Criminal
law is riddled with double standards. For
example, suppose that two seventeen -year-olds
get into fisticuffs in the state of Wisconsin ,
and one of them gets a bruise on the cheek.
Typically, the winner of the fight gets prosecuted regardless of who
started it, so let’s further suppose that the kid without the bruise
gets charged with felony child abuse.
How can this be? In Wisconsin ,
he’s considered an adult because he’s seventeen, and therefore can be charged
criminally in adult court. But wait: the
kid who got the bruise on his cheek is also seventeen, so how can this be
“child” abuse? Because there’s a double
standard: when considering the age of the accuser, seventeen-year-olds are
considered to be mere children, rather than adults. But as absurd as this double standard is, it
pales in comparison the double standard for motive and the third-party defense.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
I see grooming behavior
As I
sat on my couch watching the latest edition of Sports
Center , I happened to catch a Kay
Jeweler’s commercial. You know the ones:
“Every kiss begins with Kay.” Well, this
one was marketing jewelry for kids. A
handsome chap was presenting a little gem to, well, a little gem, and he told
her “I’m so happy to be marrying your mom, and I’m really happy that you’re
gonna be in my life, too.” And, because
it’s a commercial, the child absolutely loved the gift, and the mom
looked on lovingly from the background.
I
wasn’t able to find this commercial on YouTube, so I can’t link to it. But most people who watch this commercial
will see a brilliant marketing campaign (after all, they’re opening up a
whole new market for their product), or maybe the frivolous side of capitalism
(does a child really need jewelry?), or maybe even a sweet moment (there’s no
way this marriage will end in divorce).
You wanna know what I see? I see
grooming behavior.
Friday, May 4, 2012
I don’t care about your child
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