(no subject)

[salinea]

Someone on a board I frequent has linked to this : http://www.lightamillioncandles.com/

Given that I've got those post-traumatic Warriors For Innocence flashbacks I can't help wincing everytime someone reports signing the petition. Do you think this organization has any kind of legit credential beyond pretty graphics? It's an online petition so anyway I doubt it's going to be much effective, but I'd feel bad if it managed to collect many signatures and then use it for a kind of extreme right platform like WfI apparently do.

Comments

[alighiera.livejournal.com]

I can't imagine they're possibly legal. No information towards who they are, for one, no actual organization name...

[etrangere.livejournal.com]

They're very low on information, aren't they? I thought that might mean bad news.

[alighiera.livejournal.com]

A site like that sets of all my alarms when it comes to credibility. Any legal organizations have to publicise contact information on their homepage; if this is a sincere private organization they'd be affiliated with someone.

If it weren't for that TV spot they claim to have, I'd suspect them of being a spammer's way of collecting email addresses. Very, very fishy.

[xraytheenforcer.livejournal.com]

I already commented, but no, I don't think those are useful or helpful. and the politics of those particular groups can be really skeezy.

[etrangere.livejournal.com]

Yeah thank you for that.

The skeazy politics behind was one of the thing worrying me, especially when I see many people signing without realizing how their signature might get used.

[eefster.livejournal.com]

Honestly, the only reason I "lit" a candle was precisely because I could do so without submitting any personal information. I agree that there are other things that need attention first, and that I'd want a lot more information on how my name was going to be used before I submitted it to a petition site.

Having said that, I do think that reducing the amount of child pornography (by which I mean images of actual children) is still a good goal, and worth the 30 seconds it took me to click on a candle and bump that thread.

[etrangere.livejournal.com]

I guess the problem is they don't give you any informations indeed, even if you didn't give your personnal information, nor did they tell you how they define child pornography, yet they're still using you as a number to up their count.

Sur it's a worthy endeavour. I definitly totally agree with that. Finding, say, an organ gift for a sick little girl like you find in those chain mails people keep forwarding regardless of how useful it might be is also a worthy endeavour. Do you forward those chain mails?. I don't really see the difference here only that the petition could possibly be used in one way or another. Because I've recently seen a pattern of specifically people claiming to fight pedophilia who end up hurting other people and promoting anti-gay and extreme right agenda, I'm suspicious. The fact they don't give any real information about their goals and credentials my suspicions get reinforced.
Of course it doesn't take a long time to click on a candle, that doesn't mean you shouldn't think before you do so.

[eefster.livejournal.com]

I don't forward those; I didn't forward this either. I did register as an organ donor (well, registered anew, as I was previously registered in CA), and I clicked on a candle.

I understand your suspicions. Hell, I even share some (most) of them. Please don't insinuate that all of us who clicked didn't think first, though.

[etrangere.livejournal.com]

Okay. Then sorry for insinuating that you people who clicked didn't think first. I still don't understand why you did it. But I'm probably thinking too much about this.

[the-corbie.livejournal.com]

I had some of the same reactions, which is why I didn't click the link. I mean, it just feels wrong. Why would anyone need a petition to demonstrate that people feel child pornography is wrong? Is there some sort of moral debate around the issue? No. Are the people who create or consume child porn going to pay it any heed? No. Do lawmakers ignore the issue? No.

So what's this trying to achieve? I'm highly suspicious.

[etrangere.livejournal.com]

I'm glad I'm not the only one :)