MSNBC,To Catch A Predator

William Rennick · Aug 6, 2007

I stumbled onto this show. Some of the greatest television ever. The looks on the pervs faces when Hansen walks out is priceless. It gets better when the camera crew comes out rolling. The best part though is when Hansen tells them they are free to go. They step out the front door and get tackled by a dozen cops. LOL

jzlucas · Aug 6, 2007

Oh yeah, it's a great show! That's some kick ass reality television. You're right, the looks on their faces is the best! It's kind of scary how many perv's are out there though.

AAAintheBeltway · Aug 7, 2007

I couldn't disagree more. I fail to see the entertainment value in seeing people's lives ruined. Certainly these guys had the desire to nail a 14 year old, but virtually none of them would have been able to. Legally, it's not entrapment but in a practical sense it clearly is. If they were capturing habitual sex offenders, it would be different, but they're not. A lot of these people are just clueless morons whose lives are now ruined, all so that this guy can appear morally superior.

As for the cops, they should be sued for unnecessary use of force. Why do they always have to tackle them and throw them on the ground? Are the men running or fighting? No, they're usually in a daze. Again, it's purely for entertainment "value", plus we know a lot of cops love to rough up defenseless citizens. They know a would be "child molestor" will get nowhere with a complaint.

Sooner or later, one of these johns will pull out a gun and kill a few people. Wow, wouldn't that be great for ratings. I think one guy has already committed suicide, but who gives a damn as long as it was fun TV.

jzlucas · Aug 7, 2007

Quote from AAAintheBeltway:

I couldn't disagree more. I fail to see the entertainment value in seeing people's lives ruined. Certainly these guys had the desire to nail a 14 year old, but virtually none of them would have been able to. Legally, it's not entrapment but in a practical sense it clearly is. If they were capturing habitual sex offenders, it would be different, but they're not. A lot of these people are just clueless morons whose lives are now ruined, all so that this guy can appear morally superior.

As for the cops, they should be sued for unnecessary use of force. Why do they always have to tackle them and throw them on the ground? Are the men running or fighting? No, they're usually in a daze. Again, it's purely for entertainment "value", plus we know a lot of cops love to rough up defenseless citizens. They know a would be "child molestor" will get nowhere with a complaint.

Sooner or later, one of these johns will pull out a gun and kill a few people. Wow, wouldn't that be great for ratings. I think one guy has already committed suicide, but who gives a damn as long as it was fun TV.

Gotta disagree with you on this one, AAA.
Sure, they're lives are ruined... and deservedly so. Why would you want these people on the streets preying on children? Potential predators that see this show will now hesitate with following through on their disgusting 'wants'. Do you really believe that guys showing up with condoms and viagra are "clueless morons"?
I also see no unnecessary force. If I saw someone try to hook up with a 13 year old, I would do a lot more damage than put them in handcuffs.

hoodooman · Aug 7, 2007

Its a great show and it does a lot of good IMHO, but somehow I've come to the conclusion that you have to be a pervert of another sort to watch and enjoy it.

nutmeg · Aug 7, 2007

I'm not a lawyer but it is my understanding that the method they use for the show to capture the pervs is not legal in NY state maybe others also.

bumblebuzzard · Aug 7, 2007

That show is particularly irritating to me.

The men who show up to be caught are in many ways weak and immature, but the "perversion" they display is a normal response of the human male to a female who is sexually mature. It wasn't long ago that 16 was the usual age of marriage for women. Juliet (of "Romeo and Juliet" ) was 12.

Thus, they are guilty of a crime as defined by statute, but not as defined by nature; and the show is a simple exploitation for commercial profit of our love of feeling self-righteous.

There are dangerous sexual predators in the world, but these are not they. Instead the show traps men who are really in need of counseling about how to grow up, pointlessly ruining their lives while accomplishing nothing for society except to inflate our already outsized sense of moral superiority.

And cops like to tackle harmless guys because it makes them feel macho. My brother is a cop, and he has some other theory, but the truth is that they just like it. Life is so boring otherwise.

Lucrum · Aug 7, 2007

Quote from AAAintheBeltway:

I couldn't disagree more. I fail to see the entertainment value in seeing people's lives ruined. Certainly these guys had the desire to nail a 14 year old, but virtually none of them would have been able to. Legally, it's not entrapment but in a practical sense it clearly is. If they were capturing habitual sex offenders, it would be different, but they're not. A lot of these people are just clueless morons whose lives are now ruined, all so that this guy can appear morally superior.

As for the cops, they should be sued for unnecessary use of force. Why do they always have to tackle them and throw them on the ground? Are the men running or fighting? No, they're usually in a daze. Again, it's purely for entertainment "value", plus we know a lot of cops love to rough up defenseless citizens. They know a would be "child molestor" will get nowhere with a complaint.

Sooner or later, one of these johns will pull out a gun and kill a few people. Wow, wouldn't that be great for ratings. I think one guy has already committed suicide, but who gives a damn as long as it was fun TV.

You know I agree with maybe 90% - 95% of everything you post. But not on this one. I think they're getting what they deserve in fact as far as I'm concerned they deserve much worse.
If one of these child molesting POS commits suicide I gotta be honest with you. I D O N T C A R E!

What about all the children whose lives are ruined by these predators? How many of these victims end up committing suicide?

William Rennick · Aug 7, 2007

I got a feeling Hansen is going to get ventilted when the perv whips out an UZI instead of his pecker. Maybe the perv will give him a pass if he agrees to blow him while the camera crew is told to put their baseball hats on backwards and keep filming. Then the perv would swap clothes with him and send him running across the lawn to get his ass kicked. HANSEN OWNED LOL

acronym · Aug 7, 2007

Havent seen the show, but my general ideas on allowing anything remotely to do with the legal system being on television, is summed up by this quote, from "thought for the day"

"Thought for the day.....

Just watching "Worlds wildest police chases".

No idea why, its just on.

There are some nutters out there.

Still, where do they get the voice over/narrator guys? Do they put an add in the paper, "wanted, self righteous asshole with with a nasal, whingy 'holier than thou' tone to narrate propaganda video, must be an expert in melodrama, must have silver hair and square jaw"

What a gip.

Heres a quote-"when guns are involved, theres no such thing as a quiet takedown."
Gee, ya think?

'Officers cant understand, how the felon survicved the barrage" yeah, ill bet.

What a crock."

The day they allow 24hour surveillance of cops, on, or off duty is the day ill say a show like this (given i havent seen it, and am speaking on principle) "this seems like a good idea", unti'll then the public is seriously in the dark about what actually goes on.