Anybody else watch this?

[Juna]

So I was watching Dateline NBC "To Catch a Predator" last Friday night. One of the pedophiles was a marine sniper. So, OK, the guy got arrested, as he should. That part makes perfect sense.

My issue was this... The guy stated in his chats with the teen girl that he brings his shotgun everywhere with him. The commentator went on and on in tones that implied that somehow his gun ownership made him a bad person or more of a low-life or danger to society. Then the police raided his SUV, and in the back was a 12-gauge defense shotgun with vertical foregrip--unloaded in the back of his SUV with a cable lock securely fastened through the chamber. They kept showing the cops taking that gun out of the back of his car as though somehow that made him more dangerous than the other pedophiles.

I agree that he's a dirt ball who belongs in jail, but he clearly was a very responsible gun owner. His gun was legally owned and legally stored in his truck with a lock on and unloaded. I fail to see how his firearm possession has any bearing on his other actions. He didn't commit any crimes with the gun. He simply owned it, and NBC made it sound like that was a crime in an of itself.

Anyone else see that and get annoyed? Firearms had NOTHING to do with the show or with his crime, but yet NBC used it as an opportunity to take a stab at gun owners.

 

[FTF]

Shotguns being pulled from cars by cops equals ratings. Why pull it out once when you can replay it 4x for even more ratings!

 

[ambulldog]

I saw it and I agree that they did make it sound like his possession of a gun was a crime in itself. But that shouldnt suprise us. What they should've done is used that shotgun on the guy like Marsellus Wallace did to Zed in Pulp Fiction. Ballistic Castration.

 

[DRMMR02]

The media, all media from the local newspaper to CNN, is a buisness. They sell products. Despite what they say about "journalism" and "the truth", they are in the buisness to make money. Whether it's selling the paper itself, or sponsor's products through ads and commercials, their priority, as a buisness, is making money, not giving out information. Once one understands this concept (I'm not saying you don't) than one will have the proper perspective with which to view all media.

 

[SKeefe]

I also liked how, in one episode, they repeatedly made remarks about how "3 of the people we caught were in the military!" over and over again.

I'm sure they caught more than 3 of other people from the same occupation, but there was no remark "3 of the people we caught were plumbers!"

 

[AJ Dual]

What amazes me (and not that I want them to be "better" at this) is that these guys have absolutely no subtelty. I guess that's why they go after teens and kids. I just don't get it, and I suppose its a good thing that I don't.

You'd think they'd make a "friend" first with the kid, talk absolutely nothing about sex, make a few meetings at public places like a mall or whatnot a few times, then spring the sex on them after a few weeks.

I just can't fathom it. I guess that's why they're criminals, and why they get caught. But how hard would it be for them to find a 16 year-old whre it's legal (as smarmy as it still is), or an 18 year old and I don't know, just close their eyes and pretend. I swear, these guys must be robots for them to keep being herded in week after week like this.

I suspect these "investigations" will be a regular show wthin a year.

The other is that I can't help but think that every time they lure in a pedophile, Dateline NBC, and that reporter are spinning the roulette wheel with their lives. They may feel safe with the cops there, but the few seconds of reaction time would be more than enough.

It just stands to reason that eventualy one of the pedos will be armed against the possiblity it's a sting, and decide to go out in a "blaze of glory", just like the guy in Colorado and the Amish killer….

 

[Juna]

What they should've done is used that shotgun on the guy like Marsellus Wallace did to Zed in Pulp Fiction. Ballistic Castration.

LOL, that would have REALLY gotten them some ratings. If he were after my daughter, I think I'd have gone with that option, too.

I just can't fathom it.

I totally agree. I just can't wrap my mind around what goes on inside a pedophile's brain. Totally screwed up. I think the end result of NBC's show is great in that it gets these dirt balls off the street. I just wish they wouldn't make gun-bashing comments along the way.