Honestly..

[dana]

What happened to A to Z?

Here, seventeen year olds seem to be treated as adults by law enforcement and I think when they are within so many months of a birthday, they are effectively an adult.
So it doesn't seem the entrapment conspiracy folks would use that age.
I don't know law in this area though.
If you are arrested at seventeen, you can be sure to be tried as an adult.
I found it all very annoying when I was under eighteen.

Our culture and our laws are rigidly protective of children. Eighteen is just an arbitrary cut-off. (Statutory rape and all that.)

It can be a little sad and paranoid though. I remember being on a working raft trip down the Yampa where some people brought thier kids. I love chatting with kids. But when an unrelated 11 y/o girl affectionately jumped into my lap, she got dumped into the sand when I immediately stood up. I felt bad about it, like I was shaming her.
I suppose it's best to err on the side of caution given the kinds of very real pedophiles preying on children.

[gyre]

It's becoming a paranoid world.
But it's a new fad.
There are plenty of older people who grew up as child laborers.
The first child abuse case was brought as an animal cruelty case by the aspca.

The worst thing is that children take their cues from adults about how bad things are.
A friend of mine's daughters are so freaked out by whatever her ex told her daughters that they act weird whenever I see them.
It's pretty creepy.
I've known them forever too.

I dated a girl that was attacked very young and rescued immediately. before anything could happen.
She was always very traumatized by it and I suspect it was the way adults reacted to what happened.
We've all had things happen that were okay until our parents showed up.
I'm not trying to minimize anything, but our perception is shaped by our expectations.
In Sarajevo, children stopped suffering ptsd, when shot, after the first few months.
It was no longer a shock.
When we are young enough, that comes from adults.

[dana]

It's becoming a paranoid world.
But it's a new fad.
There are plenty of older people who grew up as child laborers.
The first child abuse case was brought as an animal cruelty case by the aspca.

The worst thing is that children take their cues from adults about how bad things are.
A friend of mine's daughters are so freaked out by whatever her ex told her daughters that they act weird whenever I see them.
It's pretty creepy.
I've known them forever too.

I dated a girl that was attacked very young and rescued immediately. before anything could happen.
She was always very traumatized by it and I suspect it was the way adults reacted to what happened.
We've all had things happen that were okay until our parents showed up.
I'm not trying to minimize anything, but our perception is shaped by our expectations.

I know! That's my worry, that by getting too overboard on this we're actually teaching kids to have barriers, shame and fears that they shouldn't have to deal with. On that river trip I mentioned, I actually had one of the other people who witnessed the young girl jump into my lap, later snidely make a comment about being a pedophile.

Other cultures seem so much easier in how their kids are treated than Americans. (I'm curious how that works for them. Do they have more.... or less pedophiles?)

[Apollonaris Zeus]

Welcome back Sensi, when I started to respond to this thread I was actually thinking of one of your past reply!

"Hi, I'm a Cop!"

What happened to A to Z?

Here, seventeen year olds seem to be treated as adults by law enforcement and I think when they are within so many months of a birthday, they are effectively an adult.

Oh year, I guess that OK in Pangea, but hey back then even Joseph Smith was once married to a foutheen year old and that too was once legal.

Remember, what the general view of playa people is not the view of a conservative anti liberal person and were you live. In Montana, the legal age of consent is 17 years old, but that doesn't over ride other laws. they are still a minor and if you live in places like the Good Old South and you happen to be of a different persuasion, like black for instance, they can use those laws to do many things to you, like open an investigation! Look into your communications. Bug your home. Tap your phone. Get into your computer!!! And find something else to bust you for or like what happened in montana give that infomation to a hate group and you might get poisoned at a bar by one of the operatives. Or they can give just intercept your business email and letters. It becomes just a vehicle to get into your life and fuck it up.

But she in a minor and you may just simply end up in jail! You are still breaking the law!

What happened when I had PM'd what's her name, oh yeah, Tears. You can look her threads up. First words, Hi, "I'm seventeen!" My business email was effectively gone! I never said anything that was sexual nor was I never respectful to her. It gave the corrupt cops in Montana and the Bozeman area a chance to fuck things up for. Why? Environmentalist and social activists aren't welcome! Or speak your mind in the local papers on issues!

Move here, but shut your mouth, Boy!

Don't worry the environmental and social community are quite aware of what had happened to me. When I meet one of them that has never met me, they almost want my autograph, but shower me with accolades glad to have met me!

Sunshine, if you are real, I don't mean to hurt you so if you are, please excuse our concern! But you seem Naïveté.

AIIZ

[gyre]

I live in a town with a tradition of corruption and conspiracy.
I think you'll find all towns react poorly to activists.
I don't doubt the bugging at all.
It happened to me.
Our city is under a federal court decree to NOT spy on citizens.
They have admitted violating that in my case.
Seventeen does seem a pretty slim excuse to harass you.

These online entrapment groups strike me as very weird.
A group of perverts on typewriters pretending to be sexual children and trying to get people to meet someone who never existed.
We know where some of the perverts are at least.
I predict they will overstep eventually and have their ass handed to them by an attorney.
Let's hope they bring dateline down with them.
I bet the current climate makes it much harder to find babysitters.

And I definitely sympathize with Suzy.
Most of my friends were over eighteen from the time I was fifteen.
It was a real problem when everyone went to a bar.

[SunshineSuzy]

Do I seem not real?
That kind of makes me sad.
I've never been thought to be, "Not real" online before.

[gyre]

I am often accused of being a thirteen year old girl pretending to be an adult male online.

[BAS]

I'm still wondering if I was spied upon by the Church of Scientology and/or the police. Two separate incidents: the first one was when I was messing around on alt.religion.scientology (with all the other non-Scientologists). Apparently if you are enough of a presence there, the CoS makes it a habit to investigate you. (I think I more confused the CoS than anything, since I took the view that people can believe anything they want, but I do not approve of how the Church of Scientology puts their beliefs into practice.) With the police, what happened was one of the weirdest nights of my life, part of which involved my finding a safe which had been stolen from some drug dealer somewhere, and, after a car accident and a few other delays, turning the safe over to the police on the opposite end of town. (The whole thing was weird enough I would not be surprised if the police kept an eye on me to see if I had stolen the safe!) Oh, and at the time I was living in an area where a lot of the drug dealers lived.

None of this has anything to do with whether or not anyone on here is real or not-- the conversation just reminded me of the incidents.


B.

[SunshineSuzy]

I am often accused of being a thirteen year old girl pretending to be an adult male online.

-gasps- I can totally tell.

[gyre]

Scientologists run graceland now.
Take the tour and you may never be seen again.
I took a tour at an old estate they run.
I made some very common topical reference and they stared blankly at me.
I've never seen anyone less aware of their surroundings.
And I've seen Ozzie up close.

_____________________________________

Myspace, unicorns, ponies, makeup, the mall!

[BAS]

Ozzie? I thought Ozzie Osbourne was just burned out on drugs?

Too bad about Graceland-- Elvis didn't approve of Scientology. (IIRC when he was asked about it, his reply was "Hell no, I'm not into that shit!") If I ever visit Graceland, I'll have to locate my "Scientology Kills!" t-shirt.

When I was hanging out on alt.religion.scientology one of the topics was how the Church was requiring all Scientologists to install a computer program to filter out sites containing words and terms the Church found objectionable. A fair number of readers were having fun cracking the code and finding out what the Church considered objectionable. (I recall one of the terms was something a user on alt.religion.scientology had called the head of the Church a grand total of once! Apparently that was enough for the [somewhat weird, IIRC] term to be banned.)

It is a very strange organization, and very out of touch with the real world.


B.

[gyre]

He's not a scientologist.
I don't know about drugs.
But some time I'll tell you about the six months Jimmy Stewart and I spent in brazil doing nothing but lsd and teenage courtesans.

When you have an important decision to make, just ask yourself...
WWOD?

[PurpleKoosh]

Mr.Koosh is an official SP, after having helped a friend get out of the clutches of CO$. *offers BAS a hot bowl of clam chowder* Enjoy!

[gyre]

Good work.
What is SP?
And what is 2rc?

[PurpleKoosh]

SP - Suppressive Person

IIRC - If I Remember Correctly

[Ron]

Hi Ron!

I've decided to forgive you all.

Wohoo! I'm getting past the pearly gates after all! ;) And welcome back, your presence was noticed by me, anyways....

p.s. I missed you (a couple times even!) at that weird black pyramid thingie last year. This year I'll find ya's for sure.

Too bad, but do drop back by this year. We're planning on adding occasional misters to the forbidden goodness found inside...

Ron

[joel the ornery]

the black pyramid could be the only reason for me to return to the desert in '07.

well, sensei too.

[BAS]

Mr.Koosh is an official SP, after having helped a friend get out of the clutches of CO$. *offers BAS a hot bowl of clam chowder* Enjoy!

Good for him! Getting someone out of their clutches is a good thing! Thanks for the clam chowder!


B.

[BAS]

He's not a scientologist.
I don't know about drugs.
But some time I'll tell you about the six months Jimmy Stewart and I spent in brazil doing nothing but lsd and teenage courtesans.

When you have an important decision to make, just ask yourself...
WWOD?

Now that I've re-read your post (while not preoccupied by an upcoming interview for a temp job*), I figured out what you meant.

I always figured Ozzy's behavior had to do with his legendary LSD intake for much of his life, but I don't really know. (I'm just going by rumors.)

WWOD? I like that!


B.


*The is the first time I have ever had to go to a job interview for a temp job lasting two to three weeks.... Is this the new standard practice? :?