Former Member bill barton

[Utevsky]

The following is a message that was posted on Bill Barton's Facebook page:

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This is Tasara, writing in for Bill. He asked me to post here for people who are wondering where he is.

Bill has had a serious addiction to child pornography, which is what put him in "sex offender" status. He was doing alright for a while and then .. .he wasn't. He was picked up in April by homeland security for trafficking child pornography. He has not been convicted yet. He also suffers from PTSD from the Vietnam war and is living in a system that does not always get him his meds, so whether or not he is 'ok' is a relative thing.

This is very hard for a lot of us to digest, as Bill has been an incredible support to many communities across Seattle. Those of us who know his heart ...well this is very hard. I have certainly gone through a lot of emotions myself. I try to send as much love and light to him as possible.

I will put is account in remission once I reach the few people he has asked me to reach.

I have an address if you would like to write to him in Louisiana.

I will be leaving on Monday for a week but then I will be back. You can reach me on my account "Tasara Gen"

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http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=368624464996

[Head Man]

The following is a message that was posted on Bill Barton's Facebook page:

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This is Tasara, writing in for Bill. He asked me to post here for people who are wondering where he is.

Bill has had a serious addiction to child pornography, which is what put him in "sex offender" status. He was doing alright for a while and then .. .he wasn't. He was picked up in April by homeland security for trafficking child pornography. He has not been convicted yet. He also suffers from PTSD from the Vietnam war and is living in a system that does not always get him his meds, so whether or not he is 'ok' is a relative thing.

This is very hard for a lot of us to digest, as Bill has been an incredible support to many communities across Seattle. Those of us who know his heart ...well this is very hard. I have certainly gone through a lot of emotions myself. I try to send as much love and light to him as possible.

I will put is account in remission once I reach the few people he has asked me to reach.

I have an address if you would like to write to him in Louisiana.

I will be leaving on Monday for a week but then I will be back. You can reach me on my account "Tasara Gen"

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http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=368624464996

That took some guts to post. I guess it's good that he seems to have at least one friend left

[AllenLowe]

all I would add is that I'd like to see proof that he was in Vietnam -

[AllenLowe]

once again, however, I would like to see proof of Vietnam because -

1) a lot of people lie about such things

2) the related PTSD it is being used as a rationale for his 'addiction'

[alocispepraluger102]

there are NO excuses for the lack of personal accountability and responsibility, as far as i'm concerned.

we all have lots of excuses where we could justify lots of things, but most of us chose to accept personal responsibility and the consequences.

[AllenLowe]

yes and no - there are people who are innocent by reason of insanity, and PTSD can be a vicious thing - however, though there are many things I can forgive, this is apparently not one of them.

[Brownian Motion]

The following is a message that was posted on Bill Barton's Facebook page:

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He was picked up in April by homeland security for trafficking child pornography.

Homeland security is officially defined by the National Strategy for Homeland Security as "a concerted national effort to prevent terrorist attacks within the United States, reduce America's vulnerability to terrorism, and minimize the damage and recover from attacks that do occur"

http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/homeland-security/

Guilt or innocence aside, if it is true that Bill Barton was arrested by "Homeland Security" for trafficking in child pornography, then HS would seem to have strayed a long way from its mandate.

[Niko]

looks like homeland security was involved in one way or other

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Delego

what bugs me a bit about the message from bill is that to me it conveys a spirit as if child porn was made from water and the right kind of white powder like so many other addictive substances people use to cure their depressions...

here's a photo of bill in vietnam btw

http://www.flickr.com/photos/34815186@N05/

Edited September 4, 2011 by Niko

[king ubu]

what bugs me a bit about the message from bill is that to me it conveys a spirit as if child porn was made from water and the right kind of white powder like so many other addictive substances people use to cure their depressions...

Those were my feelings when I read it.

[AllenLowe]

thanks for the pics, Niko. I don't know how you find this stuff -

[Face of the Bass]

I'm sorry, but I did not read that note as excusing what happened. I think it had more to do with what is happening RIGHT NOW, and whether he is "okay," health-wise, right now. There are some of us who still care about such things. Not everyone in the world looks to throw somebody in the trash when they do something horrible.

[John L]

I thought that the statement was fine. It was not an attempt to justify what he has done, or even explain it (despite the Vietnam reference). As for the positive remarks about Bill's contributions to the community, I see no reason to doubt them. Reality is often complicated, and a pure division of people into good and evil is not always possible.

[Niko]

i read bill's message as saying something to the effect of "at some point i realized i need some sort of medication because otherwise i would molest children or at the very least endorse the molestation of children, but then medicare stopped paying for my medication so..."; and i firmly believe that once you realize you need this type of medication you should either kill yourself or make it your primary goal to have access to that medication - any other decision - including bill's - deserves exactly zero respect. now admittedly my english is not that good and i haven't been to vietnam, anyway, if i understand you, face-ob, right, you read bill's message differently, you say it means something like "the bad guys in prison don't give me my medication and thus i want to molest children all day - too bad none are around"; maybe you are right though i'm not convinced, my compassion with this type of medical condition is severely limited. anyway, let's not forget, he's not yet convicted.

Edited September 4, 2011 by Niko

[Big Wheel]

looks like homeland security was involved in one way or other

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Delego

It's because DHS is charged with fighting cybercrime and so forth; it falls under the domain of ICE - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Immigration_and_Customs_Enforcement#Cyber_Crimes . That coupled with the international nature of the ring probably led to their being involved.

Edited September 4, 2011 by Big Wheel

[Tom Storer]

i read bill's message as saying something to the effect of "at some point i realized i need some sort of medication because otherwise i would molest children or at the very least endorse the molestation of children, but then medicare stopped paying for my medication so..."; and i firmly believe that once you realize you need this type of medication you should either kill yourself or make it your primary goal to have access to that medication - any other decision - including bill's - deserves exactly zero respect. now admittedly my english is not that good and i haven't been to vietnam, anyway, if i understand you, face-ob, right, you read bill's message differently, you say it means something like "the bad guys in prison don't give me my medication and thus i want to molest children all day - too bad none are around"; maybe you are right though i'm not convinced, my compassion with this type of medical condition is severely limited. anyway, let's not forget, he's not yet convicted.

I don't agree with either of those interpretations: neither 1) "It's because I didn't get my meds that I did a terrible thing," or 2) "In prison, because I have no meds, I want to molest children." The message said, on the one hand, that Bill is addicted to child porn, trafficked in it, and was arrested; and on the other, he suffers from post-traumatic stress syndrome caused by his Vietnam experience, can't get his meds for it in prison, and is suffering from that.

Admitting to his crime is in itself commendable, although the crime is horrible. As for post-traumatic stress syndrome, it certainly exists and there is no reason I can think of to have limited compassion for it.

[Big Wheel]

i read bill's message as saying something to the effect of "at some point i realized i need some sort of medication because otherwise i would molest children or at the very least endorse the molestation of children, but then medicare stopped paying for my medication so..."; and i firmly believe that once you realize you need this type of medication you should either kill yourself or make it your primary goal to have access to that medication - any other decision - including bill's - deserves exactly zero respect. now admittedly my english is not that good and i haven't been to vietnam, anyway, if i understand you, face-ob, right, you read bill's message differently, you say it means something like "the bad guys in prison don't give me my medication and thus i want to molest children all day - too bad none are around"; maybe you are right though i'm not convinced, my compassion with this type of medical condition is severely limited. anyway, let's not forget, he's not yet convicted.

I don't agree with either of those interpretations: neither 1) "It's because I didn't get my meds that I did a terrible thing," or 2) "In prison, because I have no meds, I want to molest children."

Right. Remember, the message is being written by someone who presumably does not know that we have been scouring the Web for information on Operation Delego. Her audience is people who are asking "Uh, WTF happened to Bill, who hasn't been seen in months? Is he OK?" Not people who already know Bill is incarcerated and are wondering how on Earth something like this could have happened.

[fasstrack]

This entire discussion has got me thinking about the metaphoric black clouds that sometimes hang over human heads. Once the set up shop those humans often do things many find shocking. I personally am shocked by almost nothing people do, good or bad. A defensive mechanism in the name of staying sane, no doubt. Saddam Hussein and Mother Teresa walked the earth contemporaneously. Both were convinced of their good deeds, I would guess.

The thornier part is who has the right to judge frailties, even ones leading to despicable acts? No one? Everyone? People at, or considering themselves to have attained a certain moral plane?

Like someone said earlier: maybe there are no answers but hope for the race can't die if we at least ask the questions.

Edited September 5, 2011 by fasstrack

[Jazzmoose]

Not everyone in the world looks to throw somebody in the trash when they do something horrible.

Fuck that shit. He didn't kick his dog. I'm sorry this post isn't at the same high level as the rest of the thread, but getting on your moral high horse over someone who has destroyed the lives of small children doesn't impress me in the least.

[Chuck Nessa]

I am one of his facebook friends and the thread over there paints him as victim and ignores his victims. I have a difficult time wrapping my head around that.

[Chuck Nessa]

A facebook post about this is gone. I did not insult anyone. I just asked why Bill was a victim and no one else was mentioned. WTF!

[7/4]

I un-friend-ed him a few weeks ago.

[Utevsky]

I believe Bill is scheduled to enter a plea in his case sometime next week. It is just one step in the process. If he pleads not guilty, that does not mean he will not enter a guilty plea later.

Bill admits he is addicted to child pornography. For some posters, that's the end of the story: he's a beast. As has been pointed out, it is easier for many people to find sympathy for someone addicted to heroin. But addictions are illnesses, and an addiction to porn can consume a person just like a drug habit.

I will try not to "judge" Bill because we don't know the case against him yet. We haven't heard his story. We don't know what he actually did or even what he is alleged to have done, except we know the prosecutors accuse him of uploading certain files. Based on the general publicity about the website, some people seem to assume that Bill was also involved in producing pornography - but I'm not aware of any such allegations. Possessing, viewing and trading child pornography are unsavory obsessions, but they are in an entirely different realm than producing it.

[Niko]

"As has been pointed out, it is easier for many people to find sympathy for someone addicted to heroin."

see, if someone is addicted to lying in bed all day, then bad for him but why not... if someone is addicted to heroin and somehow manages to fill his needs without getting into whatever horrible stuff - severely bad for him BUT though i wouldn't quite call it sympathy it's an entirely different thing than being addicted to raping 3 year olds, or being addicted to watching while 3 year olds are being raped. it's so different i find the comparison quite offensive.

i know what happened is hard to take - but could you please stop all that apologetic crap!

Edited September 6, 2011 by Niko

[king ubu]

I absolutely agree. Would be good if these unruly comparisons here would end - now!

[Hot Ptah]

I believe Bill is scheduled to enter a plea in his case sometime next week. It is just one step in the process. If he pleads not guilty, that does not mean he will not enter a guilty plea later.

Bill admits he is addicted to child pornography. For some posters, that's the end of the story: he's a beast. As has been pointed out, it is easier for many people to find sympathy for someone addicted to heroin. But addictions are illnesses, and an addiction to porn can consume a person just like a drug habit.

I will try not to "judge" Bill because we don't know the case against him yet. We haven't heard his story. We don't know what he actually did or even what he is alleged to have done, except we know the prosecutors accuse him of uploading certain files. Based on the general publicity about the website, some people seem to assume that Bill was also involved in producing pornography - but I'm not aware of any such allegations. Possessing, viewing and trading child pornography are unsavory obsessions, but they are in an entirely different realm than producing it.

It is an assumption which is easy to make, that he was producing pornography, from the language of the indictment. I understood from the indictment that those uploading files had produced new material, and that this was required, in order to stay in that particular online community.

I will join those who wish your apologies for him would end. He had to know that he was not participating in a victimless community, at the very least. Innocent small children were having their lives ruined, as part of the online community he volunteered to be part of. He had to know that.