I don't wanna believe it

Y'know, I keep thinking that the depths of human nature are no surprise to me. I keep thinking that there's nothing so rotten and evil that humans can do that will shock, or dismay or surprise me anymore. I thought I'd fully trained myself in not underestimating the depths of human stupidity and depravity. I mean, I'm not a naif, I've at least vicariously experienced a lot of the evil that people can do to one another, and I've encountered a little bit of it personally.

But for some reason, as I get older, I get more and more shocked and dismayed and surprised when people hurt kids and victimize kids, either knowingly or as a side effect of whatever other evil they're pursuing (or whatever good they think they're trying to do.)

Well, the human race has done it again. It's not enough that sweet wine had to be sweetened even more to appeal to the underage crowd. It's not enough that cigarette companies (and I'm a smoker, so just hold your protests) market to kids, and it's not enough that people knowingly trap young girls into drug addiction and prostitution on the sidewalks outside schools in nice parts of my town (yes, they do, and I know a young girl it happened to.) It's not enough that crystal meth is melting the brains of teens and adults - nooooo! Now they have to tart it up - actually sweeten it up - so that it the bitter taste is masked, and that it, just coincidentally, appeals to the little kids. I mean LITTLE kids. The ones who take their twoonies and loonies to the corner store to buy today's equivalent of penny candy.

Had I not read it on snopes.com I wouldn't have believed it, but it's true. The article on the site doesn't claim it's being made this way in order to appeal to kids, but nevertheless, it won't take long before some bright bozo figures out (if they haven't already) that there's a lot of money to be made in child porn and prostitution, and this is a really easy way to get victims. Hey - it works with naive young high school girls, a lotta kids in lower grades are even more naive and trusting than a Grade 8 girl!

I dunno. I keep thinking I've plumbed the depths and won't be surprised, but I keep lying to myself. If only we were as inventive at doing good for each other!