You know you've watched 'To Catch a Predator'

MSNBC’s ‘To Catch a Predator’ used to be one of my favorite shows to watch to get a good laugh. The men that are interviewed are such idiots that have a lack of common sense and ethics to put it short. Obviously we know what they are doing is wrong. Yet, since they all get arrested in the end, we think its okay. But is it really okay to watch?

Coming across this old clip I started thinking, is it okay that I or we watch this for entertainment and a humorous guilty pleasure? Technically it’s a legitimate, ‘journalistic’ program that is featured on MSNBC, a credible programming station. To the contrary, the editing of the show is clearly cut in a way to make all the men look brain-dead, Chris Hanson (host) is the comedic interviewer that always puts them in their place with a punch line and the trap is always so obvious. Sometimes I need to remind myself that I’m not watching a ‘Candid Camera’ knock-off, but an actual clip of an adult man who is under the impression that he will take part in sexual act with a young child. I question my own judgment and morals for watching such a show and laughing, forgetting that this is an actual show that shows similar cases that happen to innocent young children.

Should we watch stuff like this?

A.S.