[ Golden Gater Online - February 20, 1997 ]
Obviously it was a fake, but of the hundreds of thousands of pornographic images, it was one of the most disturbing.
We're all aware of the government's attempts to regulate the Web. The big claim is children's easy access to images and videos of a pornographic nature. Another legitimate claim is that child pornography is rampant online. Most of the pornography on the internet is just a few quick key strokes away.
These concerns do carry some weight, but what about our first amendment rights of free expression and free speech, do we have a right to fight regulation of the Web, or do we have an obligation to keep a strict moral fiber for our children?
This question has divided our country down the middle, both sides are prepared to go down swinging, and nobody will escape unscathed.
As I ponder this latest dilemma, I'm torn. Of course free speech and free expression are essential to a free society, but do I want my children watching other children, usually not old enough to understand, engaging in unlawful sex with an adult? Of course not.
Children are the ones most susceptible to the twisted minds of the lowlifes that reside in the darkest corners of the internet. Children are the ones who need protection, not adults. As far as I'm concerned nobody has the right to tell me what I can or can not do, or where I should or should not go.
The fact is we live in a world where we are told time and again where to go and what to do, and we've come to expect it. But expecting it and accepting are two different issues.
I expect our government to severely punish child molesters, rapists and murderers for their unlawful actions, but I do not accept the federal government, or any government for that matter, sticking its big fat, money hungry nose into my law abiding life.
However, there is one thing about the Web that everyone should respect, and that's our right to privacy. I became concerned about this issue as I browsed through the different newsgroups and I happened upon one group that said "girlfriends."
In this group I was amazed to find many boyfriends willing to share their beautiful, and not so beautiful, girlfriends. Then I saw a posting of an ex-girlfriend. The guy had posted a photo of her without her knowledge, and for whatever reason, he had violated her privacy rights.
What she had shared privately with him, he was now sharing publicly, on a world-wide scale. He blatantly abused her rights. Does she know? Probably not. Will she ever know? Maybe. But according to the statute of limitations the only legal action she can take has to be done within a year of the posting date, unless she goes to New Hampshire, where the statute is seven years. Highly unlikely. Her privacy now, unwillingly, is being violated by countless guys, on countless days.
The fine line between right and wrong was crossed. Has it happened to you? It's happening all the time on the Web, just ask the little boys and girls who have been victims of child molesters and are now being exploited online. Who is protecting their rights? That's the question you should ask yourself.
Hate groups have found a forum in which to express there ignorant and ridiculous ideals
[ Golden Gater - February 20, 1997 ]