Who's the Predator?

I had the misfortune of watching Dateline NBC's "To Catch a Predator" last night. Now, I understand the importance of deterring adults from having sex with children; I wouldn't in a million years condone that behavior. But this Dateline show is completely over the top.

I'd like to see the statistics for how often 13-year old girls invite 55-year old men to their empty house for sexual exploration. I mean, really. Does this actually happen in real life? I'm clearly not an expert on this topic, but it seems as though most child molestation cases involve UNWILLING victims. I appreciate that by definition, "prey" implies someone that is defenseless against an attacker, but I don't believe that defenseless prey actually encourage their predators. Case in point: The bunnies in my back yard NEVER invite Casey under the shed for an exploratory romp. Ever.

And by the way--I hope NBC is funding all of the police overtime for this crap. Does it REALLY take 10 armed policemen in SWAT outfits and sophisticated surveillance equipment to apprehend an overweight, middle-aged computer technician with a hard-on? Do they REALLY need to throw them to the ground as they're bursting into tears? I concede that these guys are idiots, and they shouldn't have been doing what they were doing, but the unnecessary drama is completely distasteful.

In my opinion, the REAL predators are NBC and the advertisers that profit from overly-dramatized, completely contrived tales of illicit sex with post-pubescent teens and mix it with the public's fascination with watching embarrassing and uncomfortable situations. THAT is the ultimate entrapment.

Shame on the men that accepted an invitation for sex from a slutty little teenager. But most of all, shame on you, NBC. You make me want to puke.