The Watcher and the Watched

[supergee]

The latest kerfuffle is mega-seller John Grisham* getting indignant because a friend of his was arrested for trying to sign up for a porn site that promised "16-year-old hookers." As many people pointed out, looking at child or teen porn (or for that matter at stolen nude pix) is aiding in the commission of a crime, which is a good argument against doing it.

But I have to wonder how much good is done by dangling temptation and entrapping those who fall for it. I suppose that in theory if we could arrest everyone who wanted to look at the stuff, no one would make it, but that seems awfully indirect.
* Grisham's Law states that lawyer novels drive everything else off the bestseller list.

Comments

[marahmarie]

Yeah, but I looked it up and it was a sting website, not a case of anyone the guy knew personally pushing him to go look at a sting website, so...I mean, he apparently wanted to see underage material and it's not like anyone twisted his arm to go to that site in particular, just his own bad luck. The same as if the dope dealer someone always hits up on the corner starts working for the government and that same someone just happens to be the first sale the guy makes after that. I'm not sure where my sympathy for people in either scenario is supposed to come in, just sayin'.

*shrug*