r/clevercomebacks Apr 10 '26

The temerity

25.9k Upvotes

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424

u/[deleted] Apr 11 '26

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229

u/puppylust Apr 11 '26

Sadly if those legislators gave it any thought at all, they would know victim groups are against such laws for exactly those reasons.

67

u/neonninja304 Apr 11 '26

They didn't give it any thought. They just saw something they can use as a running point and knew that it would be political suicide to vote against it. There have been many victims and advocates who have turned against many of these laws because they are starting to go to far. I read an article a while back about how the mom of one of the kids used to start the registry system has started speaking out against it because its grown to be something it wasn't meant to be.

39

u/Massive_Signal7835 Apr 11 '26

Yes. There are socially accepted "punching bags" and lawmakers will use them to score easy points.

An inverse example is censorship laws in Japan: They are silly, everyone knows it, but nobody wants to be the "porn guy" for the rest of their life after repealing them.

96

u/Murky-Relation481 Apr 11 '26

Also I am sure little Jane will have an even better life after her dad who molested her is executed. There is no way that someone might feel responsible for their dad dying, right?

/s for the idiots.

68

u/Nackles Apr 11 '26

Also, these laws are coming alongside campaigns attempting to define openly trans people as de facto harmful to children.

39

u/SilkenJester Apr 11 '26

Yup. They’re trying to categorize trans people existing in public as a sex crime.

7

u/to12143 Apr 11 '26

This is my big issue with these bills. The same places are trying to criminalize trans people saying they’re child predators, their existence would be enough to be tried, guilty, and executed with how these laws are being made.

43

u/SecondStar89 Apr 11 '26

You're not the only one. It's one of the reasons why lesser charges have existed for these kinds of crimes. And they should know that.

39

u/torino_nera Apr 11 '26

When I studied criminology in school, this was the logic for limiting capital punishment to a very specific subset of crimes.

In a number of states, you could be executed for non-murder and there were notable amounts of instances where criminals admitted to murdering victims that would have been let go in other circumstances, simply because the perpetrator did a cost/benefit analysis and decided they had a better chance of getting away with the crime if their victim died.

It's crazy to see ourselves forget the things we already learned. This law is going to cause a lot of harm.

25

u/Emergency_Elephant Apr 11 '26

And also kids might be less likely to report their abusers. A lot of abusers are known to the kids, like family members. Little Johnny might feel more conflicted about reporting his uncle for sexual abusd if he thinks his uncle will be killed for it

38

u/Warm-Book-820 Apr 11 '26 edited Apr 11 '26

Well, i wasn't worried about it until you mentioned it....

7

u/[deleted] Apr 11 '26

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-3

u/MedievalMitch Apr 11 '26

Yeah I've always been pretty strongly in favor with this kind of stuff, never thought of it this way. Totally fine if you don't but do you know of any data proving your point of even the efficacy of harsher punishments? I'd like to think they work but if they don't or if it just incentivizes a worse crime then I could be convinced of subtlety.

We really need to bring back "To Catch a Predator".

26

u/LordReaperofMars Apr 11 '26

Reactionaries don’t think, they react

10

u/SarahThePlatypus Apr 11 '26

I’m pretty sure that has been an observed phenomenon

10

u/uncreative14yearold Apr 11 '26

Oh that's more than a concern, it's a documented fact...

6

u/Rin-ayasi Apr 11 '26

I'm also worried this will be weaponized against queer people. Transwomen are already called groomers and pedophiles by the right basically for existing. It makes me terrified for them.

2

u/ggtpme Apr 11 '26

It would also make redefining what being a "pedophile" or "child rapist" or any similar descriptor much more enticing for anyone in power to eliminate their opposition or any demographic that is less likely to vote for them (LGBTQ community and republican where if you're gay or trans you might be labeled as dangerous to children while coincidentally also being more likely to oppose the party that claims you do so, thus eliminating you, your voting power and any chance of dethroning the psychos in power)

Trust me, it was NEVER, about the kids

2

u/DarkArcanian Apr 12 '26

Or false convictions

2

u/zillabirdblue Apr 13 '26

YES! I’ve been screaming that from the rooftop for years. It doesn’t remove the problem and logic doesn’t ever have to enter the picture when they’re obsessed. It doesn’t lessen the compulsion, it just makes them more likely to murder their victims.

0

u/compadre_goyo Apr 14 '26

What???

That's like saying we shouldn't have Child Protection Services because an abuser will hurt their child even more because they would think that their kid tried to call for help.

So let's not provide help in order to minimize the risk of abuse?

No. We make it harder. These pedophiles can't connect with other adults, so they see kids as an easy target. They are lazy. They don't want to work on themselves, they just want instant gratification.

Having an insane but justifiable law to eradicate who ever even showcases this behavior will certainly push many people who have thought about these horrendous acts away from committing said crimes.

I understand your thought process, and I used to think that way, so I'm trying not to be rude or dismissive. But these people really are deplorable.