Faith Club

8.4.05 17:54
Children are bought and sold, gang-raped, and forced to have sex with each other. Acts which absolutely destroy a child.

That's a pretty boring issue. I doubt you'd find anyone who'd seriously argue whether or not that is or should be a crime. That people who actually commit those crimes should be put in prison.

The more interesting issue is whether possession of information should be a crime. For example is (or should) possession of a photograph of a crime itself a crime? Lots of people possess pictures of the planes hitting the World Trade Center. The murder of several thousand people is a pretty heinous crime. It certainly included the murder of children. Are they criminals for possessing an image of a crime? Does it depend upon what crime it is a picture of? Do we just decide we don't like certain kinds of pictures, therefore possession of them will be criminal even though pictures of children being murdered are ok? Don't criminal laws have to be backed up by something a lot more solid than "because we really really really dislike it"? Where "it" is mere possession of a picture taken by someone else.

And then there's there's the wonderful argument about whether possession of even fictional images is (or should be) a crime. And better yet whether posession of fictional text is (or should be) a crime.

Those are interesting questions. But no, you don't actually say anything interesting. You don't say anything relevant. You just waste your breath on a pointless comment that rapists are criminals. Well duh. Like that comment somehow closes the issue? Like that comment ANYTHING AT ALL about the issue?

Yep. Littering is a crime. Anyone possessing a photograph with litter in it - a photograph taken by someone else - anyone possessing such a photo is a criminal. Anyone drawing a sketch with litter in it is a criminal. Anyone possessing a sketch depicting litter is a criminal. And best of all anyone who possesses words written by someone else describing fictional litter is a criminal. Because we all agree that littering is a crime. Case closed.
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