• FermionWrangler@lemm.ee
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    10 hours ago

    I always knew there was something wrong with that these people were doing but couldn’t exactly put my finger on it and never talked about it because people would’ve yelled at me and used false dillema arguments like many people who criticized them back them recieved “You support pedophiles you removed

  • boolean_sledgehammer@lemmy.world
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    12 hours ago

    What this ultimately amounts to is the worst actors using a blanket justification to carry out revenge fantasies against whatever marginalized group they’re fixated on.

    If you happen to be part of any of these marginalized groups, now would be the time to get armed and get dangerous. It would be great if we lived in a functioning society where this wasn’t necessary, but the failure of so many of our institutions is slowly rewinding our social fabric back to wild west times.

  • StarlightDust@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    16 hours ago

    I monitor far-right groups pretty intensively and a good chunk of Paedophile Hunters are key organisers of said groups.

    Its also not uncommon for far-right groups to be family operations where the adults will groom their teenage children into organizing and encourage their children to date other, often older, fascist organisers.

  • RabbitBBQ@lemmy.world
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    12 hours ago

    Does a criminal arrest and conviction not matter to anyone before ganging up to take someones life?

    You would think an allegation serious enough to take someone’s life would be at least charged by some law enforcement agency, many of these crimes require they are reported by law, and a mandatory arrest must happen if it is reported. There should be no way for anyone to be free, needing to be hunted, without a criminal history. No distinction is made between someone with a criminal history and someone without, the allegation has become enough to destroy reputations, careers and lives. History is full of situations where an other type of label and class with no rights or due process is created. Then it is applied to people as needed to eliminate them. With LGBT stuff specifically, you see the lines between these labels being blurred. Even in Russia they have blurred the lines between LGBT, child abuse, domestic terrorism and dangers to national security. It doesn’t take much imagination to see it be applied in the U.S. QAnon was proof that anyone can be labelled by a large number of people with real actions taken to harm them, without any kind of formal process or charges. Just rumors that lead to vigilantes.

    At some point, there is no difference between that, Daniel Penny, or Luigi Manigone. From every side, we all agree that summary executions are acceptable. The end result of this is a break down of civil society as the justifications for extrajudicial murder expand to include as many things as necessary… Even if you take something like the damage Kendrick Lamar did to Drake’s career and reputation, I believe his legal defense over defamation is that it was meant as a joke. How many people would consider using these methods if they saw Drake? A lot of time has passed since that song was released, where are the criminal charges to match the damage done to him?

  • mhague@lemmy.world
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    18 hours ago

    Nazis: If you support LGBT you’re a pedophile. And we’re already coming for you.

    People, for some fucking reason: Pedophiles get fucked, do what you want to them, erase them at any cost!!

    “Please hold this paper target in front of your face while I shoot at it.”

    “Sounds dangerous but I see you are aiming at the paper so I should be fine.”

  • Allero@lemmy.today
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    23 hours ago

    There’s one more angle to this - apart from the raise in vigilante violence and messing up with police operations which both are very valid.

    Just as we stopped getting TV feeds constantly equating pedophiles to child molesters, those guys stepped in to fill the void.

    Pedophiles are not inherently child molesters. This kind of equation is not only wrong, it also adds to promoting dangerous behaviors among them.

    Plenty of pedophiles will never abuse a single child, knowing full well it is dangerous and harmful for minors to be engaged in such relationships. However, the more we equate pedophiles to predators, the more people, especially in the emotionally vulnerable groups like teen pedophiles, will actually accept themselves in this role. Among those who stands against this anyway, plenty will become suicidal, not seeing an option to live a non-offending life.

    Current methods of therapy aimed at reducing child abuse rates go very strongly on this - pedophiles should face message of them not being inherently dangerous, not the message of them being an immediate and imminent danger. Not only this is scientifically correct, it is actually useful in making these people safer for others.

  • DicJacobus@lemmy.world
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    19 hours ago

    Vigilantism is on the rise regardless, Either because the police are incompetent / carefree about the complaints. or because individuals are overzealous, dont undrestand or agree with the law, and decide to cosplay as the punisher.

  • WhatSay@slrpnk.net
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    1 day ago

    I had a friend who was visiting Florida, and this vigilante group from some church setup a Grindr account to catch gay men. They made a profile of a guy in his 20s, had convos and planned to meet, then asked him to talk on some other platform, where his profile said he was underage. Keep in mind, this is just a fictional person. And the Florida court loves to toss LGBT in jail, so beware out there.

  • OmegaLemmy@discuss.online
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    1 day ago

    Oh. They’re just gonna call people pedo and attack them even though they’re not. It’s extremely obvious.

    • KuroNeko@lemm.ee
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      11 hours ago

      Sad because actual paedos gonna be like “who, not me, someone cried wolf on me!”… As someone who was trafficked and abused with my sister and then even after she got out, I’ve heard them laugh about paedos caught in the news and act like they’re not exactly that. Meanwhile the people who actually hurt me stayed or died free because you also see on the news how false accusations ruin innocent people’s lives, so it feels like what we say as real victims not only doesn’t matter but will be ignored because sexism is back full-swing and they prefer us women to be seen and not heard once again like the old days. I wish patriarchal societies weren’t hell-bent on using and ending women and children to justify their means of global blackmail control.

    • ours@lemmy.world
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      21 hours ago

      Or very likely make mistakes. Vigilantes is nice in comic books and movies, in real life it turns terrible very quickly.

  • interdimensionalmeme@lemmy.ml
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    1 day ago

    Pedo accusations don’t come from concerns for kids but from enpowerement to do violence and the ability to righteously attack.

    This inversion from concern for others to desire to cause harm through paranoia derived justifications is becoming a real problem.

    If someone steps in to stop them attacking the innocent they will claim those people are defending pedos.

    We’re going to have the stupidest of wars on our hands.

    • T156@lemmy.world
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      3 hours ago

      It’s basically the same motivation as people who have a gun and are itching for the apocalypse so they can loose the safeties.

      Even saying that it’s righteous violence is ascribing positive motivations that may not exist. They’re just looking for someone to attack, and an alleged paedophile is a socially acceptable target to unleash that violence on.

    • UltraGiGaGigantic@lemmy.ml
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      10 hours ago

      We’re going to have the stupidest of wars on our hands.

      Finally, my decades of stupid training will pay off!

    • Queen HawlSera@lemm.ee
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      1 day ago

      This.

      Plus it’s self defeating. Too often when they find real predators, the evidence is tainted by the way it was collected by idiots who have no idea what they’re doing.

      • Ledericas@lemm.ee
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        23 hours ago

        Yea, all of that is not admissible in court too. And they often end up attacking innocent people, additionally it labels them a pedo so, they instantly get fired, lose their wives, children, friends,etc

        • Queen HawlSera@lemm.ee
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          13 hours ago

          Eyup, I remember this one guy this dude found who was insanely guilty. Was not only in a “relationship” with a child, but was trying to get him to do cocaine.

          The pedo-hunter who was onto him decided the best thing to do wasn’t to call the cops, but to harass him in a target and make a scene. So much so that the Target staff thought the hunter, not the pedo, was the criminal.

          Police were called and they wound up arresting the pedo upon realizing the situation, but due to the harassment, the way the evidence was collected, and all that…

          The only thing they could get him on was a traffic violation when the pedo was driving away from the Target.

          My advice for people is this - Don’t be a pedo-hunter, while it is noble that you wanna fight back against the cruelty of the world… The truth is you’re going to wind up doing more harm than good unless you know EXACTLY what you’re doing. If you let your anger control how you do investigations, you’re not that much different from the killer cops that butcher the innocent.

          Especially since sex crimes are ones where the mere accusation is enough to ruin people’s lives. I should know, I was nearly expelled at my Community College because a guidance consular blanket accused me of attacking a woman at her car. It was luck, a phone call to her boss, playing the autism card, and calling the bluff… asking her to prove the attack, provide witnesses, show me the police report, and she basically dropped everything and apologized when she couldn’t. And I knew she couldn’t, because I do not attack people, Hell, I have the muscle mass of Melvin Junko BEFORE he became the Toxic Avenger, even if I wanted to I’d just get my ass beat.

          Later she tried it again over me using a female restroom as a transwoman, thankfully this was after Obama amended Title IX to cover transpeole so I once again had an Uno Reverse card. So I just got a call from her boss telling me to use whatever restroom I wanted and to ignore her.

          I don’t know what’s wrong with that person or why she was so hellbent on getting me kicked out of school, but… I think of her a lot, not only because she traumatized me with her false accusations, but because thanks to her, I do know that false accusations do indeed happen, and sometimes they come from powerful people.

          • Ledericas@lemm.ee
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            2 hours ago

            i forgot to mention some sites publically will list people who have exposed themselves, or pedos, i assume its a law that allows that, and thats how they find it. i happened to stumble a forum for specific cities, and they have a "pedo-map, like google map destinations.

    • kerrigan778@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      There’s a reason an insane number of the people who publicly attack pedophillia are in fact pedophiles.

      • Ledericas@lemm.ee
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        23 hours ago

        That too, but also some have been not to be pedos, I doubt these influencers will reveal the ones they attacked are not one,.bum

      • interdimensionalmeme@lemmy.ml
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        1 day ago

        I assumed it was because they are so sloppy, they use it in any disagreement “you’re either with us or you’re a pedophile !” much in the same way we often here “don’t call everyone a Nazi” Do we see many Nazi calling each other Nazi in anger and in a derogatory manner ?

  • Sam_Bass@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    They should be stalking the Repuglicans in Washington. Make a ton of bounty I bet

  • chetradley@lemm.ee
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    2 days ago

    Lots of people in the comments are failing to see the issue with this, so allow me to illustrate. Fair warning, this will not be an easy read.

    So let’s imagine you really hate trans people, gay people, and liberals. Unfortunately for you, none of these are crimes (yet), so you can’t just go around assaulting and killing these people indiscriminately, as much as you’d like to. So what are you going to do?

    Well, the best hate campaigns start with a shared enemy, and nobody is more hated than a child predator. Best of all, you can do pretty much whatever you want to them with no recourse. What are they going to do, call the police? Nobody is going to speak out against what you’re doing, because if they do, you can just say that if they don’t support you, then they must be defending child predators!

    Now that we have a precedent for violence, it’s time to expand our scope a bit. Since hunting pedophiles is a-ok, now you just need to label anyone you don’t like a pedophile. You could say gay and trans people are pedophiles and groomers. And again, if anyone opposes you, just call them a groomer too!

    But maybe that’s not enough for you. No, you want to make sure that you can target anyone who disagrees with you. Well good news, because you can just join a group of people who believe that anyone who dislikes Donald Trump is a deep state pedophile. You don’t even need evidence anymore, and there’s a good chance the cops will be on your side! Happy hunting!

    Seriously though, this vigilante “justice” should not be celebrated. Yes, we need to take child predators off the streets, but there is a process for that. Denying anyone due process opens the door to denying it to everyone.

      • Devmapall@lemm.ee
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        2 days ago

        I wish that article had more information on how the framed person proved their innocence. It’s probably boring but he must have felt like he was taking crazy pills when he was framed.

        • greenwood@midwest.social
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          Here is more info:

          “Barry Ardolf, a Minnesota hacker prosecutors described as a ‘depraved criminal,’ has been handed an 18-year prison term for unleashing a vendetta of cyberterror that turned his neighbors’ lives into a living nightmare. Ardolf hacked into his next-door neighbors’ Wi-Fi network and used it to try and frame them for child pornography, sexual harassment, various kinds of professional misconduct, and to send threatening e-mail to politicians, including Vice President Joe Biden. The bizarre tale began in 2009 when Matt and Bethany Kostolnik moved into the house next door to Ardolf. On their first day at their new home, the Kostolnik’s then-4-year-old son wandered near Ardolf’s house. While carrying him back next door, Ardolf allegedly kissed the boy on the lips. ‘We’ve just moved next door to a pedophile,’ Mrs. Kostolnik told her husband. The couple reported Ardolf to the police, angering their creepy new neighbor (PDF). ‘I decided to “get even” by launching computer attacks against him,’ said Ardolf, who downloaded Wi-Fi hacking software and spent two weeks cracking the Kostolnik’s WEP encryption. Then he used their own Wi-Fi network to create a fake MySpace page for the husband, where he posted a picture of a pubescent girl having sex with two young boys. Ardolf turned down a 2-year plea agreement last year to charges related to the Biden e-mail. After that, the authorities piled on more charges, including identity theft and two kiddie-porn accusations carrying lifetime sex-offender registration requirements.”

          https://it.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/0445224/the-wi-fi-hacking-neighbor-from-hell

      • Ledericas@lemm.ee
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        23 hours ago

        It was also an episode of CSI Miami, where a dude targeted “pedo” by planting a virus that quickly put CPnon the computer. Since the original guy did this he was arrested for Distribution of CP and was responsible for the murder by inciting a mod to attack him. The pedo that got unintentionally sent CP was then targeted by a mob, and murdered.

    • HighFructoseLowStand@lemm.ee
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      I’d say it’s also a problem that the sort of people who use the Internet to find people to beat up are idiots, so even if they aren’t going out of their way to victimize minorities, odds are they’ll just beat up some random person.

      • Ledericas@lemm.ee
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        23 hours ago

        Don’t they already do that? Them getting attacked isn’t getting in a court conviction anytime soon, because it will be disregarded evidence, and it was done with prejudice too

    • Shardikprime@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      Do people read this and fail to realize that the “calling everyone I disagree with is a Nazi” rhetoric is the exact same thing? Yes, they do

      • WhatsTheHoldup@lemmy.ml
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        1 day ago

        Do people read this and fail to realize that the “calling everyone I disagree with is a Nazi” rhetoric is the exact same thing?

        Like how Elon can do a full Nazi salute multiple times but then throw out some rhetoric about how “they call everyone Nazis” and everyone just buys it?

        Yeah I can see how they’re similar.

          • WhatsTheHoldup@lemmy.ml
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            22 hours ago

            I don’t think that’s true. Half of his kids have disowned him. He has a trans child he says was “killed by wokeness” who hates his guts.

            • Krauerking@lemy.lol
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              18 hours ago

              Yeah, got to go up the line of ancestry I guess to find all his nazi supporting family.

      • Croquette@sh.itjust.works
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        1 day ago

        Who are you targeting with that message? Because what’s going on with the current US admin is straight out of the nazi playbook.

        It feels like you are trying to get validation for your position.

        • CarnivorousCouch@lemmy.world
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          But if you saw where this was going and said it too early, this perspective means you’re responsible for people not taking you seriously now!

        • RowRowRowYourBot@sh.itjust.works
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          1 day ago

          The Nazis were fascists that looked to create a 1000 year reich and believed the destiny was to birth the master race. Trump et al are not doing this which means they are a different kind of fascist than Nazis. That doesn’t make it better much like being shot with a .308 instead of a .44 caliber round isn’t “better” it just makes it a different kind of harm.

          • Croquette@sh.itjust.works
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            1 day ago

            I’d say that the nazi salute on live tv sealed the deal.

            If it looks like a Nazi and squeak like a Nazi, it’s a fucking Nazi.

            • RowRowRowYourBot@sh.itjust.works
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              1 day ago

              From my reply to another

              "Ok? How does that change my statement that they are a different kind of fascist? Keep in mind my point is entirely focused on the ideology part of the political ideology whereas you are talking about a salute. How does an arm motion change the policy goals which aren’t the same as what Nazis support? What policy goal can you derive from an arm motion to begin with?

              They are still evil they are just a different kind of evil. Not all fascists are nazis. The fact that one guy did a nazi salute twice doesn’t change project 2025 into something that Nazis would support."

              • Senal@programming.dev
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                1 day ago

                Taxonomy.

                • A cat is [animal]
                • A dog is an [animal]

                The nazi’s did such a good job of distinguishing themselves they created their own (colloquial) taxonomic branch.

                So [nazi] could be considered a parent grouping of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party and also potentially a parent grouping for the republicans.

                I think they key here is separating the nazi party from the [nazi] category

                As you pointed out all [nazi]'s are [fascist]'s but not all [fascist]'s are [nazi]'s

                • National Socialist German Workers’ Party were [nazi]'s
                • The American Republican Party are subjectively showing enough similarities (both in type and progression) that they get the provisional label of [nazi] as it’s the closest existing definition.

                Might turn out that they don’t quite fall in the same branch, might turn out they do. Until then [nazi] is an easy shortcut for describing the types of behaviour displayed.

                Even if they were just a direct descendent ( taxonomically ) rather than a sibling of the original nazi party there would still be an argument to claim they were nazi’s

                Like :

                • animal -> mammal -> cat
                • nazi -> nazi party -> republican

                Come back in a few years and you’ll probably get your definitive answer either way.

                You don’t have to agree with any of that of course, but it does demonstrate how someone might have an opposing opinion to your own.

            • RowRowRowYourBot@sh.itjust.works
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              Ok? How does that change my statement that they are a different kind of fascist? Keep in mind my point is entirely focused on the ideology part of the political ideology whereas you are talking about a salute. How does an arm motion change the policy goals which aren’t the same as what Nazis support? What policy goal can you derive from an arm motion to begin with?

              They are still evil they are just a different kind of evil. Not all fascists are nazis. The fact that one guy did a nazi salute twice doesn’t change project 2025,

              • Excrubulent@slrpnk.net
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                That’s an extremely narrow point that isn’t worth bothering with, because nobody is confused about what you mean when you call them “nazis”.

                Also it’s not one guy doing a zeig heil, it’s become a trend amongst them now. They have invited the comparison openly, and anybody getting all pissy about “you just call everything you don’t like nazi” is just a crybully who’s deliberately wasting your time. At this point anybody turned off of your cause by your use of the word “nazi” isn’t your ally in the first place.

                Like sure they’re not exactly the same as the NSDAP, but the category still applies, and it’s not worth anybody’s time splitting hairs over the exact nature of the type of fascism they have, because “nazi” does the job and again, nobody is confused by it, because the original nazis are all resting in piss.

                Do you have any argument as to why this matters, in any way, at all?

                • RowRowRowYourBot@sh.itjust.works
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                  22 hours ago

                  Do you have any argument as to why this matters, in any way, at all?

                  the majority of the population doesn’t identify this as being nazism. If you are looking to get more people backing your cause you cannot alienate them by appearing to be reactionary or uneducated.

      • chetradley@lemm.ee
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        1 day ago

        Are you accusing me of being alarmist after I provided sources for the things that are actually going on?

      • nomy@lemmy.zip
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        See the problem is people see the word “Nazi” and (for some convenient reason) think people are literally talking about a card carrying member of the NSDAP, which obviously doesn’t exist after 1945.

        Substitute “fascist authoritarian” for “Nazi” in more modern contexts and it makes more sense.