I Want This Dog ...

Sometimes I Brag

I realize that I take for granted the notion that my friends will have any idea what I'm talking about when I reference the person I'm dating. I simply assume that they're running on a wire-tap-filled dossier of useless info about him that contains every insignificant detail of his 22 years of existence (that's right, I date younger guys!).

I suppose, though, that my affection for him now leads me to feel so compelled to come here and brag about him. Why? Because I can.

William's a package full of sexy, all wrapped up in the cute trimmings of a well-dressed, very cute, very funny and intelligent arts student hailing from Atlanta. I wouldn't go into more detail about his background without his blessing, but at the moment, he's asleep next to me. He conked out early with what appear to be the early symptoms of a spring cold. As I write that, I'm kinda nudging him a bit further away from me, as I have no desire to endure a cold myself.

What I can tell you, however, is all the pertinent information about us as a couple: we've been dating five months, with brief one-day and one-week interruptions that were resolved by learning to better communicate with each other. We met online as mutual last-resort attempts at finding love in all the wrong places (i.e., gay.com - don't bother with that shitty site!). I had a witty (not really) profile and he wrote me a witty (not really) e-mail that made me laugh. (P.S., I'm kidding, his e-mail was very witty. I have to say this, cause if he reads this post, he'll beat me up for joking that it wasn't witty. Really, though, kid's got some guns. While not likely to tear a phone book in half any time soon - likely out of respect for James Earl Jones and the makers of the Yellow Pages - I'm fairly certain he could tear the arms off someone who beats him in holographic chess. You know, like a Wookie.)

What was I talking about? Oh yeah. William.

I can't remember what I meant to write about, except that I just wanted to say I'm really happy right now. How many people get to go to sleep next to an amazing person who genuinely cares about them and their dreams and ambitions pretty much every night of the week? It's a great thing, to be cared about in such a way. It's also great to get a kiss before work or school in the morning. :-)

On Justice in America

I felt compelled to link this video (unfortunately, embedding is disabled by YouTube for this particular clip) showing the deadly result of "To Catch A Predator," which I criticized a few posts back.

What happens when we tread down the dark and dangerous path of forgoing the Constitution in favor of this disgusting form of justice, wherein a man gives up his life because a television network parades embarrassed, scared and often mentally sick people in front of millions of viewers, all for the sake of ratings and profit?

We lose ourselves.

We stray from our values.

We have a long-held belief in this country - not to mention a Constitutionally embedded standard of due process - that all men are created equal, and everyone is entitled to fair and true justice. You are innocent until proven guilty.

Unfortunately for this country, media has so seamlessly merged entertainment and news that no longer is there a distinction. Bias, so frequently called on the side of liberalism, exists in every news outlet. Information doesn't exist in pure form; constantly, facts and data are misinterpreted to give strength to one side's argument, irrelevant to the nature of what's actually happening.

What is happening? We're allowing ourselves to be TOLD what is happening by people who have NO IDEA what is happening. Chris Hansen calls that man a sexual predator (explicitly or implied by the fact that said person is the subject of a show entitled "To Catch A Predator"), and so we super glue that label to his forehead. "This man is a deviant," we proclaim. Where is his justice? Where is his due process?

I would not diminish the noble nature of those who genuinely want to make the world a safer place, but a reality we have to live with is that this country (and the rest of the world) is a dangerous place. What makes this country great, however, is that, despite all of the danger around us, we have a system of justice that is MEANT to be impartial. Ignoring the push in several states to have the Ten Commandments plastered all over the courthouses, we look inward at our own morality - our belief that certain things ought not be denied any human being: among them their lives, their safety and well-being, or their liberty.

A sexual deviant should be caught, tried and punished according to our code of justice. They should not be paraded about as a prize fish, caught after being lured in front of a camera for entertainment. If you ask me, if these people are convicted, while they spend their time in rehabilitation or correctional facilities, they should look into bring a lawsuit against MSNBC for profiteering from the crimes.

As I see it, MSNBC sets up a scenario within which a criminal act may occur with the express intent to lure in an unwitting "predator," which will bring them money. MSNBC's behavior here is criminal. Not to mention that it's starting to sound like Minority Report when you consider that no one has actually been harmed, and there was no eligible victim present at the scene of the "crime." It's was an intended criminal act.

My God, what has become of justice in America?