Disgusted

It starts out like your typical inane news story.*

I can't decide what the worst part of it is: the fact that the guy basically admits to public indecency or worse (if you think I'm even going to take the time and effort to look up the applicable Ohio law at this point, you are sadly mistaken) on camera with no appreciable shame, the violent reaction of the creep's father, or the apparent inability of the library to keep the creep out. I mean, Juice's stories about Chester the Potential Molester are bad enough, but at least it seems that he's kept things to a certain point of "not bad enough to be truly criminal". This guy, on the other hand, has already crossed the line and can't even see the line off in the distance by now. "I'm not a sexual predator", he says. I don't know if that's true. I can think of one reading of this incident that says he is, since deliberately engaging in lewd acts in the presence of children is a crime in this state, and probably in Ohio, too, and furthermore, it's exactly the kind of crime that gets your name on a sex offender registry.

It also irritated me to no earthly end that the news guy kept calling it "having sex", when what he really meant was "masturbation"**. Is "masturbation" too dirty a word for television now? Couldn't they have found a more accurate euphemism? Because the last time I checked, "having sex" involved at least two people. Also? I understand that they're supposed to maintain journalistic objectivity and all, and I'm sure the overwhelming desire to get such a sensational story clouded the guy's judgement, but I guess I'm failing to understand why the police haven't been involved. Especially after the guy was already sternly warned and barred from the library months ago, and is still there in defiance of that ban. Hmmmm... does this sound like a warning sign to anyone?

I wonder if this little story has incited anyone in the area to engage in a little vigilante justice? After all, they did show the guy's face, his parents' faces, and their house, as well as giving the guy's full name.

*Link via Legally Blonde
**I can't wait to see my stats after this post hits google.