(no subject)
From Alternet.org and The Angry Fag (http://www.theangryfag.com/)
Via The Angry Fag, I find this story about MySpace being sued by a 14-year-old girl (and her mother) for $30 million in damages after the girl was sexually assaulted by a 19-year-old man she met on MySpace and agreed to meet believing he was "a high school senior who played on the football team." The two went to dinner and a movie, and then he drove her to "an apartment complex parking lot…where he sexually assaulted her, police said." The lawsuit contends that MySpace "fails to protect minors from adult sexual predators."
I feel absolutely dreadful that this girl was raped, and I'm glad that her attacker is being prosecuted.
And I also think this lawsuit is ridiculous.
Some reader comments:
World's worst mother
Posted by: lamar on Jun 20, 2006 12:55 PM [Report this comment]
I think the mother of the girl should be held liable for $30 million dollars, and be declared world's shittiest mom. Anyone can make a mistake, but to teach your child that nothing is ever your own damn fault is unacceptable.
[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »]
ummm... hello
Posted by: kenhymes on Jun 20, 2006 1:05 PM [Report this comment]
So the left should take the socialist position that it's okay to blame gun manufacturers and tobacco companies when they recklessly endanger people, but switch to the libertarian position when a corporation that is profiting from their precious cyberblogspace is recklessly endangering people?
This is mindless. A week ago, bloggers were saying that the talk about MySpace being dangerous was overblown, that no one was really being hurt. Now someone is hurt, and the talk is all about the dangers of a "nanny state."
This is why the left is losing. No one could or should be confident in the leadership potential of people who can't think their way out of a paper bag. It's all about yelling in defense of your pet activity. No ability to balance your own needs with those of the rest of the population. This isn't politics, it's adolescent ranting.
Face it: social networking is a silly habit with no redeeming value. It's a substitute for actual involvement in local, physical communities. It's a hiding place for people who need to hide their insecurities behind a fake identity. It's corrosive of real social networks, and leads nowhere. There is a lot of talk about how it's creating all this limitless possibility - surprise surprise, just like the rest of the internet, it's a place for oversexed white men to get their rocks off, either sexually or ideologically.
My name is Ken Hymes. I live in Charlottesville VA. I am a working musician.
That's all true... or is it? You don't know for sure. And that is why the internet will never replace real life, nor should it.
It's not freeing, it's a trap. Get out of the freaking house and do something real with or for somebody.
My response to Ken the blithering fucking retard:
"Ken", if that is your real name, and I really don't give a FUCK whether it is or not - I think what the author was trying to say here is that people need to take responsibilities for their kids' actions. It's not the fault of the stoners over at MySpace that this girl was raped. Children under the age of 18 shouldn't be allowed to use websites like that. I don't even think they should be allowed to use email. People under the age of 18 should be participating in chaperoned activities that are good for them, good for the society, and that foster a sense of responsibility. And that is what is seriously lacking in your comment, this country in general, and Republicans specifically - RESPONSIBILITY. To stand up and take the lumps good or bad for one's own actions. That's what builds character and makes strong and healthy Americans. And this poor girl's mother is not only making a spectacle of her, possibly adding to the stress and trauma that the young girl is already feeling - but she's not taking responsibility for the fact that she SHOULD have been watching her daughter, monitoring her online activities, and saying NO.
Jesus Christ. Don't blame the computer. It's like people blaming video games and television shows for making their kids get ADD and spaz out. Why don't people TURN OFF THE TV OR COMPUTER instead of taking away a harmless toy from the adults who use it RESPONSIBILY?
Via The Angry Fag, I find this story about MySpace being sued by a 14-year-old girl (and her mother) for $30 million in damages after the girl was sexually assaulted by a 19-year-old man she met on MySpace and agreed to meet believing he was "a high school senior who played on the football team." The two went to dinner and a movie, and then he drove her to "an apartment complex parking lot…where he sexually assaulted her, police said." The lawsuit contends that MySpace "fails to protect minors from adult sexual predators."
I feel absolutely dreadful that this girl was raped, and I'm glad that her attacker is being prosecuted.
And I also think this lawsuit is ridiculous.
Some reader comments:
World's worst mother
Posted by: lamar on Jun 20, 2006 12:55 PM [Report this comment]
I think the mother of the girl should be held liable for $30 million dollars, and be declared world's shittiest mom. Anyone can make a mistake, but to teach your child that nothing is ever your own damn fault is unacceptable.
[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »]
ummm... hello
Posted by: kenhymes on Jun 20, 2006 1:05 PM [Report this comment]
So the left should take the socialist position that it's okay to blame gun manufacturers and tobacco companies when they recklessly endanger people, but switch to the libertarian position when a corporation that is profiting from their precious cyberblogspace is recklessly endangering people?
This is mindless. A week ago, bloggers were saying that the talk about MySpace being dangerous was overblown, that no one was really being hurt. Now someone is hurt, and the talk is all about the dangers of a "nanny state."
This is why the left is losing. No one could or should be confident in the leadership potential of people who can't think their way out of a paper bag. It's all about yelling in defense of your pet activity. No ability to balance your own needs with those of the rest of the population. This isn't politics, it's adolescent ranting.
Face it: social networking is a silly habit with no redeeming value. It's a substitute for actual involvement in local, physical communities. It's a hiding place for people who need to hide their insecurities behind a fake identity. It's corrosive of real social networks, and leads nowhere. There is a lot of talk about how it's creating all this limitless possibility - surprise surprise, just like the rest of the internet, it's a place for oversexed white men to get their rocks off, either sexually or ideologically.
My name is Ken Hymes. I live in Charlottesville VA. I am a working musician.
That's all true... or is it? You don't know for sure. And that is why the internet will never replace real life, nor should it.
It's not freeing, it's a trap. Get out of the freaking house and do something real with or for somebody.
My response to Ken the blithering fucking retard:
"Ken", if that is your real name, and I really don't give a FUCK whether it is or not - I think what the author was trying to say here is that people need to take responsibilities for their kids' actions. It's not the fault of the stoners over at MySpace that this girl was raped. Children under the age of 18 shouldn't be allowed to use websites like that. I don't even think they should be allowed to use email. People under the age of 18 should be participating in chaperoned activities that are good for them, good for the society, and that foster a sense of responsibility. And that is what is seriously lacking in your comment, this country in general, and Republicans specifically - RESPONSIBILITY. To stand up and take the lumps good or bad for one's own actions. That's what builds character and makes strong and healthy Americans. And this poor girl's mother is not only making a spectacle of her, possibly adding to the stress and trauma that the young girl is already feeling - but she's not taking responsibility for the fact that she SHOULD have been watching her daughter, monitoring her online activities, and saying NO.
Jesus Christ. Don't blame the computer. It's like people blaming video games and television shows for making their kids get ADD and spaz out. Why don't people TURN OFF THE TV OR COMPUTER instead of taking away a harmless toy from the adults who use it RESPONSIBILY?