How to recognize a moral panic,, won't someone think of the children.

With all the Henson controversy lately, and the subsequent fakefurore, one thing struck me. The so called 'victims' were exceptionally articulate young ladies, who appeared, despite their tender age, to have a full understanding of what they were doing and the political context in which it took place.

There is so much fear and panic being generated, that the police have to take action.

Today was another dark day for those who like to think rationally, and without fear. And it wasnt just one attack on the freedoms we should all fight for, it was two.

Ever heard of Rule 34.? Perhaps not. But im sure you know about The Simpsons. You know the yellow, four fingered cartoon characters.

Well a supreme court judge has ruled that an image of Bart and Lisa going at it, is child porn.

Ok...

Wat?

Yep.. Child Porn!! Like the exploting children kind, because.. as the judge pointed out. Bart and Lisa are people.

Lets just deconstruct this. Download a rule 34 image from the internet by browsing a web page.

For your troubles you get:

1 x $3000 fine
2 x 2 year good behaviour bond.
3000+ x google results with your name and child porn.

How fucking ridiculous! Its a cartoon. If it was a person, it would be 28 years ald. Its NOT a person. It has four fingers, and its a joke.

I feel so sorry for this guy, particularly because I accidentally downloaded a number of those very same simpsons pictures when researching this topic. Are we going to arrest google for hosting the thumbnails?

Umm.. perhaps not.

So I though this was a bad day for Australian rationality. It couldnt possibly get worse.

Uhh.. nope, it could.

A Queensland man has been charged with reposting a video clip of a man swinging a baby around. Thats right RE-POSTING. He didnt:

• Touch the baby
• See the baby
• know the baby
• take the video, or
• post the original video

he simply

• reposted something he saw on the internet.

For this the police raided his house and treated him like a pedophile, and now he has been charged with child abuse related charges.

Some of the most cherished photo's I have are (and I suspect many people) of me and my best friends naked in a bath when I was literally knee high. If I upload that to my Flickr account, does that make me a child pornographer?

After today, I'm really not sure.