Hello all, This is a argumentave essay. I am supposed to state the claim the author is trying to make and 4 diff supporting points. My teacher said to summarize it first then give my own ideas. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated. I haven't written a essay in a couple months, so be easy. :V
MySpace Not Responsible for Predators
In the essay, "MySpace Not Responsible for Predators", Kevin Alexander talks about how a 14 year old girl and her mother filed a lawsuit against MySpace for allowing a 19 year old man, Pete Solis, to contact and rape the 14 year old girl. The family is accusing MySpace for its lack of privacy and protection and that the site focuses more on money. Alexander argues "MySpace is a business and one that has never advertised itself as an online baby-sitting service" (119). Alexander also says it's the mothers fault for not being a parent by advising her daughter of the dangers of the internet. Even the daughter is at fault here, Alexander argues, "The girl . . . should be held responsible, too" (120). Another point Alexander talks about is the waiver that the 14 year old girl signed before signing up the site. Alexander states, "This should be enough to get the suit thrown out" (120). Alexander claims that MySpace didn't make Pete Solis rape the girl nor did it make the 14 year old girl meet with him. He backs his claim with four very strong and direct points which are: MySpace is not there to babysit, the lack of being a good parent, common sense that the girl obviously didn't use, and the waiver you must sign before allowing access to the site.
I think Alexander's first point about MySpace not being a online babysitting service is the first thing someone should look at before signing up for the site. You need be responsible about putting personal information on a public website, and usually the site isn't there to control what you put up, or even do outside of the site. For example meeting someone you don't know or know anything about.
This could have been easily avoided with decent parenting. Alexander argues that "Any police officer will tell you that nearly all youth crimes happen because some moron forgot to be a parent"(119). This is very true, if the 14 year old girl's mom would have just known where the girl was going, this could have been easily avoided. The mom could have made the girl give the password to her account so she could read her daughters messages, or even just made her daughter delete the account. Also, by suing the website for her own mistake isn't providing a good example to her daughter about responsibility, it's pointing the finger at someone else. Not only is it the mothers fault, but the daughters fault.
Common sense is probably the best tool you can use to prevent almost any accidents or risk. The girl should have known what she was getting into; Alexander states "[a]t 14 years of age, she's capable of calculating risk and other higher brain functions" (120). At 14 years, you should know right from wrong. What was going through the girls mind is a mystery to me. She should have known that people can, and will, lie about their age. Alexander argues "She could've prevented from being a victim, but she was determined to ignore all the apparent risks, and she paid for it" (120). Yes, she paid for it, she ignored the risk factors, and now she wants revenge by suing a web site that makes you sign a waiver stating that "MySpace.com is not responsible for the conduct, whether online or offline, of any user of the MySpace Services"(120).
The girl signed a waiver, which allows the user to be responsible if something was to go wrong. Then why is the girl suing the site? She probably doesn't want this to happen to anyone else, which is a good thing, but it wouldn't happen to anyone else if they just read the agreement and didn't ignore it. Then again, maybe MySpace doesn't stress the waiver enough; maybe the site should put in big, bold, and red letters stating to make sure to read this, no, read it 2 times. Yes, maybe this will reduce the number of cases dealing with stupid people who continue to ignore the warning signs.
The claim Alexander makes about how it's not MySpace's fault that the 14 year old girl got raped, isn't controversial, just that it can be avoided with a little bit of common sense. Another argument Alexander makes is "If someone does something stupid while on the internet, then that person can sue the Net" (120). This is of course if the case goes through and the girl and mother win the case. Yes, maybe this is how it will be. I can blame the internet for everything that is wrong with me and sue any site I choose for any stupid act I commit.
MySpace Not Responsible for Predators
In the essay, "MySpace Not Responsible for Predators", Kevin Alexander talks about how a 14 year old girl and her mother filed a lawsuit against MySpace for allowing a 19 year old man, Pete Solis, to contact and rape the 14 year old girl. The family is accusing MySpace for its lack of privacy and protection and that the site focuses more on money. Alexander argues "MySpace is a business and one that has never advertised itself as an online baby-sitting service" (119). Alexander also says it's the mothers fault for not being a parent by advising her daughter of the dangers of the internet. Even the daughter is at fault here, Alexander argues, "The girl . . . should be held responsible, too" (120). Another point Alexander talks about is the waiver that the 14 year old girl signed before signing up the site. Alexander states, "This should be enough to get the suit thrown out" (120). Alexander claims that MySpace didn't make Pete Solis rape the girl nor did it make the 14 year old girl meet with him. He backs his claim with four very strong and direct points which are: MySpace is not there to babysit, the lack of being a good parent, common sense that the girl obviously didn't use, and the waiver you must sign before allowing access to the site.
I think Alexander's first point about MySpace not being a online babysitting service is the first thing someone should look at before signing up for the site. You need be responsible about putting personal information on a public website, and usually the site isn't there to control what you put up, or even do outside of the site. For example meeting someone you don't know or know anything about.
This could have been easily avoided with decent parenting. Alexander argues that "Any police officer will tell you that nearly all youth crimes happen because some moron forgot to be a parent"(119). This is very true, if the 14 year old girl's mom would have just known where the girl was going, this could have been easily avoided. The mom could have made the girl give the password to her account so she could read her daughters messages, or even just made her daughter delete the account. Also, by suing the website for her own mistake isn't providing a good example to her daughter about responsibility, it's pointing the finger at someone else. Not only is it the mothers fault, but the daughters fault.
Common sense is probably the best tool you can use to prevent almost any accidents or risk. The girl should have known what she was getting into; Alexander states "[a]t 14 years of age, she's capable of calculating risk and other higher brain functions" (120). At 14 years, you should know right from wrong. What was going through the girls mind is a mystery to me. She should have known that people can, and will, lie about their age. Alexander argues "She could've prevented from being a victim, but she was determined to ignore all the apparent risks, and she paid for it" (120). Yes, she paid for it, she ignored the risk factors, and now she wants revenge by suing a web site that makes you sign a waiver stating that "MySpace.com is not responsible for the conduct, whether online or offline, of any user of the MySpace Services"(120).
The girl signed a waiver, which allows the user to be responsible if something was to go wrong. Then why is the girl suing the site? She probably doesn't want this to happen to anyone else, which is a good thing, but it wouldn't happen to anyone else if they just read the agreement and didn't ignore it. Then again, maybe MySpace doesn't stress the waiver enough; maybe the site should put in big, bold, and red letters stating to make sure to read this, no, read it 2 times. Yes, maybe this will reduce the number of cases dealing with stupid people who continue to ignore the warning signs.
The claim Alexander makes about how it's not MySpace's fault that the 14 year old girl got raped, isn't controversial, just that it can be avoided with a little bit of common sense. Another argument Alexander makes is "If someone does something stupid while on the internet, then that person can sue the Net" (120). This is of course if the case goes through and the girl and mother win the case. Yes, maybe this is how it will be. I can blame the internet for everything that is wrong with me and sue any site I choose for any stupid act I commit.