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195 Comments
- Powerfan5000, on 05/28/2009, -4/+157Let's make sure the victims of this heinous crime get some kind of compensation. I'm sorry. Did you say there are no victims?
- Loonacy, on 05/29/2009, -0/+92Drawing of young child taking a bath = illegal
Drawing of young child being chopped apart and cannibalized = legal - HamatoKameko, on 05/28/2009, -2/+90Next thing you'll know, they'll be going after fountain cherubs (lil nekkid angel kids, anatomically correct), even art and sculptures in museums.
- masamunecyrus, on 05/28/2009, -1/+87I don't care whether or not the depictions of minors is for artistic value or purely for sexual value.
My worry about this is that this is a victimless crime. It's not like drugs, where people argue that oneself is a victim, or the people around them or loved ones are victims; nay, this is a victimless crime in the sense that the victim DOES NOT EXIST. There is no tangible way to calculate damages to human beings or corruption of the mind, because any victim does not exist.
Not too long ago, a man was convicted of obscene writing; they found e-mails containing literary depictions of minors being raped and sexually abused. Sick, yes, but the notable thing is this man was convicted for fanfic -- not drawings, but WRITING. Granted, this man was also convicted of real child pornography, and up until now, these sorts of convictions were reserved exclusively for actual criminals, but between that case and this case, we're heading down a slippery slope.
I don't mean to overuse the "slippery slope" line, but it should really be used, here. If this man is convicted of a crime against no one, there could be very obvious ramifications. Already video games have come under fire for their violence and their availability to minors. Who is to say that they won't decide that allowing a minor to play an M rated game is punishable by a prison term? In this child pornography case, there is no victim; the only arguable point is that it is obscene and corrupts someone's mind. Couldn't the same be said about violent video games? You're not actually killing innocent civilians, but what if even killing fake, non-existent video game innocent civilians and enjoying it is tantamount to showing intent to kill, or the possibility of making you think it's OK to massacre civilians. After all, if this conviction goes through, the message that we're sending is that although the victim in this child pornography isn't real, reading the material shows intent to actually rape a little girl, or it could possibly drive you to commit rape against a little girl.
Now take this same argument and apply it to TV. Now apply it to movies. Now apply it to books. - HamatoKameko, on 05/28/2009, -0/+76Oh! Let's not forget ancient art depicting sex with young'uns. Sorry Greece, Rome, Japan, China, the Mayans & Incas... We're gonna need a bigger paddywagon.
- s0nicfreak, on 05/28/2009, -3/+69Thank god one less thought-criminal on the streets.
- Hetman, on 05/28/2009, -1/+58This is absurd. What about people having sex with aliens in manga's? Can you be tried for having pictures of inter-species erotica?
- Renork, on 05/28/2009, -3/+56This is going to sound like an absurd argument on its surface but whatever.
If you download kiddie porn without paying for it you are(allegedly) encouraging the business of producing kiddie porn.
If you download music/movies without paying for it you are(allegedly) discouraging the business of producing movies/music.
Laws need to be consistent to be reasonable. This is a major inconsistency that should be addressed. Non commercial piracy is either plus for the media industry or the major justifications for the noncommercial distribution of child porn being illegal are moot.
Note:This post should not be interpreted as an endorsement of child porn. - venusflytrap09, on 05/28/2009, -1/+51The theory behind prosecuting people with kiddie porn photos is that they're encouraging actual crimes. I have no problem with that.
But, no crime has actually been committed when the picture in question is just a drawing. It looks like someone has gotten a bit over-zealous.
- Sebthelodgemn, on 05/29/2009, -2/+46"They're eighteen, your honor."
"They certainly don't look eighteen."
"They are. All the people from their fictional homeworld look little, but they're eighteen. They're tiny adults."
"Oh thank god, the charges are dismissed then. You're free to go."
Jesus Christ, are you ***** kidding. - KrayzieKyd, on 05/28/2009, -1/+45US Law: "Call me when there are tentacles."
Japanese Law: "Where are the tentacles?" - Insightful, on 05/28/2009, -4/+47Alberto Gonzalez was a force behind this which also convicted Paul LIttle aka "Max Hardcore."
Sure, I find his work despicable but they are between consenting adults. I thought Conservatives want government out of bedrooms.
So... among the things I have learned from the last 8 years are: torture is OK, not capturing bin Laden is OK, attacking a country for WMD that they do not have is OK, but comics and sex you disagree with - OMG prosecute!!! - HamatoKameko, on 05/28/2009, -1/+44It may be a thin line, but it's a sturdy one. Drawings =/= Photographs of real children. Drawings are just that, drawings. If it's a photo, on the other hand, it's bad.
Hell, by now it's probably illegal to take or possess pictures of your nekkid baby on a bearskin rug for purposes of embarrassing him in front of his dates when he's older. - Nickolassc, on 05/28/2009, -0/+40The 39-year-old office worker was charged under the 2003 Protect Act, which outlaws cartoons, drawings, sculptures or paintings depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, and which lack “serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.”
I thought the supreme court ruled that drawings and fictional stories were not considered Child Porn during the Clinton Administration. Shouldn't he be able to challenge this law and win? - kitsua, on 05/28/2009, -0/+37So now Alan Moore's 'Lost Girls' is illegal is it? Absurd.
- CVL4317, on 05/29/2009, -0/+36OMG, WE MUST SAVE THESE VIRTUAL KIDS FROM VIRTUAL MOLESTATION!!!!
- shawns, on 05/28/2009, -8/+43Thank you Bush
- thelastcivilian, on 05/28/2009, -2/+37Uh oh, I own some Dragonball books... I'd better start practicing dropping the soap...
- felman87, on 05/29/2009, -0/+35Isn't that something you should practice not doing? o.O
- kaelyiesta, on 05/29/2009, -0/+33The only thing obscene about all of this:
"He faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison."
I cannot overstate how evil it is to create a law that would create this possible ruling. - inactive, on 05/29/2009, -4/+32Dont worry people with foreclosed home!
Dont worry people that got ripped by stock market!
The goverment is act fast to help imaginary drawing little children on need!! :D - scecilio, on 05/28/2009, -6/+33That makes me a sad PedoBear.
- rentmitchum, on 05/29/2009, -0/+27Yea, I think you have it completely backwards.. like.. unless you want the most cliche ass rape ever.
- inactive, on 05/29/2009, -1/+25How does a drawing have an age? It might be implied, but is not inherent. Look at all of those teen movies with sex, and nudity and all of that. The "teens" are generally played by actors / actresses over 18, thus there is no way anybody can call it CP, but the characters they play might be younger. We aren't charging actors for "killing" all of those people, or any other crimes they commit, chiefly because it is fiction and the law (believe it or not) is based in reality. The same can be said for snuff films, fake snuff film = okay, real snuff film = illegal.
Plus, do you really want to take away these guys' manga? I mean, they are really perverted. - BaphClass, on 05/29/2009, -1/+22I just felt a tremor in the force. It was as if millions of 12chan users had suddenly erased their harddrives in fear.
- foresmac, on 05/28/2009, -4/+25This charge really seems like it crosses whatever thin line exists between hentai and actual child porn.
- inactive, on 05/29/2009, -2/+23Dont worry about North Korea going rogue with nukes, dont worry about pandemics, dont worry about economic recession, dont worry about waterboarding detainees, not WHAT REALLY matters is that people watch cartoon having sex.
Well guess i better go stash my hentai collection. - Powerfan5000, on 05/28/2009, -1/+21Clinton administration 1992 - 2000. The images weren't considered criminal until the Protect Act was enacted in 2003. If this guy was caught before 2003 then he wouldn't have faced any charges.
- CVL4317, on 05/29/2009, -0/+20Welcome the the US of A.
- Kotoyumu, on 05/29/2009, -0/+1915 years just for some Manga?! Damn....
- relaxeder, on 05/29/2009, -1/+19Oh come on, are you ***** kidding me? Let that guy go, he did nothing. They're lines on paper.
- kestermatsumoto, on 05/29/2009, -0/+17This story made me angry. How can an age be assigned to characters in a ***** comic. Even if the drawings in question depict what appear to be children. Even if the writer says that these characters are children it doesn't ***** matter. If I make a porno with a bunch of 18 year old girls playing school kids then I am not breaking any law. *****, if I made a porno with a bunch of 20 year olds dressed as babies then i wouldn't be breaking the law. The judge and jury in this case should be ashamed. It's ***** nonsense and an incredibly dangerous precedent to have set.
- hillbillyboy07, on 05/29/2009, -0/+16Why do we suck so much at making laws and using common sense?
- redmcgee, on 05/28/2009, -3/+19well, it makes about the same sense as going to prison for seven years after being caught with an ounce of marijuana (the next big american industry).
- emailowndme, on 05/29/2009, -1/+15he collected manga, very likely in to resell at some later point in life.
He collected a lot of manga, the lawyer and judge both saying everything he can get his hands on.
Plus, how does putting this comic collector in jail protect children?
Plus, where do you draw the line? Are you not allowed to look a renaisance paintings featuring cherubs? What about the naked pictures of the christ child in mary's arms, etc.
This law he was prosecuted under is totally subjective and *****, and nearly encompasses everything on TV even, maybe they should start jailing the watchers of Law and Order SVU. I would say that has no legitimate artistic impact on society, and very much focuses on the themes of child abuse and molestation. - sexyflanders, on 05/29/2009, -1/+15I've been following this for a while I'm glad a lot of people agree its stupid and a victimless crime. Now if he was abducting children and real kids were being harmed WAAAAAAAY different story but its America anything to do with children has to be taken way out of control.
Of course nobody will stand up because if they do they will be labeled someone who likes child porn and promotes it. I really hate our laws sometimes. - FrozenPie, on 05/28/2009, -5/+18I LOL'd Loli
- solmakou, on 05/29/2009, -0/+13Haven't their been several movies that depicted people being raped at a young age? If I'm not mistaken, Dakota Fanning was involved in a rape scene not too long ago. Should everyone that owned a copy or showed a screening of that movie be prosecuted to teh full extent of the law? Ridiculous.
- CVL4317, on 05/29/2009, -0/+13the "thin" line is like explaining the differences between a camera and a pen.
- Animan351, on 05/29/2009, -1/+13We are truly in the land of the free when we are about the only country in the world to try an prosecute someone for cartoon porn of people that don't exist.
- LotosDescendant, on 05/29/2009, -0/+12Defuser: You're missing the point that the man in this story was convicted for his manga alone. If "law enforcement" thinks that there is a link between a person's interest in lolicon manga and actual child pornography, rape, or anything else, they can try to use the manga for leads to catch people in *actual crimes,* but the manga itself should not be illegal. There is no objective way to decide which manga, drawings, stories, video games, or other creations are "art" and which are "obscene." History is filled with art that includes works that could be considered a crime under a law like this. It is only even in recent history that "protecting children" has become such a big deal, and it is often used as a way of suppressing things rather than actually protecting children. Many cultures throughout history had no problem marrying off 14-year-old girls.
- masterstghm, on 05/29/2009, -1/+13If I draw pictures of people killing each other can I be convicted of murder?
- Trigononamous, on 05/29/2009, -0/+11It's a palindrome!
- damack, on 05/29/2009, -0/+11lol if your going to practise dropping the soap I think you have bigger issues than a few comics
- simongiln, on 05/29/2009, -0/+11The law hinges on what is and is not "art". Anything can be "art", and the fact that the defense lawyer didn't even think that point was worth arguing makes me very angry.
- ownsauce, on 05/29/2009, -5/+16………………………………………………………………………….„~"""""*~„
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- guhreen, on 05/29/2009, -1/+11Thought Crime
- Tenareth, on 05/29/2009, -0/+10You are saying THOUGHT Crime needs to be convicted... That isn't a slippery slope, that is hell on earth.
I - AgeofMastery, on 05/29/2009, -0/+9They're not illegal in Japan where they're printed. He was arrested after he imported them.
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