A 21-year-old man from Muskegon, Michigan, who, like every young person in Michigan, is unable to find work, decided to spend his spare time making a comedy YouTube video. He filmed himself singing regular, kid-geared songs to a group of children and then recut it so it looked like he was singing them a dirty song. So, you know, the kind of stuff people commonly do when they are trying to make funny videos involving children and don't want to harm them in any way! But a few parents, the cornerstone of news sensationalism and the over-protectedness industry and, apparently, American law, complained. So a prosecutor charged this guy with creating child pornography , because why not? People love reading stories about people being charged with child pornography!
Why stop there? Charge him with arson and money laundering and drug possession too! And, ooooh, murder! Murder is a good one! HE'S GUILTY OF ALL OF THEM, OBVIOUSLY.
Tony Tague, the Muskegon County prosecutor, stands firmly in the first camp: He charged Mr. Emory with manufacturing and distributing child pornography, a crime that carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison and 25 years on the sex offender registry.
Sure! Never mind that no children were naked and/or having sex with one another! Let's just charge him with this and ruin his life, because we don't like him. You know, democracy and the rule of law!
“Does 20 years fit the crime? No,” said Dan Peebles, one of the parents. But, he added, “Would I care if he got 20 years? No.”
This is disgusting. It used to be that society didn't care whether the law was applied fairly to black people. Now people care so little about their fellow citizens that it doesn't concern them whether or not the law is applied fairly to anyone they don't actively like. "That kid did something mildly annoying I will forget about in a week? Yeah, give him the death penalty."
We can finally end this centuries-long struggle to get rid of free speech, because hard-working prosecutors have found the perfect loophole in the First Amendment. Hooray! Let's charge everyone with child pornography and throw them in jail forever. And hopefully the other people in jail will rape them in the ass! Rape is great. [ NYT ]
what? corporations have the right to speak freely and no corporations have been harmed here. what's the big fucking deal?
Or Brazil:
"Holly: Put it on, big boy. I won't look at your willy. "