Dateline NBC: To Catch A Pervert
I can’t take my eyes off this show. Watching these perverts get busted by that cheeseball Chris Hansen is like watching a butterfly attack a ladybug. It’s just so cute. There’s the socially awkward pervert with sweatpants and a raging HO and here’s a ginger news pansy, more humored than outraged, with a joke about sweet tea or cookies locked and loaded.
According to “To Catch A Predator”, Dangerous predators, apparently, are disarmed by punchy references.
I always come away from watching this show feeling rotten though.
I’m Aware That What I’m About To Say Is Not The Party Line, But Hear Me Out:
Let me start by saying I have absolutely no interest in young girls whatsoever, I actually prefer women in their early 30’s (i’m 28). I’m not sure why I need to say that but people always assume an argument is out of personal interest.
Ok: I think that To Catch A Predator is terrible, almost criminally so. I don’t think these guys are actual predators, just horny assholes (with a few exceptions) who are socially maladjusted. Any old guy or guy who is a total nerd is going to of course have a high school girl fantasy. The equalizer here is that young girls aren’t interested in old guys or grown up nerds.
What does that mean? It means that this isn’t a real problem. But society isn’t good at attacking problems head on.
Look at Michael Moore’s “battle” against the strawman which is the midwestern United States gun problem. Is that really the problem? Isn’t the majority of the problem gun violence in urban areas? Why doesn’t he want to talk about that? Why a man who has kept the hamburger and hot dog in bondage for so long can’t touch on that is beyond me.
He cares more about looking right than actually being right.
Being right, after all, isn’t that much fun. I’m right and I haven’t made any snazzy documentaries. I write on this crapcan blog and then wake up and go to work and drink bad coffee and sometimes get the trots.
Making fun of slack jawed yokels who get a rifle with a savings account is cuter, and nobody gets hurt.
Back To Catching Predators:
The fact that twenty-something loser male or a mid-life crisis middle management dbag would poke a hot 16 year old girl doesn’t come as a shock to anyone, does it? Then why are we shocked? It’s the theatrics of it I guess.
Lets Recap A Situation That Would Never Happen In A Million Years:
Hot Young Girl goes online into a trashy yahoo chat. Old pervert approaches her, most likely looking for some fap material. To perverts’ shock, HYG is interested in him. She answers his goofy questions and says dumb young girl stuff. “What does that Mean Mister?”. HYG is home alone. OP invites himself over. She Agrees! Wow. But please, bring some embarassing items so we can laugh at you. Roger that.
So this sad sack drives over, thinking he’s hit the poontang lottery and then enter Chris Hansen and everyone laughs at him.
Then his life is ruined. National humiliation. Probably get his ass kicked in prison. His family disowns him, everyone knows him as “a predator” for the rest of his life. His life is over. He is a dead man.
Do they deserve this? Are most of them predators or just horny scumbags who’ll take what they can get?
I think what decided it for me was this episode where this old gay judge is chatting with a 15 year old boy. Gross sure, but hey i’m sure he’s not the first or the last. They chat about fruity stuff and at some point he cuts it out and thats that. A few weeks later the police raid his house with a warrant. The guy freaks out and eats a bullet, dies right there.
At this point i’m thinking, sure this is gross and all, but is this really a problem?
Well, let’s sacrifice a few more horny perverts.
God knows they are the source of it all, and it will certainly stop your kids from getting naked on webcams and screwing other teenagers they meet on Myspace.
Also, Chuch Has Written A Blog On The Same Subject, About That Pervert Blogger Here In California, Check it:
UPDATE: A new post about To Catch A Predator Here:
http://misanthropytoday.wordpress.com/2007/09/07/to-catch-a-predator-part-ii-women-predators/
Related posts:
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Willem Dafoe is a Shithead
I don’t necessarily agree with you point to point but I do think this has been your most entertaining/best-written post to date.
August 14th, 2007 at 5:35 amI predict that NBC will keep pushing the ‘predators’ to bring increasingly ridiculous items in order to maintain ratings. One day you will turn it on and horny mcsweatpants will be riding an elephant into the kitchen and unzipping his backpack full of manure to rub all over his man tits. Three-ring circus + fear factor + soft-core porn. No wonder you can’t stop watching.
Rachel
I have to start by saying that I really like this show. It cracks me up. What the show does, is not surprising though. It is VERY American to exaggerate and make a big deal out of everything and then slap on a ridiculous law to justify it. Pedophilia grosses me out and most of the guys on there are disgusting perverts who apparently can’t get a hooker or go to a bar to get laid, however, that doesn’t justify national humiliation and harsh criminal penalties. What does justify it is that most of them have seen the show, had an instinct that they shouldn’t do those things, drove a long ass way to get to the girl’s/boy’s house and then make the excuse that they wanted to warn the girl/boy of the dangerous perverts lurking around waiting to screw the innocence out of her/him.Oh, it is we that are mistaken, they are in fact missionaries in disguise. Well, I will continue to watch this show and laugh my ass off. Good post.
August 14th, 2007 at 1:30 pmandyfox1979
I agree, the lies (especially the Good Samaritan ones) are really dumb and sort of point to a mind that can’t even admit that they fucked up or that they have a problem. I think that the national humiliation is enough in most cases. The going to jail seems excessive and i’m not quite certain where the law was broken since they weren’t in fact talking to a real minor but to a person who was putting together the perfect fantasy for them. Seems like entrapment.
I just hate when the government manufactures criminals to serve as scapegoats for something thats a social problem and not necessarily a legal problem.
August 14th, 2007 at 2:02 pmBuddha
I think people often times forget something very important when they talk about the relevancy of certain social issues. They ask, why is this so important when we could be doing blank, or blank. I think that position is dangerously close to missing the point. It’s a big world, and various people take up causes for various reasons, and because there are so many problems that face the world, all causes have their place and need someone to fight for those causes or draw attention to them. Yes, there are bigger things going on right now besides catching a predeator (or looking for WMD’s, or herpes awareness) but that doesn’t mean I should feel sorry for these guyblow’s because there are bigger fish to fry. I don’t think that to catch a predator is a huge drain on taxpayer dollars, and hopefully yeah, they will bag a bunch of idiots who didn’t have the common sense that God gave them to know better, lock those ass munches up! It doesn’t matter how hard up a guy is, he has no business getting on the internet and getting invovled with a young girl, especially when the click of the button ends the conversation. Shit, if your that damn horny and you can afford gas, condoms, beer, and god knows what else, then you can probably afford a hooker (still illegal, but way less embarrassing) at least until ‘To Catch a John’ comes out next season on Fox. I really like your blog however, you make compelling points, like this guy I know…
August 14th, 2007 at 3:00 pmRachel
The jails are filled with people who sold a joint in the 1980’s, pissed near a school (a felony-exposure to minors), drove drunk, broke their parole for associating with a gang member (who are sometimes their family member or neighbor) and for doing something inappropriate on the internet. Buddha, do you really want to build more prisons (who are well oilled money making machines) and close down more hospitals and rehabs? o.k. no more parentheses
August 14th, 2007 at 3:53 pmBuddha
HA HA HA Talk about a slippery slope, how does arresting a couple dozen child molesters over run our fuggin’ prisons. I think your missing a few important point along the way.
Point 1: Nothing exist’s in a vacuum, if there is something wrong with the criminal justice system then by all means take steps to fix it. But does that mean we put the homelessness problem on the back burner until we get problem one fixed, no. Everything has to be handled the way it exists, in concert twith everything else.
point 2: I’m pretty sure that ‘To Catch A Predator’ is a fairly unique show that has only captured a handful of scum bags compared to your average suburban meth lab bust. To be honest, the show often times has a hard prosecuting the men they catch, and most of the perpetrators get relatively light sentences if at all. There are not 20 plus men serving double life because they were caught on TV trying to bang a twelve year old.
point 3: What the hell is wrong with parenthese?!?!? (I think they’re very helpful) Lighten up dudette, why are you supporting the theif (see I use this moment to point out that I’m making a reference to one of my favorite shows, if this wasn’t here, you would think I was a total jerk, and we can’t have that can we?)
August 14th, 2007 at 4:20 pmandyfox1979
Buddha, look at that picture of that blond chick at the top. If you found that in a chat room you’d be all over it like hobos on ham sandwiches.
August 14th, 2007 at 5:11 pmJeremy
To Catch A Predator is entrapment, plain and simple. I think that the point Andy is making is that the stay at home rapist one thinks of when envisioning a child predator is a far different animal than the kind of person led into the trap set by this show.
These are people that god has not graced with good looks or social skills, that are using the internet for some desperate sort of sexual gratification. The methods used by the show and by similar groups are very aggressive, will not take no for an answer, and are not indicitive of any real-world scenario that I could imagine.
So in the end, all that happens is some chump gets suckered into a situation by means of appealing to their most desperate needs and urges, only to be publicly humiliated for our entertainment and to assuage our need to feel “progress is being made” in the “fight” against online predators.
What are these people to do now? Blow their brains out? If they aren’t murdered in prison, they will still have no chance of re-entering a society that rejected them in the first place. All because they hoped against hope taht they might actually get a piece of pussy for one in their lives. I’m sure they would prfer if it were not underage, but I’m also sure that a starving man eats what’s put in front of him.
There are many, infinitely better ways to go about combatting this problem, and none of them involve fucking television ratings.
August 14th, 2007 at 5:47 pmandyfox1979
well played. Exactly what I was getting at.
August 14th, 2007 at 5:59 pmRachel
Ditto. Well put, Jeremy.
August 14th, 2007 at 6:14 pmWillem Dafoe is a Shithead
Yet despite the debate, nothing has changed. Including the channel on Andy’s tv.
August 14th, 2007 at 8:40 pmJeremy Azevedo
http://s135.photobucket.com/albums/q146/jeremyazevedo/?action=view¤t=SUPERCREEP.jpg
August 14th, 2007 at 10:09 pmandyfox1979
I think i’m going to stop watching the show, but I think you’re right, nothing will change just yet. But I think this is a more constructive dialogue than say, “oh yeah they’re pedophiles and should be killed”.
Like Jeremy alluded to, a real pedophile would certainly not fall into this trap. They’d know something was up right away. These guys are horny bastards who were pushed over the edge by a hungry organization (perverted justice) and a show hungry for ratings.
August 15th, 2007 at 3:56 amWillem Dafoe is a Shithead
touche
August 15th, 2007 at 11:31 amMark Chu Cheong
Man…reading this blog and the comments has made me exhausted…do you guys want to get in your swimsuits and go for a hot tub?
August 16th, 2007 at 12:34 amWillem Dafoe is a Shithead
http://www.thisjustin.com/2007/08/15/to-catch-a-predator-the-reunion-special/
Anyone care to watch and tell me if this is any good ? I cant bring myself to do it.
August 16th, 2007 at 5:59 pmandyfox1979
it’s a joke video. Not real. But, sorta funny
August 16th, 2007 at 6:07 pmJeremy Azevedo
Hey Mark Chu Cheong, I don’t have a swimsuit, is it ok if I get in without one? Tee-hee! BTW I’m 12.
August 16th, 2007 at 6:07 pmDel Harvey
You people can make jokes but if you had children it would not be a joke to you. god bless
August 16th, 2007 at 6:10 pmDel
Jeremy Azevedo
Some of us have the good sense to pull out and avoid bringing even more shitheels into this godforsaken, grossly overpopulated shithole of a world that we live in, where people spend their days watching “Pervert Justice” and leaving inane, obvious comments on stupid blogs, Del
August 16th, 2007 at 6:26 pmMark Chu Cheong
@Jeremy Only if you bring me a Shirley Temple as a well…On a second note i was my name was Del, although I don’t want to be a funkee homosapien
August 16th, 2007 at 9:14 pmandyfox1979
@Chuch, were you hammered when you wrote the above comment?
@Jeremy, nobody watches perverted justice, its not a show, its a watchdog group. The show is called “To Catch A Predator”.
Jeremy: Win!
Del: Fail!
@everyone, its funny how a dialogue about a pressing issue always turns into insults, name calling and sophomoric asides. I sort of wouldn’t want it any other way.
August 17th, 2007 at 11:04 amJeremy
Haha whoops. I was too bored reading your article to actually get the name of the show right! My bad!
August 17th, 2007 at 2:36 pmreluctant geisha
I have to say it, my friend, I’m COMPLETELY opposite of you, and it’s because I’ve had that situation happen [in a different venue] many times over.
Some of those dudes aren’t just lonely old guys who are wanting some companionship and “happen” to “run into” a 13 or 14 year old kid to chat with on “Teh Nt4rw3bz.”
There are guys out there who are actively looking for children to have some sort of a sexual experience with, and they don’t just “fall into” an N’SYNC or Britney Spears chatroom and “accidentally” start chatting with someone.
If they were so innocent, at the MOMENT their chat buddy says “o, i m 14,” there would be no more conversation, no suggestion, no double entendre, nothing. It would be a “take it easy, kid.” type of thing.
If those guys were driving across a state to meet a 17 year old kid, I might not be so disgusted, when I was 17, I was with older men too, but when they are driving hours… miles… half a day.. to meet a 13 or 14 year old kid, there’s no entrapment in that, what’s done in the dark will come to the light, and it just happens to be their moment, IMHO.
kick ass blog though.
August 19th, 2007 at 4:57 amandyfox1979
thanks Geisha
August 25th, 2007 at 4:19 pmBarry
WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?
August 27th, 2007 at 9:19 pmRachel
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkITqKXMu58]
September 2nd, 2007 at 7:03 pmuncutdiamond
Dude, your post is AWESOME! I actually think that you may have a point there, which is that classifying these guys as predators may make them more comic book like than they really are. On the other hand, some of them actually do seem like they’d choke the s**t out of a girl for sport. It’s entertainment, really. My only issue is calling Chris Hansen a cheeseball. The dude is smooth. You ever see the episode where he catches the naked guy who wants to f^*k the cat?
October 6th, 2007 at 8:36 amCH: Grab that towel over there.
Pervert: Uh…okay (pause)
CH: Now wrap it around yourself…Have a seat…What are you doing?
I love that guy.
topfloor music
I think it’s only a matter of time before Britney runs over a photographer and kills ‘em. What happened to that sweet old Britney we used to know and love?
November 19th, 2007 at 5:51 pmandyfox1979
how does this relate to the subject matter at hand?
November 20th, 2007 at 5:42 pmRyan M.
“I’m not sure why I need to say that but people always assume an argument is out of personal interest.”
I relate. I hate the wub people and their inability to recognize this. Also, humans are terrible. Even me.
October 3rd, 2008 at 2:52 am