It’s very possible that the advent of “To Catch a Predator” has slowed the armies of Internet-based creeps. It’s very possible that it has saved lives and that the fear of a very public humiliation will keep men from trying to solicit underage girls on the web. However, that only explains why the show is made. But why is it watched?
The Germans have a word for a show like “To Catch a Predator.” Schadenfreude. It denotes the pleasure taken from the suffering of others. “To Catch a Predator” doesn’t just humiliate men who try and get into hot-tubs with 16-year-olds. It also humiliates their families, their wives if they have them, and often their children.
Quite frankly, the show exhibits a person who is sick and trying to victimize someone. They get busted and their life is destroyed.
We can say that they deserve it, and they probably do, but is it really something to watch while sitting on a couch eating a microwave dinner and laughing? Has human suffering become America’s new favorite pastime?
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