Pat ~ I haven't been able to respond this as I have been swamped at work and home while I get ready for yet another international business trip.

I'm leaving this evening, so I won't be around to continue any discussion.

But I wanted to leave you with a couple of things.

I am not "pissed". Passionate yes, and very very worried that a young girl seized upon your advice and did something that caused her serious harm.

I asked Froz to step out because I was very concerned that she was taking things said about chasterwebb's situation very personally. I wanted it to be VERY CLEAR that in no way was I or anyone else was critizing anything about Froz's history or past.

It is clear to me that Froz is a much stronger woman with a clear sense of priorities than chasterwebb. Froz did not discover her daughter's horrible tale and want to "work it out".

In one post chasterwebb tells us of her shock in finding child porn in her home and the next post she wants advice on how to work it out - even tho she assures us that the pictures are her husbands.

Don't you see the problem here?

Another point - btw, yes images can be tagged with information that leads back to the source. Author's protect their digital artwork all the time using watermark technology. I can steal an image off the web, and manipulate it a little...and the author can prove without a doubt that he was the original author with this watermark information.

And even if there is no watermark information - all we need a file name really. A file name can be matched to download log files.

And as a side note, viruses and other code can now be imbedded in images.

And one more point here.

I don't think that consquences = "punishment".

I think that protecting a loved one from consequences is a unloving, and often a selfish and egotistical act.

I think that if you start a fight, your wife shouldn't jump in to yell at people for responding to you. Is it because I think you should be "punished"?

No. I think that adults should have the habit and responsiblity of taking responsibility for their actions and the resulting consequences.

If we never suffer the result of our own decision making, we never learn to make better decisions (and I am NOT implying that you made a bad decision to challenge me). Enjoying the fruits of our good decisions is one factor in what builds self esteem. When someone protects me from experiencing the reality of the consequences of my choices, I am denied a life learning opportunity.

While I am all for pedophiles being punished AND taken off the street, my arguement was not that chasterwebb's husband needed punishment for what you think could have been poor judgement. I simply don't think chasterwebb should give someone the benefit of the doubt in a situation serious as hers...and yes, it is a consequence of making a really crappy judgement call.

However - that arguement is pointless. The rest of your response to me is simply rehashing what you said originally.

It is highly unlikely that chasterwebb's husband was innocent of the act of collecting child pornography.

Courts are required to presume innoncence. We individual citizens are NOT.

You believe that looking at child porn is the NOT the equivalant of physically molesting a child.

I believe that looking at child porn is participating in child molestation and child rape.

The gun analogy does not work at all.

A gun has the potential to be used for good, or for evil. It is all up to the owner. It is not evil just by existing.

Child porn is EVIL. There is NO GOOD reason for it to exist. It is evidence of a very real crime that DID take place. Taking pleasure by the sight of a child being violated, raped and molested IS evil and IS participation in that event.

I believe that her safety and her child's comes first and that everything else is secondary and that things like 'marriage building' are not remotely possible.

You believe his reputation, and his trust of her, so their marriage can be saved must be considered first.

I believe she was in clear and immediate danger.

You believe she was not.

You believe we needed to find out more information before acting.

I believe that because we did not have more information (and less than 5 hours to get more) that the wisest thing to say to her was to get her to people who would ensure her safety in the next 5 hours.

I think that sums it up. We aren't even close to on the same page.

All I can say is that I hope and pray that for her sake that you were right. I really really really hope that chasterwebb posts again and we find out that YOU were right.

Because if I am right, there is a woman and child whose very lives are at risk out there....and your advice was used by her to rationalize sticking around to confront the face of evil.

Just to clarify my motive: I didn't jump in to yell at anyone for responding. I jumped in to yell at those who were attacking Patriot personally for his opinion.

I did not think he started a fight...he simply had an opinion that differed from the opinons of others and did not deserve to be personally attacked for that opinion.

I did so, not because I didn't think Patriot capable of defending himself (he certainly is capable of that). I jumped in and said "Lay off, already" because I woke up grouchy that morning and was sick of watching someone be personally attacked for having an opinion that didn't necessarily flow with the rest of the general population.

I probably would have had the same response if I felt someone else here was being personally attacked for their opinion. The fact that in this instance, it was my husband and someone that I care about, I felt all the more compelled to respond protectively.

I respect opinions, debates, and the exchanges of ideas. I do not like it when I see those debates cross the line from passionate exchanges to personal attacks.

Please keep in mind that I am not accusing you of doing this. I am simply clarifying the reason I posted what I did.

I see you did not answer what really became the only thing I was interested in.

So please, if you get a moment and happen to catch this, how am I making the same mistake my wife did?

I truly am curious what this means.

And on the rest of the opinions and such... I find it interesting. The chaos of the moment of impact is well over. Mrs. webb has in someway dealt with this issue(or not) and until she posts here, we won't know.

I guess the point is, I have my opinion and it has not been swayed by you. You have your opinion and it has not been swayed by me.

Oh well. You can't change the world everyday.