Re: Woke up Free but Branded by his Fans Too?

["L. Bird" <pkeets@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Okay, I have just slogged through sixty some messages jammed into my inbox.  
Thank you again to Jim for the voice of reason.  I suspect that what's going 
on here is something similar to what happens to kids that get into trouble.  
The parents' first reaction is relief, and then to really light into the kid 
for screwing up.  I hope everyone has blown off the accumulated steam.  :)

I've made a few comments, but here's my clinical analysis:

First, it should be no surprise that Pete actually paid to access this site. 
 This was something that's been highly probable all along, and folks have 
been hanging on to a slim hope that Pete's credit card was only used to 
verify age.  I actually read one article last winter that told how much the 
entry price to this site was, though I foget now.  $5.95?  However, as it 
was uncorroborated, I've not made a big thing about repeating it.  I did 
think I had mentioned it here.

Next, why does Pete owe his fans an apology?  What, exactly, has he done to 
the fans?  Betrayed their trust?  When has he ever asked for it?  Pete has 
been fairly clear that he's an alcoholic drug addict with serious emotional 
issues.  In other words, he's a f*ck up, but he always tries to do better.  
On this same subject, Pete has already apologized in a public statement, 
though again I forget the details of where and when.  (Too many articles to 
keep up with.)

Forget the abject apologies; they will only make him look weak and whiny.  
His statement to the press struck the right note--coming out against child 
porn.  The post on his website was a more intimate request for 
understanding, and look at the response.  Tsk, tsk.  ;)  This is something 
Pete will have to deal with in interviews from now on.  I don't know his 
reasons for accessing the site, but if they're strong ones, I'd be tempted 
to say he should stick to his guns and insist that (though it was morally 
wrong) he felt he was justified in seeking after this as one of life's great 
truths.  On camera, this should be stated with some emotion, and followed by 
a tirade against VISA and MasterCard (plus other economic interests) and the 
attitudes that prevent actually fighting against the problem.

Now, about what he actually paid for:  As I understand the description of 
the site, it was a gateway.  In other words, it was set up like a shopping 
mall.  There was an entry fee to get in the door, and then lots of little 
shops set up inside with porn for sale.  Pete said that he used his credit 
card to get in, but only looked at the sites/shops from the outside and 
didn't pay to download anything.  So, Pete has paid the owner of the mall, 
but has not paid any of the pornographers.  This is a quibble, but it's 
questionable whether you can connect this payment directly with encouraging 
demand for child porn.  This kind of arrangement is fairly common on the 
Internet, and Yahoo has a ton of shops.  Would paying Yahoo a fee to look at 
a groups of exclusive shops be the same as supporting the shops?  Maybe.  
Will any of them get money from the entry fee.  No.


keets


> >What the fuck do you want from him?
>
> I neglected to answer this question.
> I may have with "an apology", but that's not all of it.
> I'm pissed at Pete.
> I'm pissed that he did this.
> I don't understand the rationale.
> I'm pissed he's on a sex offenders list.
> I'm pissed his career is tarnished.
> I'm pissed he or The Who may not be able to travel to the US to play.
> I'm pissed The Who's reputation is being tarnished.
> I'm pissed at the whole damn thing, and I really don't *know* what I want
> "from him".
>
> But, an apology to us and the rest of society for crossing that line would
> be a good start.
>
> And I tell ya, in defense of my Burger King "whopper" statement, if my 
> kid's
> picture were on that web site that a person paid to see, I'd want to go
> after the guy (sue) who paid the criminals money, who paid money to see my
> kid on that site.
>
> That's not such an unreasonable "whopper" of a sentiment.
> I think it's this situation that's a whopper.
> But then, it wasn't me who caused this situation.
>
> Kevin in VT
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