BOSTON (CBS) – I won’t mention his name or the pathetic web site he runs for fear of giving him the publicity he craves, but by now perhaps you’ve already heard about the local man who posted a revealing nude picture of Tom Brady’s 2-year-old son along with sophomoric remarks about the boy’s private parts.
He was on WBZ NewsRadio 1030 on Friday making a fool of himself during an interview with Carl Stevens, suggesting that anyone who was offended by what he did had a problem, not himself.
I beg to differ.
Listen to Jon’s commentary:
I think that if you were offended by this behavior, it is because you have a degree of class, taste, and good judgment about what is and isn’t appropriate.
But to those calling for some kind of legal action to be taken against him on the grounds that he’s disseminating child pornography, I’m afraid I have to say, save your energy.
This guy is just the latest symptom of an ongoing trend in our culture toward shame-free vulgarity and coarseness.
You could say it’s the price we pay for freedom of the press, now being pushed to new frontiers by the wide-open spaces of the Internet.
But if you find that troubling, offensive, and damaging to society, and want to draw the line at what this particular smut-peddler did rather than shrug your shoulders, by all means, there are plenty of things you can do, first and foremost, hitting the guy in his wallet by complaining to his advertisers.
In the longer term, you might also use this episode as a teachable moment for your child or 20-something acquaintance who might not get it.
Perhaps the conversation could revolve around the social benefits of good old-fashioned shame.
Shame keeps us from doing a lot of bad things that the law alone could never prevent.
And at the heart of constructive shame are a couple of questions: how would I feel if that were done to me or mine?
And how would those close to me feel if they knew I were doing this or supporting it?
If the answer is, I’d feel ashamed, then you’re less likely to join in the race to the bottom some parts of our culture are engaged it.
And you know what’s at the bottom of most pits – filth and vermin.
No need for names.
You know who I mean.
You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. and 12:25 p.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.
