Online ‘Pedophile Hunters’ Are Growing More Violent — and Going Viral: With the rise of loosely moderated social media platforms, a fringe vigilante movement is experiencing a dangerous evolution.
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I'm completely with you on this, and I'm surprised your comment is so highly voted because this community is quick to endorse vigilantism. Just the other day I was scrolling through a thread full of comments about how a guy who was arrested should have been more brutally assaulted by an angry mob.
Vigilantism is just a sign that government has become too corrupt to deal with problems effectively. It can be good or evil, it can be effective or a complete nightmarish excuse to get rid of hates minorities or people the majority simply fell out of favor with.
But if you're a victim under that corrupt government, it's the only solution you have, so its hard not to cheer. No one is shedding tears for torched tesla's in dealerships or the dead ceo Saint Luigi was framed for killing.
Its just harder to trust and justify clout chasers attacking essentially random people they themselves labeled with a crime that no one can reasonably defend themselves against.
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I’m going to be honest, I’m suspicious of every single ‘pedophile hunter’. They are going after a demographic that people will not rush to defend, even if innocent.
Also, these ‘hunters’ probably have something shady going on in their own lives, and this is some form of projection that they also profit off of.
Also, the almost universal knee-jerk response that we have as a society broadly to child predation makes a helluva mask for trampling on the rights of others and making a scapegoat that will be condemned in the public court long before any charges are brought up. Creative editing and a thirst for views can make the producers of this content work harder to portray events out-of-context.
I'm sure there are plenty of actual predators who are worried about being hit with a sting, but I have seen more than a handful clips of these rogue pedo-hunters going after like, 21-year-old boys and their 17-year-old girlfriends, and people who looked genuinely confused and seemed railroaded into meeting someone.
I know this message will never stick with the wildly reactionary and emotional viewership who needs to hear it, but we make vigilantism illegal for a damn good reason, and just because Dateline managed to stay above the waterline for the most part, that doesn't mean some operation of randos you know nothing about on youtube have both the best intentions and the legal acumen to actually make a difference. They may well be making the problem worse by setting up situations where stings against child predators could become outlawed.
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Pedophile hunting is among several vigilante movements in the United States. Groups in the South try to catch alleged drug smugglers at the border; others monitor local crime. The new wave of pedophile hunters stands out for adopting the social media influencer model, using real-life violence to build a following online.
This is about clout chasing and being violent monsters
And if anyone calls them out on it, they're immediately branded as "pedophile sympathizers" if not actual pedophiles themselves. So, not only do they get to be violent monsters, saying that they shouldn't commit horrible violence without any sort of legal oversight (or at all, really) makes YOU the bad guy!
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I’m going to be honest, I’m suspicious of every single ‘pedophile hunter’. They are going after a demographic that people will not rush to defend, even if innocent.
Also, these ‘hunters’ probably have something shady going on in their own lives, and this is some form of projection that they also profit off of.
In Norway last year we had a case where 5 16-19 yo set up a sextrap for a guy in his 40s.
The teens claimed he’s a pedo, beat him, filmed it and posted it online.
All of the “pedohunters” involved were found guilty on all accounts. The guy is free and getting a big pay out from the teens.
It’s really unfortunate, but these kinds of people aren’t in it to prevent child abuse. They’re in it for themselves.
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I’d make a guess they’re getting violent because the legal system can’t do anything with their compromised evidence. Instead of realizing they’re not the people qualified to do this work, they’re just doubling down and “handling it themselves.”
Well honestly it seems they may be the most qualified to do this work at this point then
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When they go after the wrong person, yes. When they decide to both be the police, judge and executioner, yes.
But if the judiciary system doesn't do it's work, what do you expect.
Even if the judiciary system in your country doesn't do its work, people taking justice in their own hands is a fundamentally bad thing for a society. I don't pity predators if they get what they deserve, but I pity the society that suddenly has to define boundaries - where do you draw the line?
Not all cases are clear cut. Not everyone operates on the same set of morals.Example: Religious zealots really do believe that abortions kill children. If society doesn't categorically forbid people to take justice into their own hands but goes "well, in this case, we can all understand", you will have other people acting in ways they perceive as equally justifiable. And then abortion doctors get murdered.
The users who downvoted me don't seem to have this understanding, they would rather have revenge. If you people don't understand that self-justice will ultimately lead to a more violent society, then go ahead, downvote me again. You're the reason your country isn't a more civilized place, wherever you live.
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I’d make a guess they’re getting violent because the legal system can’t do anything with their compromised evidence. Instead of realizing they’re not the people qualified to do this work, they’re just doubling down and “handling it themselves.”
They're experiencing positive re-enforcement when they get violent with the people they've intrapped. They're getting more violent because they want more of the positive online feedback they've been getting.
There is no lofty thought process about justice.
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Reddit would be outraged about an 18 yo dating a 16 yo, though. Some people have really weird and unrealistic views on this
Those Redditors are probably 16 year olds themselves upset that the girls they like are always going for 18 - 20 year olds
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Reminder, those "Pedophile Hunters" don't really give a damn about children.
They're sadists who are out to hurt & kill
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Sounds like an opportunity, then
How old are you?
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I wouldn't even be surprised if most of them are pedophiles themselves.
There’s been a ton in the UK outed as predators themselves. It’s projection.
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I wouldn't even be surprised if most of them are pedophiles themselves.
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I wish I hadn't gone down this rabbit hole, but according to study data, 1 in 6 people want to touch kids. https://theconversation.com/a-survey-found-1-in-6-men-admit-sexual-feelings-for-children-so-is-paedophilia-increasing-218124
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It's not weirdly used. Society always determines what is appropriate. We've decided, as a society, that humans cannot consent until 18. And any sex without consent is rape.
That said, what is weird is that we conflate pedo and child rapist. You're describing child rapists.
Get the fuck out, man.
Teenagers fuck each other all the time, consensually.
So there goes your argument about people younger than 18 being incapable of giving consent.
For the record, I'm in my 40s and I wouldn't go out with anyone below the age of 30, before someone accuses me of anything I ain't.
I hate predators as much as the next person, but let's not go over to the other extreme.
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They're experiencing positive re-enforcement when they get violent with the people they've intrapped. They're getting more violent because they want more of the positive online feedback they've been getting.
There is no lofty thought process about justice.
Same thing with the 1A auditors, aka "frauditors".
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I wish I hadn't gone down this rabbit hole, but according to study data, 1 in 6 people want to touch kids. https://theconversation.com/a-survey-found-1-in-6-men-admit-sexual-feelings-for-children-so-is-paedophilia-increasing-218124
Don't worry. That article was awful and the reporter is ignorant of how statistics work.
First of all, it's not all men. It's "all Australian men." And second of all, it's not 1 in 6. It's probably more like 1 in 20. Still a high number, but not as high as the reporter makes it out to be.
The reporter ignored that the data can overlap.
Sort of like saying:
Pete would never let anyone slap him. Joe says he is willing to be slapped for $1000. He would also do it for $500. He would also do it for $200. Based on the above, THREE men out of four would be willing to be slapped for $1000 or less!!!!
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Vigilantism is just a sign that government has become too corrupt to deal with problems effectively. It can be good or evil, it can be effective or a complete nightmarish excuse to get rid of hates minorities or people the majority simply fell out of favor with.
But if you're a victim under that corrupt government, it's the only solution you have, so its hard not to cheer. No one is shedding tears for torched tesla's in dealerships or the dead ceo Saint Luigi was framed for killing.
Its just harder to trust and justify clout chasers attacking essentially random people they themselves labeled with a crime that no one can reasonably defend themselves against.
Vigilantism is just a sign that government has become too corrupt to deal with problems effectively.
Or a sign that government is the problem as politicians resort more to divisiveness, hatred, bigotry and scapegoating to capture more extreme voters. Politicians stoke the outrage, inflame some groups against others, call for ending the rights of those they’ve marginalized, and even pardon those who committed treason in the name of fake vigilantism, based on manipulation and misrepresentation
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While pedophile hunters seem barbaric to me, I don't have kids.
I do have a dog, and dog hunter hunters, as in "people hunting dog hunters", seem all right for me.
Cowards really like to inflict pain on creatures not well enough protected by the law. So hunting them is maybe good for the society.
So deontology and principles and morals only matter when they are challenged by one's own impulses. Innocent until proven guilty in the court of law.
You can dislike pedophiles and dog hunter yet still recognize some asshole doing it out of inflamed self-righteousness with no regard for evidence, human rights, due process is not the right solution. If even the legal system with all its checks and balances gets things wrong so often, what can you expect from some asshole out for blood?
The criminal justice system is meant to not only seek justice for victims, keep us safe from predation….. well yes vigilantism is another form of predation. Their self-righteousness doesn’t absolve their guilt. Heck, at least most pedophiles don’t try to defend themselves as doing their job right thing
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Well honestly it seems they may be the most qualified to do this work at this point then
You got down voted but all we need to check is how catholic church has been given a blank check for what they do...
Fuck them. I won't cry when pedo priest is given justice.
This clown regime think they can just put something like that under the rug
