Tele-Wanking

June 22, 2010

I can understand wanting to do something about bullying. I can understand parents wanting to keep their kids safe. But is a New York state-wide ban of sexting is a little more than some were hoping for?

In order to go after cyber-bullying, the New York Department of Education is looking over a ban that would make it illegal for students to sext in or out of school. That means that lurid description of what you were going to do with little Peggy Sue after prom just got you a 90-day suspension. And your teachers now know about your foot fetish.

Protect from pervert by ~bunniesweet on deviantART

It’s been a while since we had someone invoke the innocent children as an excuse for some law or movement. I’m getting a little tingly with nostalgia now.

First off, it’s nice to see some parents are actually against this move and they believe that some of them might have different standards for what is acceptable for their kids. It’s a start. In a way, I understand why the measure is on the books.

Technology advances faster than the law, morality, or civilization. We’re always playing catch-up. It’s getting to the point where we have to wing it for a while before the courts catch up to what is possible. Fifteen years ago, the concepts of cyber-bullying and sexting were something out of science fiction.

Now, we have to deal with the unintended consequences of social networking and almost-instant communication. Speaking as someone who’s been on the receiving end of bullying, it’s a very serious issue. I’m surprised we don’t have more kids bringing weapons to school. It’s morbid, but that’s just the way I feel. Kids are cruel, manipulative little buggers.

That being said, why the need to ban sexting outside the school? In fact, why does the school have any jurisdiction on anything that happens in the home? If a kid is harassing, beating up, or otherwise causing trouble for another child, isn’t that a matter for the police?

The sexting part, though, is more problematic than this. Bullying creates tangible harm on students. Does sexting do the same thing?

Hidden Message by ~aphaits on deviantART

What if the two student in question are already eighteen years old and consenting adults? Would this rule affect them as well? If students do something during school hours while at school, this rule would make more sense. No one wants dirty pictures and texts getting sent and taken during school hours.

Well, almost everyone…

Once students leave the school, however, they are under their own supervision or that of their parents. That’s it.

And just how will this rule be enforced? I doubt the school district will get warrants or permission to check everyone’s cell phones during homeroom. This is like checking girls to see if they’re having sex. Good luck with those lawsuits.

Big Brother is Watching You by *MagicRinger on deviantART

Links to the port bow!

• Steampunk makes everything better, even a Predator.

• For all the Warsies out there, here are some pics of hot Jedi and some hot Leia drawings.

• A movie based on Facebook? Really? I understand it’s a cultural phenomenon, but I don’t recall Myspace: The Movie.

• What may be one of the most epic images of Mario finally answers the question of the origin of the divine spark that gave rise to our favorite plumber.

• To all those who support our troops… I present to you some military cock! Oh come on! You know you want to click on it just to find out if it’s a pun or some clever ruse to get you to watch gay porn… Come on… You know you wanna…

• The littlest Nina Turtle is also the cutest.

• It’s always good to get to know a babysitter before you hire him or her out, but this falls under WAY too much info or just enough. Still haven’t made up my mind.

• How’s this for awesome? A group of 7th graders discovered a cave on Mars while looking through some NASA photographs… and all of NASA had missed the cavern.

• I’ve studied psychology before and am always fascinated to learn a new trick the brain can do, but the idea of a writer who can’t read but can still write is somewhat freaky. Check this out: