this is officially the dumbest thing I’ve seen in a month.
Yearbook Blacks Out Kids’ Eyes for Fear of Porn Potential – ParentDish
What would you do if you got your kids’ yearbook and all the eyes had been blacked out with magic marker?
Personally, I’d try to wake up. But at a school in England, the principal is very much awake and behind this whole thing. Apparently, she was so worried someone might cut out the kids’ faces, paste them on child porn pictures and post them on the Internet — yes, that’s really her concern — that she ordered the teachers to manually black out all the children’ eyes.
Let’s pause for a second to consider how lovely an illustration this is of what I call “Worst-First” thinking. That is, thinking up the worst, most perverse explanation for something first, instead of assuming a less dramatic, but far more likely, rationale.
thnidu
Have any of the parents told this moron, “That’s not what we paid for. Money back… AND reprint them, and let US decide what to do with them.”
Or how about putting the portrait of the principal on a “Stupid but True” site?
Here’s the story. And here’s the headmistress, Vicky Parsey.
And here’s where I’ve added it to a “Stupid but true!” thread.
keristor
Note: this story is from the Daily Mail, a tabloid. I can’t find any other source which isn’t derived from that paper (if you can, please let me know).
So while it may be true (and gods know people have done weirder things in the name of “protecting the children”, including arresting parents for taking a snap of their kid nude in a paddling pool and taking the film to be developed) treat it with a pinch of salt.
demoneyes
And thank goodness such stupidity is not universal -- our kid’s school makes no such prohibition on taking pictures or videos at concerts, assemblies, nativities, sportsday etc.
epi_lj
Wtf? Even if that weren’t insane, why would blacking out the eyes prevent anyone from doing that?
anaisdjuna
Sounds like someone is having a mental break. I think it’s an awesome example of the folly of “I was just following orders” that the other folks actually complied with this. Right up there with the TSA being allowed to sexually assault every airport traveler because the TSA can’t think of any better ideas than to go ahead and weaponize themselves to terrorize Americans.
dan_ad_nauseam
Actually, what we have here is an overreaction to a legitimate problem. It’s generally not illegal to paste children’s faces on adult nudes. (As for pasting them on child porn, it’s the child porn that’s illegal.)