This is more than likely some sort of clickbait based on how irrationally annoyed I feel (my internal "Am I being fucked up?" meter), but no one should be doing "To catch a predator"-"esque" sting operations. Esque (not a real word according to Apple. Thanks, Tim (it is)) in quotes because calling it such sort of implies a similar dynamic of "adult seeking obvious child" for sexual reasons. Or other inappropriate relations... which is basically any relations between some stranger and a child. Two adults meeting is not "to catch a predator" unless the 18 year old was pretending (as they did on the original show) to be underage. Like 14 or something. Then, ok. But that's not represented here.

Beyond that, random, private citizens have absolutely no business doing this type of stuff. It's debatable if even the fucking cops/FBI, in cooperation with skilled professionals, should even be doing this stuff. Certainly not for anyone's "entertainment." If there is a legitimate predator problem amongst the general population that justifies stings like this, then the appropriate law enforcement agencies can/should handle it. They can announce the stats from the stings afterwards. We don't need some Chris Hansen type lecturing a creepy 42 year old munching on pizza who thought he was going to meet a 14 year old girl from AOL instant messenger. I understand it's "funny" or mostly just shocking to see such footage, but still, some things just shouldn't be made.

Also, most sexual assault of children is done by people they trust. Family members or close family friends. It's not common that a stranger from the internet is the perpetrator. Also, cops are a huge percentage of abusers. If these types of "pedo stings" (which this doesn't appear to be... given only this headline) wanted to be effective they'd just wait for cops to arrive and search the cops' shit. Statistically, that would turn up more evidence of wrongdoing than luring random dumbasses (who are gross, for the record. Doesn't need to be stated...)

Anyway, all that said, the media tying this to a TikTok trend which I've heard of exactly twice makes me think this was a tiny, isolated, still very stupid and bad, incident. So, in short... I got clickbaited

[–] Moss@hexbear.net 32 points 3 days ago (1 children)

The feeling I always got from these vigilante pedo hunters is that they don't really care about victims of CSA, because if they did, they would actually help children and victims. They want to exert power over someone and live out a violent fantasy, and nobody is gonna come to the defense of a pedophile, so they make good targets. They don't actually improve anything or make anyone safer. They humiliate someone with a sense of moral superiority, knowing that they will face no consequences for it.

[–] TreadOnMe@hexbear.net 15 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

There is a short essay I read by someone (can't recall the name) where he was talking about his career as a newspaper editor, and that they never got more violent letters to the editor about what the writers would do to the perpetrator than after they ran a particularly nasty story about some animal abuse. People love their moral high ground.

[–] RaisedFistJoker@hexbear.net 12 points 3 days ago

https://redsails.org/false-witnesses/

[–] ProfessorOwl_PhD@hexbear.net 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Esque (not a real word according to Apple. Thanks, Tim (it is))

"Esque" isn't a real word, "-esque" is a suffix.

[–] Elysium@hexbear.net 2 points 3 days ago

I appreciate the incredibly pedant hair-splitting over the difference between a suffix and a word, but my point was this suffix is real and shouldn't be underlined as if it's misspelled.

Thus, Tim Apple must still stand trial for his crime.