As children we are taught to be trusting of police officers. We are told that is we ever need help, if we are lost, or are in danger, that a police officer can be of great help when we are in our time of need. However, as time goes on, skepticism clouds the minds of many people. What we are taught as children becomes something to be mocked, dismissed, and ignored. Through this cloud of skepticism, the police officer falls from the role of protector, aide, and friend into the role of a simple human, a drain on our resources, and a potential threat. Unfortunately, some police department reinforce this clouded viewpoint.
Recent years have not been kind to the West Valley City Police Department. From their perceived ineptitude in the investigation of the Susan Powell case, the tossing of dozens of drug cases investigated by this department, and the continued questions surrounding the Danielle Willard case, the WVCPD is in need of some good PR, and it appears that this department got some of that this morning.
West Valley City police help evacuate two families from burning home
This morning, several members of the West Valley City Police Department assisted in getting several family members out of their burning home. While this may seem like a basic thing for police to do, when the public has little to no trust in you, little things like this can help build up at least a small sense of competency in the public eye. Sure these officers have a long way to go, but small steps like can lead to many great things. Let's just hope that things continue to move forward for this department, because any small stumble could cause any progress to evaporate.
On Tuesday afternoon, Jezebel.com posted a story about data released by well known porn site Pornhub. The article detailed information about keyword searches and which keywords are most popular in different states. This information, which does not contain any actual pornography but does include information about pornography, can be found at this link. Like many people would when presented with information like this, I looked up what the popular keywords were in my state. Most people would find such information salacious. I did not have this reaction to such information.
I live in Utah. According to the information released by Pornhub, the three most popular keywords in the state of Utah were compilation, teen, and hentai. The first two terms did not arouse any interest in me. It makes sense to me that compilations of different pornographic videos would be popular, as well as video involving either teens or people who resemble teens. The third term is what brought up memories for me: hentai. These memories were not brought up because of anything positive. Much to the contrary.
The disappearance of Susan Powell is a case that I followed closely given that Susan disappeared from a neighborhood near where I live. Also there were frequent updates given by the various television news stations out here in the weeks, months, and, unfortunately, years since this mother of two disappeared. These updates became only more tragic after the deaths of Susan's two sons at the hands of their father. As a part of the investigation into Susan's disappearance, the West Valley City Police Department seized and searched the computers of Susan's husband, Josh. The following is a quote from a ABC4News article, detailing some of the kind of pornography found on these computers:
"The images included characters from The Simpsons, The Flintstones, Jungle Book, Superman, The Rugrats, Cat Woman and Spongebob - just to name a few. The characters were shown in sexual activities like sodomy, fisting, incest and group sex. Many of the images depicted adult on children sex acts. Dr. Manley called Josh's possession and approval of the images "concerning.""
The reaction I have to finding out the popularity of hentai in my state is based on my general negative feeling about Josh Powell, as well as the negative connection I have to him and the kind of pornography he is alleged to have consumed. I'm not saying that all people who consume this hentai are people like Josh Powell. I'm just saying what I know about the Susan Powell case paints my reaction to pornography of this kind and the people who consume it. Finding out this information about the people who consume pornography in Utah makes me wonder: Are the people in Utah who view this kind of pornography merely curious about what the news articles is referring to, or are the people in Utah who view this kind of pornography sincerely interested in seeing the kind of taboo laden images depicted in such material?
Posts
