Pennsylvania Loves It's Kids! Yet again, publicly, permanently, and with nipples.

Of all the hot topics in the media, this one bugs me severely.  Don't fully know why, but the subtlety of the invasion of privacy, and asserted morality involved in the upholding of this law is so blatantly Orwellian in it's tone that it freaks me out a little.  There is such a vast difference between teens taking pictures for one another and child-pornography, so to even bring up the second is a farce to throw people off of the trail of breadcrumbs to what the hell is happening.  It's a moral dictatorship, staffed by many, and running on an auto-pilot, or so it seems. I am 100% against the idea of children sending each other any sexually suggestive self-pics.  I know these can be troubling issues for any one of us for many reasons, and I am intentionally NOT getting into the case itself for just that reason.  Personally, I would flip if that was my daughter that the following is related to!  On her, on the media, and on the Governor...

"Before Gov. Tom Corbett signed the new law in October, such conduct would have been a felony. But the new law allows a lesser summary charge - similar to a traffic ticket - for juveniles older than 12 who send such images with no intent to harass another or to distribute the image."   from the York Daily Record. http://www.ydr.com/state/ci_22306279/2-teens-cited-sexting-under-new-tiered-law  (Traffic tickets for risque 13 year old children that are acting like they see on tv all day every day?  Summary offenses are handed out in volume in PA.  They are a part of every local economy, and are also the gateway drug to a lifetime of recidivism in Pa's 50+ adult prisons, not to mention the many many juvenile exploitation camps that PA uses to start 'em young.  Lovely.  That will save us all, not make the youth mad and start flipping out due to the human version of "opposition reflex".)

The above quote is one that terrifies me.  It show the tactic of bringing some new legislation to the table as an extremist, that way a lesser measure that is still unacceptable suddenly seems like it's feasible.  Choosing the lesser evil is NOT the way to roll.

What is wrong with children being punished by parents at home?  How did the boy and girl get caught?  Did another adult come across the image, and instead of contacting the parents, they rallied other adults to look at the "pornographic" image of an under age girl?  Is this not perverse in practice?  I see it as such.

The System, as I generically refer to the myriad of parts that our actual system is made of, is telling us that, they have no faith in the ability of our parents.  It means citizens have been deemed useless and without moral compass.  They are using law to parent...  That means we have totally lost our freedom, and "They" are in our home totally and to stay.

If you are a parent, I'd love to know what you think.  Do you prefer to handle your daughter sending a topless picture of herself on your own, or do you like the idea of it forever becoming evidence in the toolbox of Politicians?  Do you think you can handle explaining to your daughter that it was and will forever be stupid, and that once she sends something like that it never goes away nor can she ever be sure if the recipient will always be trustworthy even if "but we love each other! Dang!"?  In that one discussion, a lesson of "permanence" can be taught, as well as a subtle opportunity to instill modesty without the negative reinforcement of Shame.  Without the incident becoming actually and unnecessarily permanent...

This is just sick, and is evidence of an increased presence of govt. in our own homes on a deeply invasive level.  There is no money in the "cure" of what ails our culture.  But there is plenty of cash to be made off the exploitation of our children, and the juvenile justice system is the biggest purveyor of the Innocent which the underground sex and child exploitation trade networks have ever had as an ally. Now there is shade, even in light of day.