# Couple sues WalMart over photos



## c.cloudwalker (Sep 20, 2009)

Have we totally lost our minds?

Parents Sue Wal-Mart After Children Taken Away Over Bath Time Photos - ABC News


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## rufus5150 (Sep 20, 2009)

> Have we totally lost our minds?



When it comes to THINK OF THE CHILDREN!?!?!?!, yes, yes we've completely lost our minds.


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## musicaleCA (Sep 21, 2009)

Yes. America has gone crazy.

The thing that confuses me is, why were their names put in the registry of sex offenders? I mean, I thought that only happened if you were convicted. What happened to innocent until proven guilty? Has your country really fallen so far?


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## Stormin (Sep 21, 2009)

The registry is probably an example of an overzealous prosecutor rushing things through.

The city and WMart are probably going to be handed their a**es in the lawsuits.


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## rufus5150 (Sep 21, 2009)

> What happened to innocent until proven guilty?



All bets are off when CPS gets involved. Shoot now, ask questions later.


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## UUilliam (Sep 21, 2009)

musicaleCA said:


> Yes. America has gone crazy.
> 
> The thing that confuses me is, why were their names put in the registry of sex offenders? I mean, I thought that only happened if you were convicted. What happened to innocent until proven guilty? Has your country really fallen so far?



It isnt just america..
I know Child Porn is a serious matter (if your a subscriber, go to the subscriber forum and look at my post "I can't believe it is so easy too...")
But calling everyone with a picture of their children pedos.... now that is just out of order! The government are being FAR too strict, I'm sure somewhere it has stated that the DISTRUBUTION of child porn is what is illegl, Not having a photo of your kids having a bath, everyone does that...
Honestly whoever made that rule up; that you cant take pictures of your kids in a bath, must have had a huge cock up their ass...

Look how ***** we have turned...
2000 years ago, Kids about 8 were being married to guys aged like 30 - 40
now if you even look in the direction of a kid, your a ****ing pedo...
I heard a story a while back, A dude who worked in Asda (Walmart for you americans...)
A little girl asked him to get her something off the top shelf, the mother of the child saw the guy give the girl w/e she was wanting (an innocent item btw.. i think it was juice or crisps...)
And she started calling him a pedo...

The government is going to cause a civil war again.
Mind you... like they care... they have the army and the police to protect them, its not the government who will die, it is all the people in the army, the police officers, and for what? The governments misues of power...

Sure, there needs to be rules and regulations in place in order to protect us, But the law is going to far now...
e.g. copyright theft = 5 years in prison? for one download? GTFO
Sure, we shouldn't steal peoples work.. .but 5years? really? atleast make you pay double the price of the item... but then they claim you have caused damages etc...(once again look at my post "£500 for an album? WTF" if your a subscriber)

Yet if i go out and Cause someone Grevious bodily harm.. I can be out of prison in about 6 months... and then possibly murder the person that put me in...
Where is the logic in there? theres none...
There should be so much that the law controls
and The rest should be common practice and respect...
That would make both, Polices job easier, Lawyers training easier, And general life...
Even if we did remove allot of the dumb laws  (or atleast tone it down a bit)
there would still be a crap load of GOOD laws.


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## c.cloudwalker (Sep 21, 2009)

musicaleCA said:


> The thing that confuses me is, why were their names put in the registry of sex offenders? I mean, I thought that only happened if you were convicted. What happened to innocent until proven guilty? Has your country really fallen so far?



That is what really got me about this story. That and the fact that the kids were taken away. In spite of the work of groups like the Innocence Project, we  seem to be getting more and more into a guilty until proven innocent mode and it's pretty scary.

The basic event is nothing new. The same thing happened to an artist I knew some 15-20 years ago. A picture of her daughter in the tub. What is new is the way it was handled. This friend did not lose her kid for any period of time, was not listed as a sex offender, etc.

But let's remember that the forum does not want political discussions here (and I don't blame them) and my goal in posting this is to warn photographers to be careful what they take to be printed by a retail place. I tend to think that as photographers we tend to take a lot more photos than the average Joe and so we are more likely to run into such a problem.


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## bigtwinky (Sep 21, 2009)

I'm sure that the same people who reporting the picture in the bath have seen countless photos of kids with toy guns where they are pointing the guns at the camera or each other, none of which have been reported as this seems normal.

While I am all for protecting the children, I think society has gone to the apes


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## den9 (Sep 22, 2009)

does Sally Mann come to anyones mind? our teacher showed us pictures of her work in class and i felt really uncomfortable, i think that is totally illegal and pushing it for family portraits.

this however doesnt seem as bizarre, but i cant really say since i didnt see the pictures.


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## musicaleCA (Sep 22, 2009)

Phew, well thankfully for Sally, the mob doesn't make law. Unless you're talking about marriage and live in California, but I digress...

Yup, Mann pushed boundaries. But then again, her images aren't pornographic in nature.


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## clarinetJWD (Sep 22, 2009)

musicaleCA said:


> Phew, well thankfully for Sally, the mob doesn't make law. Unless you're talking about marriage and live in California, but I digress...
> 
> *Yup, Mann pushed boundaries. But then again, her images aren't pornographic in nature.*



I actually hadn't seen her work before this thread, and I have to say, it's absolutely fantastic.  Sure subject matter like that will always be controversial, but there's absolutely nothing sexual about her images.


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## Christie Photo (Sep 22, 2009)

Yep.  Things are different these days.  But it is a tough call sometimes.

It seems nowadays nakedness = sex.  I don't know how we got here, but it happened.  I think it's a bit sad...  maybe even tragic.

As a kid in 1960 Louisiana, it was common to see children playing nude in a water-filled ditch or creek.  Since children are not sexual beings, it was a totally innocent scene.

What HAS changed is those who find this to be sensual and act on it.  We have to protect our children from those people.  The best way to do this is to make sure they do not have access to children.

Since children are defenseless against predators, this is a very passionate subject.  It has absolute support in all walks of society.  But some have become hyper-sensitive to any suggestion that a child may be in danger.  I used to think this was fine...  that it was a fair trade-off to keep kids safe.  But if it means that some well-meaning but prudish department store worker can set into motion a process that allows kids to be taken from their parents over bath photos, then yes....  we've totally lost our minds.

-Pete


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## UUilliam (Sep 22, 2009)

Isn't the way man supposed to be, Naked?
We aren't supposed to wear clothes, but we do, we are defying the law of mother nature, should we all be locked up for wearing clothes in that case?
dumb stuff tbh..


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## musicaleCA (Sep 22, 2009)

Nah, if you read Genesis, you belong in hell for covering yourself. Frankly.


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## Christie Photo (Sep 22, 2009)

UUilliam said:


> Isn't the way man supposed to be, Naked?




I don't know if we're "supposed" to be naked.  I do know were not supposed to exploit our children, but it happens...  and there's the problem.  There are those that will pervert something totally innocent, so the rest of us have to make considerations...  find ways to avoid what _might_ be.


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## Christie Photo (Sep 22, 2009)

Further....  you won't have to look far to find some of us should NEVER be naked, at least not in public.


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## skieur (Sep 23, 2009)

Even more frightening than the action of Wallmart in this and other cases of child photography is their responses and that of individual prosecutors that in effect:

Wallmart and the prosecutors feel free to destroy peoples lives for taking photos of their children.  

I hope the couple wins the suit, big time.

skieur


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## Christie Photo (Sep 23, 2009)

skieur said:


> Even more frightening ...
> Wallmart and the prosecutors feel free to destroy peoples lives for taking photos of their children.



But remember...  the entire process is initiated by a department store employee. :gah:


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## c.cloudwalker (Sep 23, 2009)

skieur said:


> Wallmart and the prosecutors feel free to destroy peoples lives for taking photos of their children.



Keep in mind we live in a world that is more and more in a CYA mode and that leads to great stupidity.


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## den9 (Sep 28, 2009)

clarinetJWD said:


> musicaleCA said:
> 
> 
> > Phew, well thankfully for Sally, the mob doesn't make law. Unless you're talking about marriage and live in California, but I digress...
> ...



the google images dont do the justice. im honestly afraid to post any of her pictures because they seem illegal. especially the one of her daughter with lots of make up and a pearl necklace and lipstick, fully nude showing all.


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## HeY iTs ScOTtY (Sep 28, 2009)

seriously...does this mean the national geographical channel is distributing child pron when they show naked children in africa???? should they all be sent to jail??? dumb a** people. the thing is they are all hypocrites probably, having taken pics of their children at bath time or having had their own pics taken by their parents when they where young.


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