We have had a recent ‘problem’ here in Utah revolving around underage students sending nude photos of themselves or others to other high school students. Is this problem as serious as adults say it is? Should they be punished as sex offenders and be classified as sexual deviants? Shouldn’t our attitudes toward sex lighten up just a bit?
The legislature is working on lessening the penalties that can be brought against these teens for fear that students are not being turned in due to the severity of those penalties. Many think the guilty students should go through the court system in order to ‘get help’ with their behavior.
This is all so medieval. Why should they be punished? Why should they have to go through the court system? They could be possibly counseled for their actions but to give them a criminal record is preposterous. Our attitudes toward sex in this country is positively antiquated. The actions these adults are taking in pushing for obtuse penalties for doing what they themselves did as teenagers is nothing short of hypocrisy.
Utah is not alone, Pennsylvania students were charged last week with manufacturing, disseminating or possessing child pornography. Three high school boys found with the photos on their cell phones are charged with possession of child pornography. In Texas, a 13-year-old boy was arrested on child pornography charges in October after he received a nude photo of a student on his cell phone.
Gone are the days when a photo of a young girl conjured up images of an older male coercing the innocent young girl into something she doesn’t want to co. Authorities are learning more often that the photo is being taken by the girl herself.
Is it degrading to our value system to allow our children to share nude photos of themselves? In light of the lapses in ethical judgment our politicians and civic leaders commit everyday, the answer is no. Taken in conjunction with the number of crimes against humanity anyone can easily witness on the evening news and main-stream media every day of the year, the answer is no. If you want to hold our young to moral standards that we as adults can’t or will not subject ourselves to, then you can say yes but you would be blatantly and transparently hypocritical. And then how can you possibly expect our young to look up to us as the guiding principle of how they should live their lives?
They should be chastised for their moments of bad judgment instead of having to register as sex offenders.
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