by Kinetic » Sun Sep 28, 2003 11:42 am
A lot of pedophiles? In a city the size of BRC your going to start finding there are pedophiles and other crazies around...this is one of the curses that comes with rapid growth.
So...you saw three people trying or taking pictures of underage children. Did you speak up and do anything about it? Or did you sit back and just be a spectator?
If you chose the latter, you are just as much a part of the problem as the SOB that was trying to take the pictures. And if you spoke up, thank you for doing something about what is obviously WRONG!
I took my 15 year old sister to BM this year. I let her have total freedom, and set her loose on the playa. I warned her that things like this could happen and she chose to stay clothed. But I also told her that she had the right to say no to anyone taking pictures of her, especially close up pictures or ones that might be compromising. And while it might be wrong, if she would have been naked and someone was taking her picture....if she told them to stop and they refused, she had full permission to take out or disable the camera, or if necessary take them out...the idea being to make them as uncomfortable as possible with the minimal amount of force needed to get the point across. She is essentially a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, and I advised her under those conditions or if she was physically threatened to take the bastard out, and the camera too.
For the younger kids that's not an option. There are some that say kids shouldn't be at BRC. There are some that feel it's the best thing that ever happened to their kids...I fall into this last group. In any event, the kids are there. We are a community and while no one should babysit another's kids, why not keep an eye open for this sort of thing as well as the camp raiders, thieves on burn night and other problems? The rangers can't do it, the LEO's can't do it...we can police ourselves and address this and the other community annoyances with ease. If the perverts know that the kids will be watched, that people are aware that the thieves are lurking, it might cut down on this.
And if I saw someone taking pictures of underage kids, I have no problem with confronting them. If they are a parent and the kids actions seem ok, that's one thing. But if the kid was to freak...I'm going to make a good mental note of who the person was and grab a Ranger.
And heaven forbid if I saw anything beyond pictures....especially with the very younger set that was hardcore sexual abuse. You wouldn't call a Ranger, you'd call for REMSA and a helo from Reno!