Outrage of the Day
Zero tolerance. It's such a powerful political image. Zero tolerance. We (those who have power) will not tolerate any behavior (from those without power). So much so that we will use no judgment in these situations. That is, regardless of the degree or grayness of circumstances, we will mindlessly apply maximum coercion to all instances.
We do this because it makes it appear we are doing something important. That we are so tired of dealing with the gray areas that is modern life that we can no longer trust using our own judgment. Hence, zero tolerance.
Under these conditions, when can family photos be considered to be felony child pornography? When you're poor immigrants living in Texas.
A family dropped off four roles of film to be developed at the neighborhood 1-hour type photo shop. The photo technician, upon developing and printing the film noticed that one role had several pictures of the couple's one and four-year-old children taking a bath while totally naked! Gasp! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the kids were naked while taking a bath. The horrible proof is right there in the pictures!
Now ladies, avert your eyes while we gentlemen read on. There was even one picture of, now get this, the one-year-old child sucking at his mother's, dare I say it, bare b r e a s t. Horrors! Mayhem! Cry havoc! Cats living with dogs! Rend the seventh seal!
Surely this is felony child pornography. Surely the children must be taken away from their parents to protect the very souls of these tragic victims. Oh, the horror! Oh, the pain these innocent infants must have felt!
Life is full of gray areas. Areas where we need to use our common sense and good judgment to make the hard decisions based on less than full information. Sometimes it will turn out we made the wrong call, but that does not mean we should abandon our responsibility to use your judgment. It does not mean we should hide behind the facade of zero tolerance to avoid having to make these decisions because to do so is to create a hell on earth. A hell reserved for those who run away from personal responsibility and instead take the easy way out.
See the full story here.
DISCLOSURE: Note that the family is apparently Seventh-day Adventist, as I am.
Aloha!
Comments
Good heavens. You mean pictures of naked children might be pornographic? There is, then, hope that should any of my bath pictures make it to billboards, I can then file charges against them that post 'em...
Seriously, though, the victims aren't the kids, but the parents (AND the children) who happened to run into a buzz-saw of a prosecutor - I wonder when that a-hole's running for re-election.
Remind me to never get film developed any more. Digital's cheaper - and less invasive.
Posted by: John Dominik | April 28, 2003 12:30 PM
The only good thing about zero-tolerance should be that everybody should be targeted equally. Make it impossible to get out just because you got more money/status than someone else.
But apparently it's not working that way.
Now excuse me while I go search and burn picture.
Posted by: sjon | April 28, 2003 11:07 PM