Like shooting fish in a barrel...

I think I might be making another comeback. Don't hold your breath, though.

-------------------

During the transition between sweeps and summertime, the networks heavily play their programming schedules by ear, trying to figure out which filler shows attract any semblence of a viewership. I guess NBC's recurring Dateline special, "To Catch a Predator" has been doing pretty well for them, since they've been showing it every Wednesday for, what, maybe six weeks now? I think I've seen just about all of the new ones, and I've got a few thoughts.

First, in case you haven't seen it, here's the rundown. It's basically a sting operation jointly run by a group called Perverted Justice, the sheriff's department of whatever county they are in, and Chris Hansen of Dateline. Perverted Justice is a volunteer watchdog group that fishes for online sex predators. They pose as young teens in chat rooms, then see which adult takes the bait. For this operation, their ultimate goal is to get the predator to meet them at a special house where both the Dateline crew and the deputies are waiting for them. As soon as they enter the house Hansen administers a pretty standard questionnaire/lecture to the guys, and then when they walk out to leave, they are arrested and taken to away to be further interrogated.

From the highest vantage point, I question the morality of the entire operation. The ethics involved in baiting men who are obviously sick (or at the bare minimum, extremely susceptible to this sort of temptation), and luring them into situations where they eventually end up lusting after young girls is questionable at best. And I don't buy the argument that says that if it not for the decoys, these men would've found real girl to prey on. Of course there is a certain chance that something MAY have happened in the future, but come on, is that the game we want to play? Perverted justice, indeed.

What we must not forget is that this type of predation is a two way street. I think that is ultimately the message that Hanson espouses at the end of every show, but it really can't be stressed enough. Something has gone horribly wrong in the parental vigilence department when/if your 13 year old daughter is inviting guys over to your house for sloppy sex, probably on your own bed. I wish he would say it that explicitly, but instead he usually just ends up giving a heavy handed warning about the dangers of children offering too much information about themselves on the myspace.

So in the end, while these men are absolutely culpable, their indictments are unfortunate and, dare I say it, unnecessary. The buck stops at the feet of the parents, who are ultimately responsible for not only their child's welfare, but for the development of their common sense and reasoning faculties.

Time for lunch.