want to know what makes them tick maybe because we all have some weird sexual desires ourselves?

All I know is I watched the show once and I didn't like the feeling it gave me. It's not that I felt badly for any of these predators. I mean, I'm a pretty weird dude (seen that Star Wars shelf? The man crush on Becks, Brad, and Georgie?) whose visited plenty of weird web sites, but dating/relationship chat rooms I haven't dabbled in. So feel badly for these guys, I do not. But the show just never gave me any pleasure or entertainment. I like to watch the train wreck as much as the next guy, but this show always felt... Different. And yesterday, a ruling by a federal judge supported my feelings.

Back in February, a judge ordered a stop to the show saying that it drifted away from responsible journalism and into irresponsible law enforcement. The judge blasted the show and it was stopped directly after that. He also cited some studies and evidence that showed up in Rolling Stone.

The Rolling Stone story said that only 1152 people were arrested in 2006 in chat room related sex offenses and that there are so few people who troll the internet looking for these relationships. It said that the show- which has a college girl posing as a sexed up 13 year old- might actually INCREASE the number of arrestes because the "victim" traps these offenders who normally wouldn't be looking for such a thing. The article also went on to say that over 95% of the offenders from To Catch A Predator not only didn't have previous arrests as sex offenders, but had NO PREVIOUS ARRESTS AT ALL. Lastly, the judge said that the show takes away from the real offenders in child molestation cases- realtives and friends.

So anyways, it was with a bit of happiness that I read that a judge completely ripped this show and awarded the family of one of the offenders caught on the show a huge sum of money after said offender killed himself.

But mostly I felt good because my silent hatred and skepticism of and for this show was justified. We know I'm wrong so very often, but it appears my feelings were correct here. And my feelings were justified by a federal judge; someone far more knowledgeable than the really creepy people who gave this show its' ridiculous ratings.