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You may or may not be aware of the UK headlines today. Shevaun Pennington, a 12-year-old girl from Wigan, has run off to France with 31-year-old Toby Studebaker, a former US marine. Apparently the two of them met over the Internet, both pretended that they were in their late teens, and at least one of the two met with the other with thoughts of marriage and children on their minds.
Though it's sorely tempting to comment on the fact that, if a US marine can't tell the difference between a 12 year old girl and a 19 year old woman then what chance have they got distinguishing between an Iraqi civilian and an Iraqi guerilla, I'll leave that subject alone for now. I'll also tactfully avoid mentioning just how disappointed the two 'teenagers' must have been upon first seeing each other in the flesh;
"Gee, you look young for 19"
'Yeah, uh...I'm very petite. Um...you look old for your age. In fact, you look as old as my dad'
"Well...you've seen Dawson’s Creek; all teenagers look at least 21, right?"
'Well...I suppose so...fancy going to Paris?'
Instead I'd rather like to spend a bit of time looking at people's reactions to this story. After all, this is a story that has paedophilia at its centre by pretty much anyone's standards. So whilst the papers are, for once, acting with a certain amount of restraint in that the overwhelming tone of the reports is concern for Shevaun's safety, one would expect the general public to be horrified at this soldier for taking advantage of a naive young girl. One may expect the baying for his blood to begin shortly, and in earnest. One would be wrong.
Maybe it's the "If I don't laugh, I'll cry" defence kicking in, but the main reaction as near as I can tell is "Jesus, look at the STATE of her! I mean, Christ, is he so desperate to get laid that he'll take a statutory rape charge in order to have sex with a kid who looks like she would be improved by having a Siamese twin conjoined to her head?!" Maybe that's a trifle harsh (or maybe my friends and I have just got too vivid and unpleasant an imagination...), but nobody seems to be taking this particularly seriously at all. So why not? How come a man can get beaten up in this country for having the same name as a paedophile, but someone who travels over 3000 miles in order to have sex with a 12-year-old girl becomes the subject of bawdy contempt, if not jocular sympathy?
Well, as the full story of what has happened is not known, there's going to be a certain amount of unsubstantiated guesswork going on here, so bear with me. As I've mentioned, the picture of Shevaun that was released to the media is...well, it's less than flattering. The poor girl is not an oil painting, as many have commented on. Well here's a thing; she's only a child, so why the hell SHOULD she have to have model good looks? I rather though that the point here is that she shouldn't have to worry about whether or not she'll be seen as attractive to a 31 year old, yet we're sniggering and making derogatory comments about someone who is a victim in this situation. I don't get it; I mean, when Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman were abducted and murdered, no-one was going "Yeah well, a couple of blondes in footy shirts...I mean, any man would, wouldn't they?".
She's just a child, and as such she shouldn't be expected to worry about how sexually attractive she is. Yet here she is, running off with a man whom she doubtless intends to have a sexual relationship with. So whose fault is that? Is it hers, for lying to a man and leading him on? Is it his for taking advantage of someone who is clearly just a kid? Or is it something more? Well, here is where the guesswork comes in; I would say it's about 1% the first explanation, 49% the second, and 50% something else entirely. If this girls photo has caused disbelieving mirth among all and sundry, it's doesn't take a great leap of the imagination to accept that she quite probably got an equal amount of grief at school. After all, we were all schoolkids once and I'm sure we can all recall the abuse heaped upon the ugly girl in our class, and all in the name of ensuring that whomever it was getting picked on, if it wasn't us then who cares? I know I never gave a damn, just so long as my peers weren't laughing at me.
Well, if we can understand that Shevaun was almost certainly on the receiving end of teasing and bullying about, among other things, her looks then why on earth are we so surprised that she's ran off with someone who most likely showered her with compliments and bolstered her ego by telling her how much he liked her? Again I must stress, this is no more than me guessing as to the circumstances, but it doesn't sound so unbelievable does it? Yes, Studebaker is pretty much without doubt a predatory paedophile and as such he richly deserves to have his testes nailed to the inside wall of a Tiger enclosure at the zoo. But what about the fact that she was driven part of the way into his arms? I'm not talking about the specific individuals who teased her, but the fact that (and you all knew this was coming...) society allows it.
Speaking as someone who, if you allow me a moment of uncharacteristic boastfulness, has raised the use of vitriol and bile to something like an art form, it may seems very strange that I'm bemoaning the fact that it was probably teasing that drove Shevaun into this deeply unpleasant situation. And I should clarify, I'm not expecting kids to stop belittling each any time soon; that’s just part of growing up. But I am expecting society as a whole to take a bit more interest in making young people feel valued. There have been enough foaming tabloid rants about what we should do to protect our children from paedophiles. Surely we should start a little closer to home, and try and arm our kids with a greater sense of self worth, so that the honeyed words of a sick b*****d won’t tempt them to throw away their childhood in exchange for underage sex and mental scarring.
Though it's sorely tempting to comment on the fact that, if a US marine can't tell the difference between a 12 year old girl and a 19 year old woman then what chance have they got distinguishing between an Iraqi civilian and an Iraqi guerilla, I'll leave that subject alone for now. I'll also tactfully avoid mentioning just how disappointed the two 'teenagers' must have been upon first seeing each other in the flesh;
"Gee, you look young for 19"
'Yeah, uh...I'm very petite. Um...you look old for your age. In fact, you look as old as my dad'
"Well...you've seen Dawson’s Creek; all teenagers look at least 21, right?"
'Well...I suppose so...fancy going to Paris?'
Instead I'd rather like to spend a bit of time looking at people's reactions to this story. After all, this is a story that has paedophilia at its centre by pretty much anyone's standards. So whilst the papers are, for once, acting with a certain amount of restraint in that the overwhelming tone of the reports is concern for Shevaun's safety, one would expect the general public to be horrified at this soldier for taking advantage of a naive young girl. One may expect the baying for his blood to begin shortly, and in earnest. One would be wrong.
Maybe it's the "If I don't laugh, I'll cry" defence kicking in, but the main reaction as near as I can tell is "Jesus, look at the STATE of her! I mean, Christ, is he so desperate to get laid that he'll take a statutory rape charge in order to have sex with a kid who looks like she would be improved by having a Siamese twin conjoined to her head?!" Maybe that's a trifle harsh (or maybe my friends and I have just got too vivid and unpleasant an imagination...), but nobody seems to be taking this particularly seriously at all. So why not? How come a man can get beaten up in this country for having the same name as a paedophile, but someone who travels over 3000 miles in order to have sex with a 12-year-old girl becomes the subject of bawdy contempt, if not jocular sympathy?
Well, as the full story of what has happened is not known, there's going to be a certain amount of unsubstantiated guesswork going on here, so bear with me. As I've mentioned, the picture of Shevaun that was released to the media is...well, it's less than flattering. The poor girl is not an oil painting, as many have commented on. Well here's a thing; she's only a child, so why the hell SHOULD she have to have model good looks? I rather though that the point here is that she shouldn't have to worry about whether or not she'll be seen as attractive to a 31 year old, yet we're sniggering and making derogatory comments about someone who is a victim in this situation. I don't get it; I mean, when Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman were abducted and murdered, no-one was going "Yeah well, a couple of blondes in footy shirts...I mean, any man would, wouldn't they?".
She's just a child, and as such she shouldn't be expected to worry about how sexually attractive she is. Yet here she is, running off with a man whom she doubtless intends to have a sexual relationship with. So whose fault is that? Is it hers, for lying to a man and leading him on? Is it his for taking advantage of someone who is clearly just a kid? Or is it something more? Well, here is where the guesswork comes in; I would say it's about 1% the first explanation, 49% the second, and 50% something else entirely. If this girls photo has caused disbelieving mirth among all and sundry, it's doesn't take a great leap of the imagination to accept that she quite probably got an equal amount of grief at school. After all, we were all schoolkids once and I'm sure we can all recall the abuse heaped upon the ugly girl in our class, and all in the name of ensuring that whomever it was getting picked on, if it wasn't us then who cares? I know I never gave a damn, just so long as my peers weren't laughing at me.
Well, if we can understand that Shevaun was almost certainly on the receiving end of teasing and bullying about, among other things, her looks then why on earth are we so surprised that she's ran off with someone who most likely showered her with compliments and bolstered her ego by telling her how much he liked her? Again I must stress, this is no more than me guessing as to the circumstances, but it doesn't sound so unbelievable does it? Yes, Studebaker is pretty much without doubt a predatory paedophile and as such he richly deserves to have his testes nailed to the inside wall of a Tiger enclosure at the zoo. But what about the fact that she was driven part of the way into his arms? I'm not talking about the specific individuals who teased her, but the fact that (and you all knew this was coming...) society allows it.
Speaking as someone who, if you allow me a moment of uncharacteristic boastfulness, has raised the use of vitriol and bile to something like an art form, it may seems very strange that I'm bemoaning the fact that it was probably teasing that drove Shevaun into this deeply unpleasant situation. And I should clarify, I'm not expecting kids to stop belittling each any time soon; that’s just part of growing up. But I am expecting society as a whole to take a bit more interest in making young people feel valued. There have been enough foaming tabloid rants about what we should do to protect our children from paedophiles. Surely we should start a little closer to home, and try and arm our kids with a greater sense of self worth, so that the honeyed words of a sick b*****d won’t tempt them to throw away their childhood in exchange for underage sex and mental scarring.
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Why is there so much coverage of this? It seems disproportionate somehow. Half of the news coverage last night was about this. These sort of things don't usually get this much coverage do they?
*thinks of Deliverance and shudders*
Toby Studebaker's brother and sister in-law:
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/i mages/39286000/jpg/_39286825_stud_leo203.jpg
"Ma kin done runned off and met a feemale on that thur innerweb"
"Ah thank is the devil!"
"Fetch me ma banjo woman, there's some pickin' and a strummin' to be done"
"Sure thang pa!"
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/i mages/39286000/jpg/_39286825_stud_leo203.jpg
"Ma kin done runned off and met a feemale on that thur innerweb"
"Ah thank is the devil!"
"Fetch me ma banjo woman, there's some pickin' and a strummin' to be done"
"Sure thang pa!"
You'll grow out of it. Hopefully.
Goatboy wrote:
> Miserableman wrote:
> It's actually really difficult for non-computer literate parents to
> impose limits and checks on what their son/daughter is doing on a
> computer.
> --
>
> It's not difficult for parents to take an interest in their child
> though.
> I was limited to how much tv I could watch, or what time I had to be
> back etc.
> She's 12, not 16.
> A minor. A child.
> You let your kid spend 11hours in front of a computer? Shame on you
> and I hope you have better luck with the next one.
My mum lets me on the net as much as I want. It is in a seperate room altogether, and she has absouloutly no idea of what I do. I can easily enough cover my illegal pornographic outings from my dad.
I do not spend 11 hours a day, as that is not possible without me not sleeping. more close to six-seven
However, I am not As big a retard as to go off with a stranger from the internet.
schoolyard pokings or not, this girl is a thick pillock. you need very little sense to realise these things, such as Internet and Stranger does not equal Meeting.
I do however only go on specialist sites, such as Eldaronline.com, and here, where the forum are less general and have less opportunity for private messaging.
I am screwed in the head though. Undoubtedly. Doing the things I do, I will not be able to keep my realetivy good body compostition. I would honestly rather shun girls than to make an attempt at a realeationship, because I am that clumsy and unsociable. but I'm not a retard.
(No smiley)
> Miserableman wrote:
> It's actually really difficult for non-computer literate parents to
> impose limits and checks on what their son/daughter is doing on a
> computer.
> --
>
> It's not difficult for parents to take an interest in their child
> though.
> I was limited to how much tv I could watch, or what time I had to be
> back etc.
> She's 12, not 16.
> A minor. A child.
> You let your kid spend 11hours in front of a computer? Shame on you
> and I hope you have better luck with the next one.
My mum lets me on the net as much as I want. It is in a seperate room altogether, and she has absouloutly no idea of what I do. I can easily enough cover my illegal pornographic outings from my dad.
I do not spend 11 hours a day, as that is not possible without me not sleeping. more close to six-seven
However, I am not As big a retard as to go off with a stranger from the internet.
schoolyard pokings or not, this girl is a thick pillock. you need very little sense to realise these things, such as Internet and Stranger does not equal Meeting.
I do however only go on specialist sites, such as Eldaronline.com, and here, where the forum are less general and have less opportunity for private messaging.
I am screwed in the head though. Undoubtedly. Doing the things I do, I will not be able to keep my realetivy good body compostition. I would honestly rather shun girls than to make an attempt at a realeationship, because I am that clumsy and unsociable. but I'm not a retard.
(No smiley)
What Im worried about is why a big, muscled up marine 'hunk' would run off with an ugly 12 year old girl.
The internet is evil BAN IT NOW!!!!!
oops sorry i was in Daily Mail mode for a second there. Don't know how that happened.
oops sorry i was in Daily Mail mode for a second there. Don't know how that happened.
Practical Magic wrote:
> And, on a final note, whilst the theme of Witch Hunt's continues, I
> hope to see a Social Worker knocking on the family's door sometime
> soon... but we all know that won't happen. Far easier to blame it on
> something else, like the internet eh ?
Very good.
> And, on a final note, whilst the theme of Witch Hunt's continues, I
> hope to see a Social Worker knocking on the family's door sometime
> soon... but we all know that won't happen. Far easier to blame it on
> something else, like the internet eh ?
Very good.
as i said in another thread. that girl needs a good kicking
a GOOD kicking
a GOOD kicking
Hang on one moment, I'm confused. The guy, who didn't lie, who contacted the FBI, who contacted his family, is the villian here, and the 12 year old girl, spending up to 11 hours a day online, who lied about her age, who did not contact anyone until today, who left without telling anything to her parents, is the victim ?
Oh yes, and the internet is the big bad monster at the heart of it *sarcasm*
If Mr Blair would like to pay me an adviser fee then I can prevent such a hideous crime happening again. How ? Easy really, make parents actually take responsibility for their brats - some do but most do not - I suspect that this measure would also cut crime, truancy, antisocial behaviour, increase literacy reates and school leaver qualifications and a host of other things. Simple really.
However it's nice to see the Liberal Light assume - apparently in the face of no evidence and certainly no court trial - that the guilty party is the guy and he is, to quote, "a sick b*****d".
Ever thought of working as a police forensic computer scientist Light ? I feel you would be suitable.
On another note, if the guy is guilty of anything - and if he is the monster made out by Light then why can the German police not actually find anything to charge him with ? - then justice will be done. AS it stands the Police confirm Shevaun is 100% safe and well, that nothing happened to her, and won't say what, if anything, the guy will be charged with.
And, on a final note, whilst the theme of Witch Hunt's continues, I hope to see a Social Worker knocking on the family's door sometime soon... but we all know that won't happen. Far easier to blame it on something else, like the internet eh ?
Oh yes, and the internet is the big bad monster at the heart of it *sarcasm*
If Mr Blair would like to pay me an adviser fee then I can prevent such a hideous crime happening again. How ? Easy really, make parents actually take responsibility for their brats - some do but most do not - I suspect that this measure would also cut crime, truancy, antisocial behaviour, increase literacy reates and school leaver qualifications and a host of other things. Simple really.
However it's nice to see the Liberal Light assume - apparently in the face of no evidence and certainly no court trial - that the guilty party is the guy and he is, to quote, "a sick b*****d".
Ever thought of working as a police forensic computer scientist Light ? I feel you would be suitable.
On another note, if the guy is guilty of anything - and if he is the monster made out by Light then why can the German police not actually find anything to charge him with ? - then justice will be done. AS it stands the Police confirm Shevaun is 100% safe and well, that nothing happened to her, and won't say what, if anything, the guy will be charged with.
And, on a final note, whilst the theme of Witch Hunt's continues, I hope to see a Social Worker knocking on the family's door sometime soon... but we all know that won't happen. Far easier to blame it on something else, like the internet eh ?
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