Friday, November 13, 2009
Sexting and Legal Realism
Sexting and Legal Realism has been discussed on this blog for the past week or so, but I think the subject of why these girls or guys send these pictures needs to be breached. A legal realist would say that these kids have only have a legal duty to follow these laws if they feel that they will be made to suffer by the judgment of the courts. I think that the kids that send these pictures feel as though there is no way the courts are going to punish them for sending a picture of themselves to their boyfriend/girlfriend. This is because these laws are so new and are just now become prevalent in the media that kids are just now finding out about them. Think about it, in high school we knew the basics about the law, don't hurt, don't steal, and the speed limit. That's all we needed to know to get by, but now with our classes and more exposure to the outside world we have become aware of many more laws and the legal system itself. The kids sending these pictures have no idea that its a crime, a felony in some cases, and this is why they do it. They do not believe that there will be a judgment by the courts that makes them suffer. They worse that they think can happen is that the picture could possible get out to people who were not supposed to have it and they would be embarrassed.
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It is true that realists are concerned about how people behave due to ignorance about the law and that this issue might be an example of a kind of ignorant behavior.
ReplyDeleteAssuming that is the case, would a realist support upholding laws prohibiting sexting and on what grounds?
Are there any legitimate non-realist (i.e. natural law or positivist) grounds for wanting to restrict this practice?
I completely agree that I think that kids do it because they don't either because they don't believe it is a crime or that they don't realize they can get punished for it. I for one, didn't even think about it until I started to read about it in the newspapers. It makes sense to me, being naked is fun and adventurous and the cell phone technology is one great way to exploit this and have fun. The internet is a also a great way where this fun can turn downhill very quickly because these pictures can get out to the public at exponential speeds.
ReplyDeleteRealists might support upholding laws prohibiting sexting because they want to better the community. Limiting sexting might limit promiscuous behaviors and encourage better community behaviors. A natural law theorist might want to limit sexting because it is "wrong" to text sexual images of oneself to another person. A positivist follows the law that a minor shouldn't engage in sex with an adult. Therefore, it would follow that texting a sexual image of a minor is wrong.
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