Pedobear prank gets police involved

[spidey07]

Are you kidding me? Some college kid puts a picture of pedobear in an elevator and the building manager freaks out thinking pedobear is secret code for "pedofiles welcome" or something like that. Now kid is being investigated

TLDR: I posted pedobear in a dorm elevator as a prank: and now my RD and the campus police think I'm a pedophile and are directly monitoring me like a known criminal. I think it's an overblown response to a stupid prank that I would take back if I could, but I understand their concerns.

http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/k77p5/pedobear_image_in_dorm_elevator_possible/

 

[TakeNoPrisoners]

Too edgy, put trollface or something harmless like that next time.

A me gusta face would be the best.

 

[brblx]

hope kid sues, hope kid wins.

while i hate frivolous lawsuits as much as anyone, you know, i find these whole 'constitutional rights' things worth defending.

at worst they could push vandalism. but they'd also have to charge everyone else who hangs up something in a public area (...the entire rest of the college).

 

[Saint Nick]

Read that on /b/ last night. The guy who put it up made a thread about it...lol. Yeah, it's pretty fucking stupid honestly.

 

[zinfamous]

RD sounds like a dumbfuck. ask kid to explain himself, ask idiot to remove pedobear, engage in proper judgment of character. do not involve police.

what an idiot(s).

 

[CRXican]

In other news, "You mad bro?" is now racist:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rm30cepvMQA&feature=player_embedded

 

[KeithTalent]

In other news, "You mad bro?" is now racist:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rm30cepvMQA&feature=player_embedded

Whatever gets people to stop saying it is fine with me.

KT

 

[xBiffx]

We used to call campus police "two-five" cause they were half as useful as "five-O". Seems to apply here as well.

 

[Texashiker]

Kids will have to learn that /b/ is not real life.

Talking about harming women and violence towards children might be ok on /b/, but the real world takes offense to it.

 

[brblx]

Kids will have to learn that /b/ is not real life.

Talking about harming women and violence towards children might be ok on /b/, but the real world takes offense to it.

real world doesn't associate a cartoon bear with child rape.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Internet memes may be idiotic, but to go so far as saying that pedobear represents an endorsement of pedophilia is completely dishonest. That's like saying if he posted a picture of Chris Hansen, he's trying to entice sex offenders. Or if he stuck up a picture of Charlie Sheen he's trying to attract cokeheads. Or if he put up a picture of a brony, he's gay. It's absurd.

 

[spidey07]

I love the placement as well. You don't see him, and then the doors close and he peeks out, nice and low.

 

[spidey07]

Internet memes may be idiotic, but to go so far as saying that pedobear represents an endorsement of pedophilia is completely dishonest. That's like saying if he posted a picture of Chris Hansen, he's trying to entice sex offenders. Or if he stuck up a picture of Charlie Sheen he's trying to attract cokeheads. Or if he put up a picture of a brony, he's gay. It's absurd.

There's been all sorts of news "stories" depicting it as some secret code word for "pedofiles welcome" or "I'm looking for underage kids".

 

[Wyndru]

Hasn't this happened before? I thought there was a story a while back like this too, an investigation because of this meme.

 

[zinfamous]

real world doesn't associate a cartoon bear with child rape.

This generation is raised by the internet. it won't be long before they are unable to distinguish the two.

Pedobear and the like will not simply be an "internet thing."

 

[Theb]

She had campus police investigate the image, and they found some page on the internet about what the pedobear image meant.

I have no idea what site they went on, but they asked me if I knew what it meant, to which I confirmed that I did. Wherever they looked said that it was a symbol of direct support for pedophiles, and they took that as a sign that I was a danger to the dorms and the RD's family in particular; even that I might be one myself! (Which, given the hostile manner that they acted towards me, may have been exactly what they were implying. Both officers denied this though.)

One officer continued by saying "Between you and me: I wouldn't go anywhere or try anything NEAR the RD or her children." and that "It's as offensive as posting swastikas all over the walls, it's the same thing."

A little bit of information is a dangerous thing.

One officer continued by saying "Between you and me: I wouldn't go anywhere or try anything NEAR the RD or her children." and that "It's as offensive as posting swastikas all over the walls, it's the same thing." They both notified me that a memo had just been sent to all "staff" (very unclear as to security staff or all staff, which has me worried.) with my name, ID number, picture, and offense. They said that every officer was told to keep an eye on me, and that I was a possibly dangerous person who was to be monitored closely from now on.

Holy crap! That should win some kind of award for 'Most Dramatic Overreaction'

 

[Atomic Playboy]

I liken this to parents in the 1970s freaking out about Alice Cooper and Judas Priest and claiming the lyrics would turn children into devil-worshipping drug addicts. Or in the 1990s when Doom was responsible for school shootings. There are always going to be people who misunderstand the culture of the youth that differs from how young people behaved in "their day," even though it really doesn't. Every generation experiences their own version of the witchhunt, and it is ALWAYS bullshit. Apparently internet memes are the latest fad to misunderstand, misrepresent and villify.

 

[lupi]

Read the recent story about the racist football game where a poster saying "You Mad Bro" was used. It was like watching AT mods in action.

 

[gevorg]

Good, send him in FPMITAP now.

 

[nick1985]

Stupid

 

[brblx]

i mean....it's a weird thing.

go try and explain pedobear to someone...go ahead, i'll wait.

i have a friend who, despite being a bit older than me (and female), likes a lot of the same kind of humor. she listens to howard stern, and went to see steve-o when he came to a local club, ect. stuff you may not expect from someone her age with a doctorate.....but she's not exactly an 'internet' person.

...she also has a small child. i would NOT make pedobear jokes around her, because no amount of 'explaining' would probably help.

 

[nick1985]

i mean....it's a weird thing.

go try and explain pedobear to someone...go ahead, i'll wait.

i have a friend who, despite being a bit older than me (and female), likes a lot of the same kind of humor. she listens to howard stern, and went to see steve-o when he came to a local club, ect. stuff you may not expect from someone her age with a doctorate.....but she's not exactly an 'internet' person.

...she also has a small child. i would NOT make pedobear jokes around her, because no amount of 'explaining' would probably help.

Yep. It's a generation gap for the most part.

 

[AbAbber2k]

Awesome implementation of Peeking Pedobear.

Can't believe how fucking stupid the RD/police are.

Oh wait. I can.

 

[AstroManLuca]

posting some CP in this thread

call the cops

 

[lxskllr]

real world doesn't associate a cartoon bear with child rape.

The real world protects speech, and expression, especially at a learning institution where it's encouraged...

Whoops, I forgot. That was when we lived by the Constitution. Now we suppress, and criminalize speech we don't like. You know, to protect the kids from the filthy terrorists, or something like that....