“Opinions are like assholes, and everyone’s got one.”

You’re going to want to read more of this post.

Comments From The Peanut Gallery.

“Again ROSE, if you are going to make a point on something, stick by it, or accept the foot in your mouth!”

“There is a reason of why the quote of “Think before you speak” came into play! (and now with the Internet we have the capability to do all, think, research and speak. Let us be careful, as it can be abused!)”

Yes one should think before they blog, as it looks like my adoring fan is the one with a foot in their mouth.

Several months ago I wrote an article advising parents not to post photos of their children on the internet.

I received both positive and negative feedback from the article.

The negative feedback came from a blogger who made comments regarding the fact that each month we post a photo of a sick child from Hugs and Hope on todays-woman.net.

For those of you who don’t know, Hugs and Hope Club for Sick Kids was created by Marsha Jordan in October 2000, as a ministry of encouragement for children who are faced battling a critical illness.

Every month Hugs and Hope hope features new stories and photos of sick children on their website. Visitors and volunteers pray for, encourage, and send these children cheery postal mail (a.k.a.”happy mail”). Volunteers also sponsor many special projects to brighten the lives of the children on a regular basis!

Today’s Woman Writing Community is a sponsor of the organizion and each month we choose one child to send happy mail to.

The blogger basically called me a hypocrite, because I advice parents not to post their children’s photos on the net, yet on my website todays-woman.net we post photos of sick children.

Curious what an expert would say, I emailed Suzanne Stanford founder of “My Internet Safety Coach“.

Suzanne Stanford is a public speaking professional specializing in internet safety education. Her personal mission is the welfare of children. Her extensive background in Internet Safety Education includes lobbying the United States Congress on internet safety issues, and the illegal trafficking of minor children. In 2001, while an executive with I-Safe America, an internet safety education foundation she helped obtain federal funding for and whose national program she helped launch, she was selected by Congressman David Vitter (now US Senator) as 1 of “10 American Women of Leadership”. As such, she spoke at the University of New Orleans on Internet Safety Strategies. In 2002, she received a Congressional Merit Award – “Internet Safety and America’s Youth”. Currently, she is the Founder and CEO of My Internet Safety Coach.com; and the Vice President of Internet Safety Affairs for the Children’s Educational Network.

This is what Suzanne Stanford had to say.

“Rose, That’s a sticky one. As you are aware, whenever you post identifying pictures, you run the risk of predators seeing them for the purpose of engaging that child for their own deviant, sexual pleasures. Thus, putting the child in danger.
That said, I think the way to position this to your subscriber is that you have to weigh the positive aspects of “why” the photos are posted. First off, I can’t see that any child predator is going to be interested in a sickly child. That’s not their target victim and that said, they won’t even be interested in sticking around to learn about the child… (unless it tugs at their heart strings in which case they’ll probably donate money to offset any guilt they’re feeling about what they’re doing – probably not… but one can only hope.)

Secondly, the “purpose” of “Hugs & Hope” is to raise money to provide medical treatment and/or to offset the medical burden that the family is undergoing; and to give the child and the family hope and support for a cure.

Thirdly, this family and their child are in desperate need of love, hope, and support for their spirit. Especially if the prognosis is terminal for the child, these electronic postings of love and support are even that much more vital. These postings, even from strangers, can work miracles in helping the child “hang on”… even if for one more day… not to mention what it will do for the child and his/her families’ “quality of life” during these challenging and trying times.
I’m sorry that you were called a hypocrite.

The person that said that clearly indicates to me that he/she does not understand the power of prayer and compassion, much less the mind and purpose of a child predator.

Without sounding “preachy”, it’s important to note that as we all walk down our path of life’s journey; we will encounter situations that seem like a contradiction in terms… such as what this subscriber is complaining about.

But the key is always to weigh the positive and the negative and choose that which is “right”, “moral”, and “feeds the spirit”.

In my opinion, you are accomplishing all three and should keep up the good work!”

Please note that Susan thought the blogger that I was inquiring about was a subscriber of Today’s Woman Writing Community, when in fact she is an ex-member who requested to be removed from the community.

This blogger’s comment is nothing more than a stab at me in the hopes that anyone reading her blog will question my credibility as not only a writer, but a blogger.

I recommend that all parents read Susan Stanford’s article Kiddie Porn Worth Billions as it’s a very informative article.

I think  my adoring fan whom constantly likes to comment on my articles via her blog  perhaps should  get herself a new past time.  What do you think?

Rose DesRochers