# Dad called a perv for photographing his own kid **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 7, 2009, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dad-called-a-perv-for-photographing-his-own-kid/509180 "2009-09-07T19:02:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dad-called-a-perv-for-photographing-his-own-kid/509180/21 "2009-09-08T03:25:07Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > Good thing too. Cut their family role to being dispensers of money, swats and fear, freeing them up for their proper calling of defending America from its socialfascist Black Russian healthcareitarians. Oh, surely not black… ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dad-called-a-perv-for-photographing-his-own-kid/509180/22 "2009-09-08T03:35:48Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > That is really fucked up. Wow. Is it even true? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dad-called-a-perv-for-photographing-his-own-kid/509180/23 "2009-09-08T04:17:21Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Is it even true? I’ve heard it in the past; no cite since it wasn’t online and my google skills fail me at finding anything that specific; various stuff about false accusations of pedophilia in general though. Apropos of nothing but amusing : I found a mention of a man who was visited by Social Services after being accused of “fondling” a three year old named Greta. Turned out Greta was a dog. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dad-called-a-perv-for-photographing-his-own-kid/509180/24 "2009-09-08T05:42:37Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > 😕 What does this mean? What it means is that some people think the person doing the accusing, like the woman complaining in this story, only see the man as the pervert because they themselves are perverts. What this phrase means is that is not the case, the woman is merely stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dad-called-a-perv-for-photographing-his-own-kid/509180/25 "2009-09-08T05:46:28Z")
> [@wierdaaron](#): > > This is a pretty common occurrence these days Really? What exactly do you mean by “common” here? IOW, cite? ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dad-called-a-perv-for-photographing-his-own-kid/509180/26 "2009-09-08T05:46:38Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > What it means is that some people think the person doing the accusing, like the woman complaining in this story, only see the man as the pervert because they themselves are perverts. > What this phrase means is that is not the case, the woman is merely stupid. That’s what I figured, too. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dad-called-a-perv-for-photographing-his-own-kid/509180/27 "2009-09-08T05:47:56Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > I’m not surprised. I understand that **it’s common for women considering a divorce to photograph their husband bathing the kids so they can threaten him with an accusation of pedophilia** in order to get a better settlement. Men are simply assumed to all be sexual predators these days. I’m surprised, at you of all posters. Sorry, but what do you mean by “common” here? IOW, cite? ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dad-called-a-perv-for-photographing-his-own-kid/509180/28 "2009-09-08T06:54:27Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I think it’s one of those pseudo-snob jokes: “If you don’t know what I’m talking about, then you’re one of the people I’m talking about.” No, it’s not intended to convey that at all. Referential thinking is what most people refer to as ‘paranoia.’ It means interpreting somebody’s behavior as being directed towards you, when in fact it has absolutely nothing to do with you. Or to put it another way, it can be described as interpreting a person’s motivations to be something other than they ostensibly appear to be. Everybody does it once in a while, but we usually check ourselves and realize that we’re being irrational. It only becomes pathological when the interpretation is a patently absurd one. For example, we’ve all been in a situation where somebody has said to us something like “those two people over there are talking about me,” when in fact there is no real reason to assume that they are. That’s not pathological; it’s just something that unsophisticated people tend to do a lot. It would be pathological if that person said something like “those two people over there are talking about drugging me and stealing one of my organs.” ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dad-called-a-perv-for-photographing-his-own-kid/509180/29 "2009-09-08T07:43:04Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I think it’s one of those pseudo-snob jokes: “If you don’t know what I’m talking about, then you’re one of the people I’m talking about.” No, that can’t be it, because I have no idea what the joke means. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dad-called-a-perv-for-photographing-his-own-kid/509180/30 "2009-09-08T08:05:36Z")
> [@Washoe](#): > > He told me that nonpathological referential thought processes are usually just an indication of low intelligence. > [@Isamu](#): > > 😕 What does this mean? In English For Non Psychologists “on people who aren’t nuts, insisting on grabbing any knife by the sharp end indicates idiocy.” ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dad-called-a-perv-for-photographing-his-own-kid/509180/31 "2009-09-08T08:07:31Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > No, that can’t be it, because I have no idea what the joke means. Well, it appears my interpretation was wrong, though even after an explanation I don’t understand it, either. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dad-called-a-perv-for-photographing-his-own-kid/509180/32 "2009-09-08T08:41:01Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > What an age we live in. I know a lot of guys here have complained about being afraid to help a lost kid out of fear of being branded a pedophile and a lot of times I can’t help but wonder, isn’t that a bit paranoid? But someone called a perv just for taking some family photographs? I think we know who the real pervs were in this situation. You have no idea. I’ve told this story already, but I’ve once been asked to leave a public park for lazily watching children play with a dreamy smile on my face. Cause, you know, kids are kinda cool. A helicopter mom asked the park cop to get rid of me, which he promptly did (he did have the decency to first ask whether I was there with a brother, sister or kid of mine. I wasn’t. Out, out, you sleazy perv !) What fearful times we live in. And the worst thing is, I don’t live in some Fox News-addict hick town in the middle of the Bible belt or something. This is Paris. City of lights and enlightenment. Well, folks, the bulb’s gone dim. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dad-called-a-perv-for-photographing-his-own-kid/509180/33 "2009-09-08T08:42:56Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > When Gary Crutchley started taking pictures of his children playing on an inflatable slide he thought they would be happy reminders of a family day out. > > But the innocent snaps of seven-year-old Cory, and Miles, five, led to him being called a ‘pervert’. All I can say is that thank goodness he wasn’t caught in [Brazil](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8240989.stm) > [@](#): > > There is growing controversy in Brazil over the arrest of an Italian tourist held after kissing his eight-year-old daughter in public. He was reported to the police by a Brazilian couple who claimed he had been touching a young girl inappropriately and had kissed her on the mouth while they were both at a swimming pool close to the beach in full view of other tourists. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dad-called-a-perv-for-photographing-his-own-kid/509180/34 "2009-09-08T10:11:31Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > You have no idea. I’ve told this story already, but I’ve once been asked to leave a public park for lazily watching children play with a dreamy smile on my face. Cause, you know, kids are kinda cool. > A helicopter mom asked the park cop to get rid of me, which he promptly did (he did have the decency to first ask whether I was there with a brother, sister or kid of mine. I wasn’t. Out, out, you sleazy perv !) > > What fearful times we live in. And the worst thing is, I don’t live in some Fox News-addict hick town in the middle of the Bible belt or something. This is Paris. City of lights and enlightenment. Well, folks, the bulb’s gone dim. That sucks. I was on vacation with friends (a couple with two kids) one time and we were all out swimming in the hotel pool. I took a break and went over to our lounge chairs, messed around with a book for a while and then took out my video camera and started filming my friends’ two kids playing in the pool together. After a few minutes I realize - hey, they’re not my friends’ kids. :eek: ☹ _Looks around quickly and hides camera_ Luckily no one saw, or cared. It would have been tough to explain that one. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dad-called-a-perv-for-photographing-his-own-kid/509180/35 "2009-09-08T10:32:50Z")
What the fuck. The fact that the guy kept his cool (somewhat) is part of the problem. If he’d have gone berserk and terrified the nosy fucker who’d made the accusation (and let’s be clear, being accused of being a paedophile is literally _the_ worst accusation that can be made against a man; even the hint of being a sex criminal can ruin a man’s life), then shit like this would stop pretty damned fast. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dad-called-a-perv-for-photographing-his-own-kid/509180/36 "2009-09-08T13:19:56Z")
the world is full of people that get offended on behalf of a third party. Whether or not that thrid party is offended is besides the point. Gahhhhh. ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dad-called-a-perv-for-photographing-his-own-kid/509180/37 "2009-09-08T13:28:03Z")
Who needs a [jump to conclusions mat](http://www.thinkgeek.com/books/humor/8e6c/images/2070/)… we already do that as a society, don’t we? ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dad-called-a-perv-for-photographing-his-own-kid/509180/38 "2009-09-08T14:03:14Z")
> [@](#): > > One even accused him of photographing youngsters to put the pictures on the internet. Well, that puts it all into context then, doesn’t it? I mean, once the your kids pictures are on the internet, it’s only a matter of hours before the pedophiles are lined up outside your door… ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dad-called-a-perv-for-photographing-his-own-kid/509180/39 "2009-09-08T14:12:25Z")
Several years ago, the local paper printed a letter from a woman who called the police over a man taking pictures in a local park. She ended the letter with a warning to everyone to watch out for men with cameras.:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dad-called-a-perv-for-photographing-his-own-kid/509180/40 "2009-09-08T14:31:23Z")
This is what we get after the fear-mongers and demagogues have diligently taught us all to be afraid of _everything_. Terrorists under the bed, pervs in the park, viruses in our computers, ideas in our heads. We lose the ability to distinguish betweeen real threats and harmless events. Who was it who said, “There is nothing to fear but fear itself?” The fearmongers are traitors to the people. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dad-called-a-perv-for-photographing-his-own-kid/509180.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dad-called-a-perv-for-photographing-his-own-kid/509180.md?page=3)