Pedo Bear- LE Alert information

[lordmonar]

This is on par with Clowns.

Some pedophiles use clown costumes to get access to their victums....but that does not mean all clowns are pedophiles.

As for the idea that someone at COMICOM wore a costume that we need to be worried about.......well you will have to arrest about half of those who attended!

Child predators are not a joke.....but as has been stated before....we need to be careful not to over react to some of this intel.

I think this is about the same as the Telly-Tubby Scare in the 90's or the Spong-Bob Scare in 200X's.

[PA Guy]

Part of the reason for the recent resurgence of PEDOBEAR is that an adult dressed up as pedobear was attending ComicCon in San Diego taking pictures and passing out candy to prepubescent girls.  Law Enforcement agencies tend to share intelligence with each other.  Such as they have identified Pedophile groups distributing Kiddie Porn and networking based on identification of each other using pedobear.  The same way gang members identify each other with colors, signs, hats, markings, etc...

Yes it was intended as a joke, but be aware that some are using it for nefarious purposes.  I think the point of the OP was just for you to increase your own Situational Awareness...ya know especially when it comes to protecting your kids and cadets.

:clap: :clap:

[DBlair]

I'm involved with the BSA and some other organizations and will certainly be passing this on. Thanks for bringing this to light. With so many pedophiles/child predators out there, we need to be vigilant in our efforts to protect the youth.

[Johnny Yuma]

non-CAP relationship as well as likely misunderstanding by California agencies prompted edit...

Do you want to contact the Department of Justice Sexual Predator Task Force and tell them its all a misunderstanding? 858-268-5409 ask for Agent Jones.  Im sure he'd love to talk to you.

The character itself is a real comic book character, yes.  It has been adopted by pedophiles and child porn brokers to identify friendlies in the "industry".

Relevance to CAP?  CAP is a youth organization that has in the past recruited people later arrested for this very thing.  CAPTalk had a long time forum member who was heavily involved in CP in his wing who was arrested and convicted for distributing child pornography.  Do you want his name?

Perhaps a prospective member shows up with a window sticker (which they do have and pedophiles have been contacted with it on their vehicles.)  A little information goes a long way.  Your welcome.

Sorry, was this information a little to real life for some of you?

Your DOJ agent is about 2 years behind the curve. Pedo Bear in the internet may have started out as a way for pedos to ID each other but it's now been relegated to comedy status. There' are a number of discussion boards that are full of parents and LEO's (AR15.com for one) where PB's been a source of a running joke for a year or more.

[FARRIER]

Thank you for the heads up. I would rather have over-reaction in these matters.

[Sleepwalker]

FlyingPig & Smokey:

   Thank you so much for posting this information.  It may be "old news" to many people, but this is the first time I have ever heard of it.  I am sure there are a lot of Senior Members out there like me who work primarily with Cadets, but we are totally naive and ignorant about things of this nature.

   Many years ago we had a 'bad apple' such as this and he was flushed out by the LEO in our Squadron.  It's a good thing he was there, because the rest of us had no idea that the stuff this guy was saying and doing were "red flags", but the Cop knew immediately because he had ready access to information.

   Please continue to disseminate any information that can help us better protect our Cadets, it is appreciated. 

[Nathan]

I think there is a misunderstanding here.

Nobody is blowing off the honest desire to protect against child abuse. The arguments being presented are not because people wouldn't respond to a genuine threat.

The problem is that this character does not actually represent the threat. Contrary to the opinion of the warning, most of the people wearing this shirt are not going to be pedophiles or support pedophilia. They are participating in an inside joke, localized mainly to the 4chan community. That's all. Automatically assuming the character is some sort of secret code is not only incorrect (because it's not), but spreads paranoia of something that isn't dangerous and of people who aren't necessarily dangerous. They just find humor in a joke you don't get that's directed against pedophiles.

Sorry to put it so bluntly, but the DOJ is dead wrong, and a quick look at the laughs from people who have known about this joke for years confirms it. I normally wouldn't care if the police and CAP membership wants to pursue something useless on their own time, but given that the vast majority of people who will suffer from this misjudgment are completely innocent of pedophilia (and like most people, completely against it), then I think that it is pretty important to get the facts straight.

[Ned]

Sorry to put it so bluntly, but the DOJ is dead wrong, and a quick look at the laughs from people who have known about this joke for years confirms it.

Nathan,

So, why exactly do you think the DOJ is "dead wrong?"

You know, the professionals who devote their lives to the subject.  The men and women who spend 40+ hours a week on pedophiles.  The same ones with all the college degrees and who work with consulting experts in academia, corrections, and shrinks.  The folks who actually interview pedophiles.  And who have spent hours working with victims and family members.  Folks who work undercover both online and in person.

Oh yeah, you found the truth on the internet.

Thanks for the "heads-up."

(Hint: It is one thing to say that you think they might be overly cautious or perhaps that the bulletin is being taken out of context - but it is reasonably breathtaking to flat out assert that the professionals are "dead wrong."  At least without some sort of support for your position other than what you have seen on the net. Wouldn't you agree?)

Of course at least some folks wearing the symbol are participating in what they think of as a "joke" about pedophilia, and may even think they are doing so in a good-natured way and as some sort of statement.

But it appears that at least some folks indeed do use the symbol as a way to connect with other like-minded folks.  And that is the danger LE is warning us about.

Think of it this way - not every person who wears a swastika is a Nazi.  The symbol was widely used in multiple cultures before the Nazis appropriated it.  Today, some people wear the symbol as a "joke," attempting to indicate their contempt of mass murderers.  Certainly actors wearing it for a role do not harbor secret thoughts of returning the furher to power.  Some people even wear it for religous reasons.  But there are still plenty of skinheads around, too.  So it someone came up to me wearing a prominent swastika, I will ratchet my SA up a notch.  Even though some people wear it as some sort of "joke."

[A.Member]

Many years ago we had a 'bad apple' such as this and he was flushed out by the LEO in our Squadron.  It's a good thing he was there, because the rest of us had no idea that the stuff this guy was saying and doing were "red flags", but the Cop knew immediately because he had ready access to information.

Was he wearing a shirt with Pedo Bear on it?   If not, how on earth was he discovered?

BTW, also be on the lookout for people dressed in clown outfits and mimes.  They too are trouble.

As mentioned multiple times earlier, the seriousness of child predators is not at question here.  However, the silly alert bulletin that suggests a popular internet joke will somehow help identify these people is.  I'll argue that you're far more likely to see a teen (perhaps one of your own cadets) with a Pedo Bear shirt than you are an actual child predator.  I'm also willing to bet the people getting "alarmed" by this are likely over 40 and not as tech/internet savvy, as evidenced by some here that indicate they've never heard of this despite it being huge on many web forums for years.   This is really more of a generational thing.  The bottom line is that parents/youth leaders should be ever vigilant with the people that come in contact with their kids/young people.  To think they might be easily identified by some sort of logo is naive at best...and to continue sensationalizing this goofy notion is absurd.

[Thunder]

This is like the Feb 20th 2009 bulletin circulated to Missouri Law Enforcement to be on the lookout for domestic terrorists - easy to spot, they have the Libertarian and Ron Paul Bumperstickers.. 

Well all know *THAT* was an accurate generalization by professionals, right? /sarcasm

[Nathan]

Sorry to put it so bluntly, but the DOJ is dead wrong, and a quick look at the laughs from people who have known about this joke for years confirms it.

Nathan,

So, why exactly do you think the DOJ is "dead wrong?"

You know, the professionals who devote their lives to the subject.  The men and women who spend 40+ hours a week on pedophiles.  The same ones with all the college degrees and who work with consulting experts in academia, corrections, and shrinks.  The folks who actually interview pedophiles.  And who have spent hours working with victims and family members.  Folks who work undercover both online and in person.

Oh yeah, you found the truth on the internet.

Thanks for the "heads-up."

I got my information about what the "police" are saying from this link:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/rebeccae/pedobear-police-warning-a-seemingly-innocent-mena

(FWI, there is some rumor about this whole issue being a hoax, possibly put out by a 4channer...)

Pedobear being a mascot? I haven't seen any evidence that this is true, and the only source of this is a county police department (if not a hoaxer) that apparently thinks that this is a "new phenomenon", which it is not.

All sources point toward Pedobear being an inside joke for 4channers that, like many things from 4chan, has been misunderstood (probably justifiably) once exposed to the real world.

Is the LE community sitting on evidence that backs up their claim that this character is some secret code for pedophiles? Maybe, but I don't exactly see the point of it, especially when they tried to present pretty weak evidence of some guy obviously exploiting the joke at Comic Con (and FWIW, the character is actually a manga character...).

You're right in some sense. It certainly is possible that somewhere out there, some pedophile has tried to contact another pedophile using the character. But that fact alone doesn't justify the claim that people need to worry about this any more than they need to worry when they see a cargo van driving down their neighborhood. I suppose I can't argue against information that the LE community would find some need to sit on (like some specific case where Pedobear was proven to be a method of communication rather than just a joke). But based both on the information they provided, the information from 4chan and other sources, and my own personal knowledge of the joke for about 4 years now, the claim that Pedobear is a sign of real pedophilic intent is as ridiculous as... well...

"Vets warn against burying cats after only their first death, cite eight other possible lives."
"Police fear Boogieman attack after Jim Snuffy's refusal to brush teeth."
"Doctors still baffled in finding the cure for mysterious "Cooties" epidemic."

I'm still waiting for someone to unveil that this is a hoax. This is EXACTLY the sort of thing that /b/ would do when they get bored.

[RiverAux]

4chann?

[HGjunkie]

4chann?

WARNING! PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK! I AM NOT LIABLE FOR ANY EMOTIONAL TRAUMA YOU EXPERIENCE BY LOOKING AT THIS SITE.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

[A.Member]

4chann?

It's '4chan'....Google and Wiki are your friends:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan

[vento]

Cadet HGjunkie, beware that there are younger cadets on this board. Mind the content regardless of the warning.

[RiverAux]

Sorry I asked.

[Nathan]

Cadet HGjunkie, beware that there are younger cadets on this board. Mind the content regardless of the warning.

Yeah, let's not link to 4chan here. No disclaimer is going to cut it. I don't think anyone here is endorsing the site. Discussing it is an unfortunate side-effect of the debate. It pretty much spits in the face of every value CAP endorses.

[Johnny Yuma]

Best explanation of pedo bear without the hysteria:

http://www.urlesque.com/2009/11/06/pedobear/

[Майор Хаткевич]

4chann?

It's '4chan'....Google and Wiki are your friends:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan

/b/ in particular (the "Random" section on the image board) is where the issues arise), is the source of all this...drama?

/b/ actions have ranged from getting a Serbian girl arrested for throwing puppies in a river, to invading browser games, usually followed by the /b/ombing of game forums with images including "goatse" (don't look this up!), mutilation, and CP. This usually causes admins to bring forums down in order to strengthen sign up security, removing the vile images, and establishing limitations on new poster privileges.  They also love to DDOS forums/websites.

That said, most people are "lurkers" and neither post on /b/, nor partake in their worst antics. Most browse for the fun Internet Memes that seem to originate on there (like IHazCheesburger *allegedly*).

[Short Field]

If you have nothing useful to add to a conversation -then say it in a really big red font.