🚀 go-pugleaf

"Keith A. Glass" wrote:
> 
> On 8 Oct 1999 13:46:29 GMT, lraszewski@loyola.edu (L. Ross Raszewski)
> wrote:
> 
> >On Fri, 08 Oct 1999 12:28:25 GMT, Keith A. Glass <salgak@erols.com> wrote:
> 
> >>That is not my problem: that's theirs.  And it's NOT the Government's
> >>problem to solve. . .
> 
> >It would be ideal if they didn't have to, but if the parents aren't going
> >to be responsible, basic humanity demands that someone else look out for
> >the children.  Would you have the children of irresponsible parents
> >be puniashed for their parents' irresponsibility?
> 
> How, exactly, are children being "punished" by unsupervised, unlimited
> net access ???  And how does it differ from being allowed
> unsupervised, unlimited access to a library ???
> 

Ummm I don't think a "library" is a good analogy for the Internet. A
library is a *very* controlled environment, fairly safe from predators
(particularly school libraries) and under a certain amount of
supervision. The Internet is *none* of these. Perhaps a better analogy
would be to compare the Internet to a big city. Just about anything is
available both good and bad. There are many areas where adults would
fear to tread, much less allow children to wander about without
parental/adult supervision. There is also a balance between keeping the
predators at bay and allowing individuals unlimited freedom. In big
cities, this "balance" is constantly changing, the Internet is still
evolving and hasn't established any balance yet.

You are correct, "punished" is not the correct word, any more than a
child is "punished" by letting them wander around a city unsupervised.
To allow them to do so, risks mental, emotional, or even physical
harm...

> Basic Humanity requires ME to look out for MY children and YOU to look
> out for YOUR children.  It does NOT require a third party to look out
> for EVERYONE's children, especially without consulting the parents
> first. . .
> 

Agreed, but without the "cop on the beat", a parent's job becomes
infinitely more difficult. A dynamic balanced approach is needed with
the Internet, in much the same way a dynamic balance is achieved between
individual freedoms and protecting the individuals from predators... And
*no*, no individual is capable of handling *any* predator or situation
that may come along...thats where society comes in...

John