Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/09/20
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At 11:25 PM 9/20/99 +0200, Anthony Atkielski wrote:
>I don't know--which is precisely why I don't understand why anyone would
>associate child molestation with photography on a public street.
From my social work days and having been married to a person who
prosecutes child molesters. (One of the few things we could talk about her
work - me being a journalist made it hard to talk about most criminal
matters in specifics). And having a friend who counsels child victims of
physical and sexual abuse.
Fact: Eight out of 25 women are molested before age 18. Reason to be concerned.
Fact: The average child molester is male, in his mid-30s, is mostly
incapable of forming mature relationships with women his own age, and
(HERE'S THE POINT) plays with cameras. The camera thing is not for art's
sake, but to record their perversion.
In fact, they like to use cameras that are not real expensive, because they
throw the subject out of focus, so it's easier to fantasize about the kids
they know. It's sick, inexcusable, and in my opinion is just this side of
murder. In a way, the lives of the children are stolen - for good.
People know this. Where the heck do you think kiddie port comes from?
Crackerjack boxes?
It seems pretty easy to put two and two together, when they live in fear as
so many people do today. It's not the news media's fault. This is something
that has been perpetuated by the fact that is has some truth, and is played
up by trash news and popular media to be more than it is. Combined with the
fact that there are lots of molesters out there.
That's no excuse for being paranoid, but we can appreciate when a parent
shows concern. I for one have never had a problem after explaining who I
am, a newspaper photographer out looking for pictures, and smiling. A few
have turned me down. No big deal. Never lost a critical picture because of it.
Eric Welch
St. Joseph, MO
http://www.ponyexpress.net/~ewelch
.one sees the glass half full, another, the glass half
empty. The engineer sees the glass twice as big as it has to be.