Police Publish 'An Introduction To PEDO BEAR' 324
According to this article, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department knows that Pedobear is an Internet joke, but that hasn't stopped them from trying to warn the public about him. Their most recent tool in the fight against internet memes is this public safety information bulletin entitled: "An Introduction to PEDO BEAR." I look forward to the bulletin warning parents about the dangers of children playing in Chocolate Rain.
Forget chocolate rain (Score:5, Funny)
Check out the dangers of playing in sprinklers [youtube.com].
Re: (Score:2)
How uneducated can you get?
Re:Forget chocolate rain (Score:5, Insightful)
How uneducated can you get?
Very, but they still get to vote. Three guesses as to which way "they" lean.
Seriously, I want to laugh (and I do) but this (TFA and the sprinkler idiot) is troubling. Not just because these cops are stupid, but because it reflects a general failure of critical thinking across our society. The intellectual capacity required for a reasonable skepticism seems to be escaping a larger and larger swath of the populace, a swath which apparently now takes in those in important public safety roles. We're doomed.
Re:Forget chocolate rain (Score:5, Interesting)
The intellectual capacity required for a reasonable skepticism seems to be escaping a larger and larger swath of the populace
It seems this way, but if you look at history it's really just that more of the population has the ability to communicate to a large audience. Modern communications haven't resulted in better quality of information--it's just made communication cheaper and more accessible.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
And everybody gets a say, without any quality control. I think you have it exactly right.
Re:Forget chocolate rain (Score:5, Insightful)
I'll bite. Which way do cops lean? IMHO they lean towards "more jobs for cops with better pay and less work." This only looks right wing because their interests coincide with those of the right wing when it comes to "more jobs for cops with better pay and less work." Are cops for a balanced budget? Not if it means cuts for them. Are they for states rights? Not hardly! They are for cops' rights, they don't really care if they get them from the fed or the state. Socially, they may be somewhat conservative, especially when it comes to punishing criminals (of course.) And how do cops feel about unions? Great! As long as it is their union. Your union is useful as a cop employment program, you and or the boss need protection from each other, right? Overtime, baby!
A lot of what looks like partisan politics on bothy sides is actually lazy, selfish politics and people only tend to agree with party planks that directly benefit them.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
How uneducated can you get?
Very, but they still get to vote. Three guesses as to which way "they" lean.
Hmmm.... I'm guessing the opposite of the way you lean?
Seriously, I want to laugh (and I do) but this (TFA and the sprinkler idiot) is troubling. Not just because these cops are stupid, but because it reflects a general failure of critical thinking across our society. The intellectual capacity required for a reasonable skepticism seems to be escaping a larger and larger swath of the populace, a swath which apparently now takes in those in important public safety roles. We're doomed.
Have you read up on some history recently? Witch burnings. Inquisitions. Holy wars. Mccarthyism. Geocentrism. Racism. Slavery. Feudalism. These aren't exactly a new phenomenon. To be honest, we're probably better off now than we've ever been before, and we've made it this far. I'm not terribly worried.
Re:Forget chocolate rain (Score:4, Insightful)
Have they ever enforced a drug law? Completely fucking corrupt.
You're an idiot. The police should not selectively enforce the law. In fact, the obvious way of being a corrupt policeman is to selectively enforce the law.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Police are continously selectively enforcing the law. Everry time any cop doesnt book a litter bug or a illegally parked car they are using their discretion. Personally I would like the police to concentrate on protecting people from violence and theft not enforcing pot laws for example.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
The dangers of not having a good science education program.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
What about Sexual Harassment Panda!?! (Score:3, Funny)
Is he now out of a job? Awww, people don't like Sexual Harassment Panda. That makes Panda sad. :(
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
The true male chauvanist thinks harass is 2 words.
really? (Score:5, Insightful)
"We know that this is a joke, but we're going to approach it as if it's a serious thing."
Your tax dollars at work, people.
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
money well spent.
When parent run into PEDO BEAR for the first time, they should know 2 things.
1) It's pretty much a joke;
2) Pedophile are starting to use it as a tool to gain access and open discussions with minors.
Your arrogance from ignorance it beneath you.
Re:really? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3)
I don't agree that it makes them look stupid. PedoBear may be a joke, but dressing like PedoBear in a mask and costume and handing out candy is an inappropriate joke to play on young children (or their parents), and Comic-Con is crawling with young children. He shouldn't have been kicked out of the Con altogether (if he was), but I agree with telling him that he's had his fun and he can now go back to his hotel room and take the costume off.
Re:really? (Score:4, Insightful)
Why? I can understand the organizers of ComicCon asking the guy to go away, but why should the police be able to tell someone to go away if the organizers haven't asked them to? I coulda sworn we had freedom of speech around here...
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
No, I'm not sure whether they were asked or not. But I was more questioning your statement, not what actually happened. You seemed to be implying that it would be okay for a police officer to walk up and ask someone to leave an event solely because they were dressed in a bear costume, even though they were breaking no laws.
Re: (Score:2)
Oh, I think it's useful... but in regards to 2) I've only seen pedobear pop up in forums posted by third parties to indicate that interactions between other people are getting that kind of creepy. So in that respect, if you see a lot of pedobears being posted, someone on the channel is acting creepy (not necessarily the guy who is posting the pedobear).
Also, more awareness of memes could at least help avoid situations like this: http://boingboing.net/2010/02/06/pedobear-official-ma.html [boingboing.net]
Re:really? (Score:5, Insightful)
I would argue that it's a useless warning, in that 99.99% of the time people see Pedobear, it's as a joke. It would be like saying that many domestic abusers wear baseball caps, therefor you should be on the lookout for baseball caps because any time you see one someone will beat your spouse when you're not looking.
Re: (Score:2)
Given the frequency with which it's used by non-pedophiles, that would be a pretty crappy means of communication.
If the bear was supposed to be a secret "I'm a pedo too" signal, it'd just end up with perverts trying to contact random /b/tards, presumably with hilarious consequences.
Re:really? (Score:4, Informative)
because I have no idea
Why not just leave it at that? It would be more accurate than what you just posted. :-)
Pedobear is a joke. Period.
Re:really? (Score:5, Insightful)
Their next pamphlets will be titled "Warning Parents! Ceiling Kitty [ebaumsworld.com] Is Watching Your Family Masturbate!" and "Are Your Kids Getting Rickrolled [youtube.com]?"
Re: (Score:2)
Their next pamphlets will be titled "Warning Parents! Ceiling Kitty [ebaumsworld.com] Is Watching Your Family Masturbate!" and "Are Your Kids Getting Rickrolled [youtube.com]?"
Here's my .response [knowyourmeme.com]
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
2) It's Ceiling Cat, not kitty
Re:really? (Score:4, Funny)
I think requiring Ceiling Cat to be at least 18 years of age is a little unrealistic.
Re:really? (Score:4, Insightful)
But as someone else pointed out, using this as a "warning sign" of any sort is pointless. If some pedos have started using it, that's all well and good; but the vast majority of its use is as a joke or insult. Therefore the vast majority of the times you see it there's no hidden meaning. It's like saying that anytime you see someone with a cell phone you should be worried, because occasionally people use cell phones to sell drugs.
Re:really? (Score:5, Funny)
Won't someone think of the CHILDREN !
I'm pretty sure Pedobear has that covered.
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
"We know that this is a joke, but we're going to approach it as if it's a serious thing."
Your tax dollars at work, people.
Yeah, well if you did a survey, I bet most of the people in the area would approve that their Sheriff's department is "doing something" about online child predators. And if the Sheriff in the county is elected, you just know in the next election he's going to have something that states he fought child internet predators.
The electorate is a bunch of morons - I mean morans.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:really? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
I've never had kids. I won't have kids
And we all thank you for voluntarily removing yourself from the gene pool.
Re: (Score:2)
And your contribution to the planet is, exactly what?
Re:really? (Score:4, Interesting)
Add to that... a police department of a sizeable city usually has a few cops that temporarily aren't put on active duty (whether it's some kind of formal or informal suspension) because they've had recent problems abusing their authority or other violations that were egregious enough that the chief/sheriff had to do something.
In the case of my local P.D., these cops generally get D.A.R.E. duty or are sent places dressed up as McGruff the crime dog. That's right -- if you're the cop that can't be trusted with the authority of your office, you get to be the one they send to deal with children. That's a great idea.
In the context of that, getting the cops you can't put on duty to warn of the dangers of pedobear doesn't seem that ridiculous, and, as you said, probably is helpful at election time.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
I was at a Costco and the police (i think) had a bear mascot encouraging kids to get fingerprinted in case they get kidnapped.
I told the mascot: "You haven't heard about Pedobear, have you?"
The mascot shook its head no.
I snickered into Costco...
Re: (Score:2)
Actually, the Pedobear character had pretty innocuous roots.
http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/pedobear [knowyourmeme.com]
It wasn't until later that he got perverted into a frequent fark.com meme.
Also, awesome irony if he was originally created as the Safety Bear.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
... and a frequent one at that...
yeah, I know a lot of the stuff there is ripped from 4chan. I'd say fark is a good way to experience some of the best of 4chan without actually having to visit 4chan.
/ also foobies.
// slashies!
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I've had a few friends who have been cops, and while being nice guys and girls they can be universally described as totally ignorant to the point of actual stupidity. It always stunned me at how profoundly they misunderstood the simplest things. They could not and would not contextualise anything.
Eveything was either breaking the law (however they chose to define it) or potentially breaking the law.
Needless to say, I have dumped all 5 of them knowing they would end up in trouble, psychotic or corrupt. I
Re: (Score:2)
Also applies to:
Heavy metal
Professional wrestling
Reality TV
Cosplay
Re: (Score:2)
"We know that this is a joke, but we're going to approach it as if it's a serious thing." Your tax dollars at work, people.
If the money isn't being spent on enforcing drug laws they -don't- realize are jokes, that's probably a slight improvement.
Kicked Out? (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
CENSORSHIP. It's a joke. Perhaps distasteful but no worse than Conan O'Brien's masturbating bear.
It's humor Mr. Comicon security guard with a dildo shoved up his ass. What an anal-retentive bastard.
Re: (Score:2)
Um, a great many people don't want pedophile ideas, humor, around kids. SO allowing it would be about for business.. and comic con fans in general.
It's worse the COBs master bating bear in that the masterbating bear is on a late night channel.
Re: (Score:2)
I thought that was really about a guy going into a non-costume area with a consume on, not the costume itself?
Re: (Score:2)
The problem is, "family friendly" events - or those that wish to describe themselves as such - don't usually include "Teach your kids what a pedophile is!" on their roster of activities.
"Perhaps distasteful" == "why he was removed from ComicCon."
Re: (Score:2)
That's counterproductive. He'll just hang out in his windowless van and cruise the neighborhood.
Re: (Score:2)
Wait, it's Wil Wheaton [typepad.com] in the PedoBear outfit?
[Gag Reel @ 2:00, but -1 to your Nerd Cred if you needed to be told that]
If your children see Double Rainbows... (Score:3, Funny)
...ask them "What does it mean?"
Next Publication (Score:2)
pedo means fart in Spanish (Score:5, Funny)
It should be noted that "pedo" means fart in Spanish.
Re: (Score:2)
Now -THAT- is a scary bear.
Again paranoia rules the roost (Score:5, Insightful)
Furthermore the whole police state mentality is driving people who have these urges further and further underground. Dan Savage had a really interesting call on his podcast a few months back about someone who said he couldn't control his attraction to children. He hadn't molested anyone yet but he was scared he might, but thanks to the way the law is written now, if he seeks help the psychiatrist MUST report him to the cops where he will be thrown in prison and then booted out into a world where he is a pariah just for THOUGHTS he may have had. So instead of this man being able to seek professional help(which could include chemical castration), he is now forced to battle his demons on his own and is probably MORE likely to molest a kid than if he had been able to get help. But somehow Americans think that if they can use the police to arrest someone, they should no matter what the actual or perceived crime is.
Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not trying to minimize molestation, it's a real and terrible thing. But being irrationally afraid of the problem isn't going to make it go away and really isn't going to leave your children in a very healthy state when they grow up.
Re:Again paranoia rules the roost (Score:5, Insightful)
Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not trying to minimize molestation, it's a real and terrible thing.
I find rather annoying that you had to be that explicit and make that statement even here on Slashdot.
Re:Again paranoia rules the roost (Score:4, Funny)
Burn him, burn him!
Re:Again paranoia rules the roost (Score:5, Insightful)
Not only to kids usually know the abuser, the abuser is usually a member of their family.
Re: (Score:2)
*grin* Are you trying to maximize molestation? more, More, MORE!
S'okay, I know you meant "I'm certainly not trying to trivialize molestation,"
Yes, you are correct, in the vast majority of cases where children are molested by adults, it is by either a family member or friend of the family, not some stranger the parents/guardians don't even know about.
Re:Again paranoia rules the roost (Score:5, Interesting)
a guaranteed life of obesity seems somehow better than a slim [...] chance that they will be molested. [...]
it's a real and terrible thing.
I know a LOT of people that did stuff when they were 8-14. This includes people that were 10-12 and getting/giving oral to other kids in their class, or (common) girls who were 12-13 the first time they screwed an 18 year old boy. Hell, I know a lot of girls that were 14-15 and actively seducing 22-25 year old guys; this had at one point been an annoyance for me because ... well, they're not unique, and I've been hit on by 14 year olds. Easy fix for that is hang out in bars where 14 year olds can't go, and work in a secure building you need a clearance to get into (cleared commercial contractor or federal building)... no more annoying teenagers trying to get me in trouble! (Yes I'm paranoid; teenage girls are evil and they MUST be fishing for blackmail material, I swear... don't fucking touch them)
Overall though, the people I know that went through that stuff... had fun, and are actually pretty happy about it. People I know that didn't seem more uptight and afraid of their own shadow, and also more prone to rely on the opinions of others even when their own feelings differ (group-think... you can tell, because they either get very uncomfortable or very aggressive while they try to blend in).
Of course, I know people who were raped and they're not happy about it, and have some lingering issues... after over a decade they understand their issues, but still have a little trouble. I don't know anyone whose been raped and murdered, though... for obvious reasons.
People make a lot of noise about nothing.
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Well, since you have a few anecdotes to share, I guess that means the reams of studies and statistics demonstrating the very real, long term, and harmful consequences of sexual abuse of children is invalidated!
Thanks for letting us know.
For what it's worth: sexual contact with a child by an adult (which is what we're talking about when we talk about pedophilia) is rape. It is very different from a couple 12 year olds "playing doctor." I also find it curious that you seem to feel most 14 year old girls ar
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Most studies on the topic only question those cases that are referred to law enforcement.
Population samples are much harder to find and consistently indicate minor long-term problems, but in aggregate, those are minimal... roughly as strong a correlation as growing up black, or poor.
Very few studies (only 3 IIRC) even allow the participants to specify that they feel the experience was positive. Those that do tend to have a not insubstantial number of responses that indicate this outcome.
Overall, the effect
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I don't understand the paranoia. It's so unproductive as to be almost absurd.
Sheep herder mentality. The politicians incite fear and get control. We always need witches in our society to hunt.
Yes, you're right, this is not something we should condone. But that said, we have absolutely no way of evaluating "13 year old Megan snuck over the neighbors house and asked to suck his dick after going on the Internet to look at NAUGHTY PICTURES teeeheeeheee..." (yes this happens) versus "35 year old Michael Kiddyfucker gagged, beat, and anally raped 9 year old Jenny for 10 hours straig
Re:Again paranoia rules the roost (Score:4, Insightful)
Well, since you have a few anecdotes to share, I guess that means the reams of studies and statistics demonstrating the very real, long term, and harmful consequences of sexual abuse of children is invalidated!
Don't be a douche. He was talking about underage sexual activity, not sexual abuse. The law doesn't distinguish the two, partly because it's hard to do so. But if you have have studies and statistics about the long-term aftereffects of consensual underage sex that you'd care to (not) cite, that could be different, you know?
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
You've got a fair point that underage sexual activity is largely irrelevant to the topic of pedophilia. I think bluefoxlucid may have taken antifoidulus's text a bit out of context, or gone off-topic a bit. But his point, as I understood it, is that there's a distinction between underage sex and sexual abuse - and that it's not the act of underage sex that's harmful, but the scenario of being raped.
The law can put out a blanket definition that classifies any sex with a minor as "rape" - and that can be a
Re:Again paranoia rules the roost (Score:5, Informative)
what you are talking about has nothing to do with pedophilia. for one, the correct usage of pedophilia only refers to young, prepubescent children. being attracted to post-pubescent adolescents, teenagers and such (individuals that have mostly finished the physical maturation process - broad hips and bust in women, broad shoulders in men), is called ephebophilia, and is completely natural.
modern society has seen fit to lump it in with pedophilia, and for some reason 18 is seen as a magical age where 'OK, now it's socially acceptable to be sexually attracted to this person' but has no basis in biology or (nonrecent) human society. from a biological perspective, we are PROGRAMMED to be attracted to individuals in the mid to upper teenage years, because they are most likely to bear healthy offspring. given the variation that can occur in individuals reaching physical maturity, it can be damn hard to differentiate between some 16 year olds and 20 year olds.
For countless thousands of years, females were being married and having children at ages that would cause modern society to cringe, oftentimes to much older men, and it was the norm. Of course, recent advances in women's rights has probably had a lot to do with it, as now a female is treated as a human being with rights, as opposed to a piece of property that was to be married off for a dowry and social standing. but i digress.
actual pedophilia would be the case of a significantly older individual taking advantage of their position of power to sexually abuse a young, prepubescent child who is either unable to stop the attacker, or is too young/confused/scared to make a decision on the matter. it is ALWAYS rape, because the child can never give true consent, because they simply can't really understand what is going on. this has been shown to usually cause significant mental trauma and long term effects to the child, who is often made to feel guilty and ashamed of the whole thing, possibly repressing the memories to cause a festering canker of mental scar tissue that will stick around forever.
so... yeah. your anecdotes about horny young preteens and teenagers humping each other in the closet or hitting on older individuals is hardly relevant to the issue of pedophilia.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
if he seeks help the psychiatrist MUST report him to the cops where he will be thrown in prison and then booted out into a world where he is a pariah just for THOUGHTS he may have had. So instead of this man being able to seek professional help(which could include chemical castration), he is now forced to battle his demons on his own and is probably MORE likely to molest a kid than if he had been able to get help.
These days I'm usually not to skeptical when someone mentions laws which seem horribly unconstitutional. I know I'm probably going to be disappointed by the answer, but I still have to ask: are you sure that having a certain attraction without doing anything is actually a crime? I'm going to ask for a citation for that, and a real citation, not a caller on Dan Savage's show. Because while there are some terrible laws, I thought we hadn't ventured into the territory of bona-fide thought crimes.
Re:Again paranoia rules the roost (Score:5, Informative)
In many states, mandatory reporting laws have been interpreted to apply to those who merely express "pedophile tendencies" under the "imminent threat" statutes. Reporting does not often lead to prosecution, but it can. It can also lead to civil action such as social services intervention or execution of restraining orders.
I cite Indiana case law "Kevin Brown vs Indiana c 2006". His biological child was taken from him and his same-aged wife because he called a radio show and admitted to being attracted to kids. He had already informed his wife and friends and even had written plans to ensure that he would never be in a situation he could even remotely be accused of abusing a kid. Nevertheless, his child was taken by "emergency order of protection", by a squad of armed officers. In order to ensure his child didn't end up in foster care, he had to move out of his house, after which they placed the child with his wife and issued a restraining order against him "ad litem".
He took the case to the Indiana supreme court and lost. The conclusion was that there was no obligation of protection of liberty for someone who was an admitted pedophile because he represented an "imminent threat" and he could be subject to civil action by social services or otherwise.
Additionally, in California, in "Jack McLelan vs California c2007" a pedophile loudly proclaimed his attraction to young girls. The district attorney of his area applied a restraining order, barring him from being less than 10 meters from a child, or 100 meters from anywhere children congregate. This ban actually legally prevented him from entering the court, since there was a daycare facility in the same building, though they chose not to prosecute him for coming to his own hearings. He opted to leave the state rather than fight the restriction.
Presumably, a similar argument could be made in some states to raid his house and seize his electronics to search for illegal material, based on the "imminent threat" argument, though I'm not aware of that having been attempted, though it wouldn't surprise me if it had and simply didn't reach the public airwaves, due to the lack of notoriety of the target.
Re:Again paranoia rules the roost (Score:5, Interesting)
A few studies (they're really hard to find and finance) that try to determine the number of people in a population who are pedophiles, seem to indicate that they represent a non-trivial amount of the population (at least several million in the US/Canada) and something like 60-90% of them never do anything illegal.
Do you SERIOUSLY advocate locking up all of these people to "err on the side of caution"? Yeck.
Doug Stanhope (Score:2)
What a backstory (Score:2)
They have taken a funny, harmless meme and created such a backstory that you just have to wonder if the people at the San Luis Obispo Sheriff's office aren't writers for Heroes.
"The Pedo Bear began as an online Japanese cartoon character, and is known for his "lecherous nature" towards prepubescent children."
From humble beginnings...
"One of the things that makes Pedobear popular is the controversy over his licentious love of little girls."
Who doesn't like a good controversy?
Not universal (Score:2)
Hey, most people are not aware of the latest memes. Those who know about Pedobear may know (yes, tautology) but most people don't. Nice that the Sheriff does issue at least an explanation with appropriate warning. And yes, most people find jokes about pedophilia not funny, and don't want such material anywhere near their kids.
Re: (Score:2)
Nice that the Sheriff does issue at least an explanation with appropriate warning.
You misspelled "hysterical".
Re: (Score:2)
"latest memes" meaning things at least 3 or more years old... You have failed the internet.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
And yes, most people find jokes about pedophilia not funny
Are you sure? Most people I've asked found this sketch [ign.com] hilarous.
What about Pedobears friends? (Score:5, Funny)
Scat Rat, Futa Cow, Shota Tiger, Yuri Bunny, Guro Dragon, S&M Horse, Furry Sheep, Yaoi Cock, Hetero Dog & Watersports Pig?
Do they not even warrant a warning?
Re:What about Pedobears friends? (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Don't worry, Canonical will eventually get around to using that as an Ubuntu release name.
Isin't it obvious? (Score:2)
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's dept are in the for the lolz.
So I just have to put the decal on my car window (Score:2)
This makes perfect sense, knowing SLO Sheriff... (Score:5, Funny)
Huh? (Score:2)
Personally I am waiting for the demonization of USB cables... That's what you REALLY have to look out for. I'll show you later.
Pedobear in Atlanta (Score:2)
Evil Pedobear (Score:2)
All I can say is... (Score:2)
...ceiling cat had better beware.
SLO Sheriff's Department is An Interesting Entity (Score:5, Interesting)
It wouldn't surprise me if this flier was released in response to some of the SLOcals shitting bricks over something one of their teenage kids read in an internet forum. However, the Sheriff's department probably doesn't want to spend any time or manpower on the issue. So they probably released the flier to shut the local whiners up while maintaining enough autonomy to do their real jobs. For what it's worth, every time I've dealt with a Sheriff deupty here, it's been pretty pleasant. One of them helped scrape me off the road when I crashed my motorcycle, and even gave me a ride home when I refused to go to the hospital. Another couple of them recognize me when I am jogging now and wave and say hi if they are outside of their cars. I've never had them stop me for trivial bullshit. I've never had them stop me period. It's always been SLO PD and the CHP that give me shit over ridiculous stuff.
All in all, SLO county is a delightfully weird place to live. the SLO folk are so hell bent about maintaining a nice community that they pass all sorts of batshit insane, jerk off laws. For instance, just this year a city-wide ban on smoking was enacted. You can't smoke anywhere in public now, or within 20 feet of another person's residence. So if you smoke, you're screwed. Then there was the measure that made it so noise ordinance violations could be classified as "unruly gatherings" and, rather than simply fining the offenders, all members present can now be criminally prosecuted and arrested. As such, I'd hate to work for the Sheriff's department. They are stuck between trying to prevent real crimes (like the constant stabbings in Oceano, or the poaching of wildlife up in Cayucos) and pandering to a bunch of rich whiny twats that want to create the "perfect community." It's strange.
Re:SLO Sheriff's Department is An Interesting Enti (Score:4, Interesting)
I was once pulled over and fined $180 for riding my bike with headphones on. Three of my friends have been arrested for drunk in public just because they were stumbling a bit on their walk home. Cops show up at most every party at exactly 10:00pm to issue $300 fines for first offense, and they double every time after that (the frats full of rich white guys are immune, though). There is a vigilante program run by the police called "SNAPS" that employs students to spy on parties. The Cal Poly PD is SLOPD, yet they are allowed to make a profit off of parking and traffic violating on campus (yes, the campus is a public institution but that money should go towards the school to better the parking situation).
And every summer the town is flooded by an army of retired, driving around in their aluminum boats. They make their way the wrong way down one way streets, they drive into groups of people walking in a cross walk on an unprotected left turn, and they blow countless stop signs to the dismay of the local cyclists. Their tour buses block entire roads and the packs they travel in on foot show no regard to traffic signs (WALK or DONT WALK) but the cops don't care. The whole community doesn't care and doesn't realize that most of the money coming into the town is from the college and the young students who attend. But as long as time continues to pass and the youth inevitably become the elders, this situation wont change. Those damn kids are just rampaging around with nothing but disdain, incarcerate them all I say!
To disserve and terrorize (Score:3, Insightful)
Number of actual children Pedobear has molested: 0.
Number of actual children "respectable" people with power have molested: Seemingly infinite.
Might want to focus on the proven danger there, Mr. Police Officer.
We have gone from a society of doers to a society of press-releasers. Welcome to the empire's fall, kids. Enjoy the bread and circuses.
Pedobear is and should be associated with the internet and pedophiles/sexually-preferential offenders who reportedly use him to communicate their interests in young children to each other.
I love that. The entire point of the document is to FEAR THE BEAR! but their evidence can be summed up as panic-panic-guy-over-there-seen-with-a-kid-REPORTEDLY-child-molester-panic-panic.
So one guy in a suit in public surrounded by cameras watching his every move = advanced agent for the Pedophile Illuminati? I can see some cop sitting inside HQ and cuddling his gun, gibbering "First the queers ruined rainbows and now the baby-rapers are ruining teddy bears!"
And if I was part of some secret and highly illegal group that needed a way of identifying members I don't think I would use the one thing in the entire universe that people associate with the illegal activity in question.
may be an indicator of the presence of individuals who have a predilection to sexually inappropriate, or even assaultive behavior
Translation: We will use it as a justification to kick down your door, terrorize your family, and shoot your dog in the middle of the night. Saves us having to make up an "anonymous tip" and finds you guilty in the eyes of the potential jury pool all at once!
"Beware the Four Horsemen of the Information Apocalypse: terrorists, drug dealers, kidnappers, and child pornographers. Seems like you can scare any public into allowing the government to do anything with those four." - Bruce Schneier [schneier.com].
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
This summary is blatantly false after even only thirty seconds of looking at its links - for example:
The Pedo Bear began as an online Japanese cartoon character, and is known for his "lecherous nature" towards prepubescent children.
Recently, pedophiles have adopted the bear as a mascot.
The summary omits that transition part, wherein the only valid application of Pedobear is that of a joke, and pedophiles haven't picked it up and ran with it.
[CITATION NEEDED]
Which pedophiles, when, and where? Be precise, name names.
Once you're done with that, look up what "FUD" means, you'll obviously learn new things.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Well, they could, but the game would be delayed until the chicken returned it.
Re: (Score:2)
samzenpus
Oh that's a great idea. We should have Samus Aran running the anti-molestation guard!
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I assume that samzenpus is a pedophile and can attest that neither he or his sexually deviant buddies use pedobear except as an internet joke.
I almost, almost, almost went there. Glad to see someone else drew that conclusion, because that really is just about the only position one could take to refute this claim. Hilarity ensues...
Re:sadly (Score:4, Insightful)
PEDO BEAR is becoming a tool for pedophile to use.
I have doubts about the certainty of your fears. Do you have proof? You wouldn't just be saying that based on absolutely nothing, would you?
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
I heard that at some point you could post pictures to 4chan concatenated with a rar file (the extra data would just be ignored and a picture displayed) and a pedobear picture was used sometimes to exchange pictures of dubious morality. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, this is just something I heard in a 4chan thread so it could be bullshit but it certainly sounds plausible enough.
Re: (Score:2)