Parental Responsibility And The Internet

US senators today made a bipartisan call for the universal implementation of filtering and monitoring technologies on the Internet in order to protect children at the end of a Senate hearing for which civil liberties groups were not invited.

Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii) and Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Vice Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) both argued that Internet was a dangerous place where parents alone will not be able to protect their children.

Let me explain a few things wrong with this.

First off: China censors the Internet. Iran, North Korea, and most Gulf states censor the Internet. This is fucking America. NOTHING is censored on the Internet. If you want to see naked women spread across an American muscle car, you can. Want to see a 300lb woman topless? It's there too.

The Internet wasn't made for kids, so we're not going to censor it for kids. If you can't filter your Internet connection for your kids, then maybe you shouldn't be having the Internet available to your kids.

We aren't responsible for your children, YOU ARE.

“While filtering and monitoring technologies help parents to screen out offensive content and to monitor their child’s online activities, the use of these technologies is far from universal and may not be fool-proof in keeping kids away from adult material," Sen. Inouye said. “In that context, we must evaluate our current efforts to combat child pornography and consider what further measures may be needed to stop the spread of such illegal material over high-speed broadband connections."

Illegal material is actively being pursued. Nothing is fool-proof. I was getting into my Dad's and my friends Dad's porn collection by the time I was 7. Everyone here has been exposed to adult material when they were younger. We all turned out fine. I'm not saying that you should actively show your kids porn, but if they do end up seeing it, it's your job as a parent to explain to them what's what. Besides, when did sex become more taboo then violence? It's ok to show a video game/tv show/movie with graphic violence, but God forbid a child should see a tit? Personally, I'd rather my child see a naked woman/man then a guy getting his head blown off. It's a lot easier to explain pussy to a young boy then it is a bullet wound and death.

"Given the increasingly important role of the Internet in education and commerce, it differs from other media like TV and cable because parents cannot prevent their children from using the Internet altogether," Sen. Stevens said. "The headlines continue to tell us of children who are victimized online. While the issues are difficult, I believe Congress has an important role to play to ensure that the protections available in other parts of our society find their way to the Internet."

Wait a damned minute here. You can ban your children from TV and cable but the Internet is something that cannot be stopped? When you ban children from TV, you don't think they aren't going over to their friends house to watch TV? The same can be said for the Internet. Children are naturally curious about everything, and if you ban or censor something, they will eventually find a way around your ban and all you'll have succeeded in doing is pissing them off and making them ashamed of their curiosity, which breeds all sorts of mental problems.

So if you can't raise your child properly, give that child up for adoption because you are an unfit parent. It's not society's job to raise your child. We didn't get to have sex with your wife, therefore we don't have to raise your kids.

Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com