As it's Sunday morning...

Yup it's not just the girl children you have to worry about.

 

True. And it's not just the priests or the paedos at the school gates you have to worry about these days: danger lurks online in ways our parents never had to deal with.

Before my current role, I worked as an investigator for the Police investigating people who accessed indecent images of children online (and then any other crimes if necessary).

In my current role I now analyse and examine the computers of suspects for all kinds of allegations, but the vast majority of stuff I deal with is online indecent images related.

I'm not scare mongering, but the indecent images stuff is a lot more common than you think, and it's not "one type" of person who does it. The world wide web is a dark, dangerous and unfortunately an unmonitored place.

There is plenty of good stuff online, but plenty of dark corners and unfortunately children are totally unaware and unprepared as to how to conduct themselves online or how/when to input personal information as well as when not to. It's not their fault as they're thrown in to it from the off nowadays.

I agree completely. I’m staggered by some of the parents I know who I count as good friends who are completely ignorant about the internet. They give their children devices with internet access and they use them unsupervised from a very young age, some as soon as they can tap n swipe. Access to social media as young a 7

They don’t know how to check browser history (I’m all for giving children privacy but before they understand the way things work a helping hand is needed) or how to restrict content access and some think the whole danger things simply exaggerated.

I’d be interested to know your opinion on this- Had a discussion with another parent that got a bit heated as I would only allow my then 6yr old to use the internet on a laptop wherever I was so I could see what he was watching and I’m glad I did, 3 times even with restrictions (and me being there to shut the damn thing) content had been spliced into childrens programmes- the spinning head from the exorcist, a shark attack and a blow job!

They said it’s the media exaggerating and their are no more bad people than there ever were. I said agreed there probably aren’t but now rather than being a lone weirdo disconnected and prowling on it’s own they now had a new platform to access and manipulate children and a place to club together with other weirdos making them much more dangerous and able to be more prolific. He dug his heels in on the “no” side of things.

What do you think? Has the internet really made things that much worse?

I agree completely. I’m staggered by some of the parents I know who I count as good friends who are completely ignorant about the internet. They give their children devices with internet access and they use them unsupervised from a very young age, some as soon as they can tap n swipe. Access to social media as young a 7

They don’t know how to check browser history (I’m all for giving children privacy but before they understand the way things work a helping hand is needed) or how to restrict content access and some think the whole danger things simply exaggerated.

I’d be interested to know your opinion on this- Had a discussion with another parent that got a bit heated as I would only allow my then 6yr old to use the internet on a laptop wherever I was so I could see what he was watching and I’m glad I did, 3 times even with restrictions (and me being there to shut the damn thing) content had been spliced into childrens programmes- the spinning head from the exorcist, a shark attack and a blow job!

They said it’s the media exaggerating and their are no more bad people than there ever were. I said agreed there probably aren’t but now rather than being a lone weirdo disconnected and prowling on it’s own they now had a new platform to access and manipulate children and a place to club together with other weirdos making them much more dangerous and able to be more prolific. He dug his heels in on the “no” side of things.

What do you think? Has the internet really made things that much worse?

Just to clarify, I'm no expert but only speak from experience and working with those with experience that drown my own.

I can't comment if there has been an increase/decrease in numbers of those taking part in such offences, but it's definitely easier to do so. Before the internet, I believe it was nudist magazines and then video tapes that were handed around between groups of individuals. The internet and file sharing has increased the access to such images, people can download thousands of images within minutes and can then pick, choose and store them where ever. And don't get me started on "the cloud".

There are no barriers as to how/when people access the internet and it's so easy to be "someone else". On top of this, a lot of people I have encountered feel that it's "not real" and so don't see what they're doing as wrong, see to connection with the victims.

With technology, My Mrs (assistant head teacher in a primary school) has children who go to school, and are whizzes with laptops but can't spell/read at the expected level. I think iPads and phones are given to some children as a way to keep them quiet or amused.

I love a Sunday morning chat

I won’t pretend a remote babysitter wasn’t a handy thing sometimes!

As for Catholic bashing I feel very sorry for any decent person trying to do a good job in an institution that’s currently suffering like they are on the image front. The studies that have been done did not reveal a creep level any higher than estimated in the general population which is 4% however they were able to repeat offend without consequence making the number of incidences much higher.

The reason they are currently getting a hammering though is down to the handling- moving a known abuser to another location to a new vulnerable audience who are clueless and allowing repeat offenders to stay in positions putting them in direct contact with fresh meat.

Exactly. All religions prey on the weak and vulnerable, and the pliable minds of children who have yet to reach the age of reason make particularly easy targets. Unfortunately there is no shortage of gullible and credulous parents to keep them well supplied with fresh victims. And whilst child abuse by the religious is by no means an exclusively Catholic problem, you'd have to go a long way to find an organisation that has institutionalised the rape and torture of children to the same extent - systematically violating the innocent, discrediting and demonising their young victims whilst simultaneously protecting the abusers and permitting them to abuse again and again - all the while preaching morality and family values to the faithful. To harm a child is the most obscene insult to our humanity, and there are those of us who would sooner die than be guilty of such a thing.

And whilst it is undoubtedly not the case that all Catholic priests are paedophiles, one thing they do all have in common - that all religious teachers have in common - is that they lie to children. To take an open and inquisitive young mind and then pollute it with blatantly bogus bullshit never struck me as a very honourable way to make a living. We should be teaching our children how to think, not what to think.

The word 'charity' has already popped up in this thread, as it does sooner or later in all discussions about the intrinsic immorality of religion. I have never really understood why: do they think it goes some way towards balancing up the crimes of their churches, or that charity is an exclusively religious endeavour that sets them apart from non-believers? I have given a great deal of my time and my money to charity over the years, mainly through playing free gigs for fundraisers and donating my fee for every gig I've ever played to children's charities, and all without proseletysing to the vulnerable or being a member of a morally dubious organisation (although our keyboard player is a tabloid journalist, so we're not completely untainted).

Here endeth the lesson.

Amen

Fook off Religion .. it’s a form of mental illness .

[mention]Six30[/mention] There’s an invisible man in the sky looking down on us who knows everything we’ve ever done is a form of mental illness? Get away wit ya.

I’m happy for people who are religious, it must be hugely comforting to believe there’s a plan or someone in charge I just don’t like it much when their version of reality is the ONLY version and if your not on board then you’re in need of converting or you’re going to burn. I had to aggressively protect my children’s minds from people trying to fill them up with their religion, including having to meet with the local vicar to explain why they wouldn’t be christened to get some more vociferous christians to back off.... then I sent them to a Quaker school because their general ethos is good lol. What? I didn’t say it was all bad, the moralty part was right and any religious meeting that’s based on no more than quiet contemplation that welcomes everyone and advocates peace and equality has to be a winner! They never try to indoctrinate anyone either.

Fook off Religion .. it’s a form of mental illness .

I don't recall the precise quote now or even who said it (and can't be bothered to look it up) but the gist was "When a few people believe absurdities we call it insanity; when lots of people do we call it religion."

I sent them to a Quaker school because their general ethos is good lol. What? I didn’t say it was all bad, the moralty part was right and any religious meeting that’s based on no more than quiet contemplation that welcomes everyone and advocates peace and equality has to be a winner! They never try to indoctrinate anyone either.

Their porridge isn't bad either.

Fook off Religion .. it’s a form of mental illness .

 

I don't recall the precise quote now or even who said it (and can't be bothered to look it up) but the gist was "When a few people believe absurdities we call it insanity; when lots of people do we call it religion."

I prefer Stephen Fry's quote: "You should read the bible, it's hilarious"

This is not one for the catholics out there but if you like that quote you should watch Stephen Fry Vs the Catholic Church. It’s long so the highlights are probably a better bet.

I prefer Stephen Fry's quote: "You should read the bible, it's hilarious"

I always thought that Moses must have felt a bit deflated coming down from Mount Sinai with the Ten Commandments. He had a one-to-one with God - an omnipotent and omniscient genius of unimaginable intellect who created the universe and everything in it. And what did he have to say? "Don't draw pictures of me, and take Sundays off."