Oopsies!

[quamp]

Story here

MIDDLETOWN, N.J. - Children here got more than they bargained for when they tuned in to "Handy Manny" on the Disney Channel this week — hard-core pornography.

Gives new meaning to the term "handy," doesn't it?

Comcast spokesman Fred DeAndrea confirmed that the programming error occurred around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. He declined to provide the duration of the porn broadcast but described it as an "isolated issue in a local New Jersey facility."

Well, that does explain things...

I have to wonder how this will affect the kids...

"Daddy, what kind of cat are they talking about when they say pussy?"

[Leonhart29]

I'm never so glad that I don't live in New Jersey. My kids probably would have asked me what each position was called and where could they get a job like that. That would have been my luck - not that I actually think that would happen. I see law suites in abundance.

[StoryJunkie]

sick

[Leonhart29]

I happen to agree with you. It's one thing for a semi-mature mind to watch hard core - but it just fucks up a kids brain. I keep thinking of a serial killer.

[Guest Alien Pirate Pixagi]

I happen to agree with you. It's one thing for a semi-mature mind to watch hard core - but it just fucks up a kids brain. I keep thinking of a serial killer.

It doesn't mess with their brains outright, but will likely fuck them up later in life if they're parents do nothing to correct whatever views of sex and relationships they may have picked up from watching that. Quite a few of my friends were taught about sex via hardcore porn at a young age (8 and below) when they asked they're older brothers. Let me tell you, it explains a lot.

For a young child to get their earliest views of sex from something like that, it's likely to mess with them developmentaly, considering most porn has such a skewed view of women and sex in general. A lot of kids who learn about sex that way grow a very fucked up idea about sex and relationships in general, and seem to be the most likely to get trapped in a shitty relationship, get pregnant, an/or use people left and right.

Luckily for these kids, their parents seemed to be aware enough to realize what their children were watching and will be able to easily correct whatever damage has been done. Of course, this is only for the kids who's parents were indeed aware. Then there's the kids who's parents who, even in light of this situation, will say very little and leave it at that.

[EveKnight75]

US cable company red-faced over blue movie

This is an updated article on the incident, also from Yahoo!. My favorite quotes are these:

"I couldn't believe it. We try to do the right thing to protect our kids from this stuff, and then they broadcast it on children's TV."

"I try to protect my kids from a lot of things, but I wouldn't have thought Disney would become one of them."

If you watch a typical Disney movie, you'll see that the majority of the animated classics are based on sexually disturbing tales. However, it's disguised well enough that a child wouldn't be able to pick up on it, so I wouldn't say that they warp the mind (much). You might experience a brief shock in adulthood when the subtext hits you, but by then you're mature enough to handle it.

That being said, kudos to Mr. Dunleavy. He tries his best to be a good parent in terms of assessing media, and that's important. Parents should at least be able to take a breather when they tune in to a kids' channel.

Personally, if I want to associate Wilmer Valderrama with porn, I'll watch That 70s Show, thank you very much. If I want to go further, I'll see what I can do about getting my hands on his interview with Howard Stern, where he talks about how huge his penis is.

One last thing: I'm just surprised that they didn't use a stupid excuse such as "Playboy, Playhouse. It's an easy mistake to make!"

[Guest Yhitzak]

Just like the article about the teacher who let porn pop-ups flash across her computer screen all day, this article says absolutely nothing about the actual incident other than that it happened. How long was this programming error? No one knows, according to the article, or at least they won't say. How many people were exposed to it? Doesn't say. Shit happens, and especially where humans and electronics are concerned. I'm only surprised that this sort of thing doesn't happen more regularly. And the fact that it happened in New Jersey really is coincidental; it could have happened *anywhere*.

And as for all of this, "Porn will fuck up a kid's mind," crap, think a little bit before jumping to conclusions. If every child who witnessed a scene of pornography became a serial killer, 90% of the population would be incarcerated, hunted by the police, or murder would just be a matter of course. Those parents who allow their children to be raised by the television deserve to have the mindless automatons that result from such a lack of interaction. Here's a wild idea: turn off the idiot-box and *talk* to your kids about sex! Above and beyond that, if we're talking about a program whose target audience is toddlers, it should be simple enough to just change the channel and when your kid asks what was happening on the screen, make something up. It's not that hard and chances are good that your kids won't remember the lie until they're going through puberty, anyway. By that time, they will have had whole other incidents to warp them. Contrary to popular belief, making up little white lies to protect your kids isn't a form of abuse. Case in point: pornography on TV.

[Leonhart29]

I do talk to my kids about sex... and if they happen to come across something (which they have) I make sure that any questions are answered. Now - as a mother of two very inquisitive girls I know just how smart toddlers can be. For the most part they know intuitively that what is happening on the screen is something really interesting - or that Mommy and Daddy do that every once in a while. The whole serial killer comment? That should have been explained a bit better. I was thinking more along the lines of a parent trying to undo the damage that was "done" in the wrong way. Instilling thoughts of how "wrong" it was or that it was "nasty"... frankly that is what I meant about fucking up a kid's mind. I have one parent who's a complete prude and one who's pretty open about things. I pattern myself after my father and his "let's explain this for your age level" approach and not my mother's "all things dealing with sexuality are evil" approach. I'll repeat this because I believe it whole heartedly. There is nothing wrong with porn as long as you have the maturity to deal with it. Now admittedly there are quite a few adults out there that don't have the maturity... and unfortunately those are the people who instill in kids the nasty feelings about sex.

[NinjaGaijin]

A similar event happened here recently. A bookstore and the local branch of WWF (the environmental organization) invited schoolchildren and their parents to see a movie about environmental problems. The operator, an employee of the bookstore, plays the film from his/her* laptop. (*don't know the gender, sorry).

And the children were accidentally shown a porn movie. Apparently it plays for quite some time until some parents realize what had happened.

After the screening, a cheeky reporter asked one of the kids what the film was about. "Lady with gooey stuff on her face," the kid said.

Now that's another oops.

[StoryJunkie]

As a very young child (old enough to read, tho') I came across some of my uncle's racy material (nothing as dramatic as Playboy, although dealing with content I really didn't comprehend, although I understood exactly what it was about), and well, here I am...

My uncle's soul does not rest. I take it out and look upon it now and then, but still, I know he does not rest. (evil smile...)

[Guest Big Samurai]

I think people keep getting the idea to sneak porn into stuff from that one scene in Fight Club. The entertainment value of such (intentional) bloopers is high, but, really, it shouldn't come at the expense of the children (no pun intended).

[quamp]

Well, there are two things that all this presumes which I feel aren't correct.

1. All porn is the same. No. There are a lot of subtile differences between the good and bad stuff. Good porn celebrates the human body as a work of art and/or the human sex act as a wonderful consumation of love. Love is consentual, and both parties are concerned about each other's pleasure. After the act, the partners continue to care about each other, share feelings, etc. Bad porn often is not consentual, has one partner dominating the other, neither partner is concerned about the other's pleasure and nowhere is love involved. Afterwards, one partner usually leaves the other, often in a state of emotional distress. Almost all BDSM stuff falls into the latter category.

2. Once a child sees porn, that child is automatically on the road to ruin. I can't buy that. First of all, should a child see porn, everything should be explained to him/her immediately, and the child should be allowed to express his/her feelings and thoughts about it. If a child knows that s/he shouldn't be doing this until s/he reaches the age of consent, the amount of damage is reduced. However, a lot of this depends on the child's level of emotional development. There are adults not ready to learn about sex, and five-year-olds who can handle the knowlege without any problem. However, parents tend not to be up front with children about things. The old thing about "the stork brought you" to cover up the truth can only make things worse later on. I was one of those children that was told "the stork brought you" until I was 11. I found some porn in the street. After getting a thurough whipping, I was told not to think about such things ever again, if I knew what was good for me.

A lot of good it did. I ended up a porn junkie anyway.

[StoryJunkie]

I clearly remember asking my mom where babies came from. (It was before Kindergarten) and I certainly remember her answer, which I took matter-of-factly, since she said it matter-of-factly. I think that the emotion that a parent exudes is almost as important as the words in front of them.

[Guest Agaib]

Heh, showing porn on TV for a brief period is some horrible event to all these people, but showing the dead bodies of Iraqi civilians is perfectly OK with American media. I guess every culture is fucked up in some way when taken to the extremes, though I always keep in mind that just because things can't be perfect doesn't mean that we should stop trying to fix problems.

[Leonhart29]

I have to agree with you. When we stop trying to fix things that's when we're in a shit load of trouble.