The
Internet, that daily source of information upon which so many of us depend for so
much---from the daily news to updates on friends and their status---can not
only be an avenue offering help for today and even hope for tomorrow, but also
unfortunately, an escort to our demise, bouncing us along the boulevard of
broken dreams, pointing us finally to the exit ramp that lands us in a parking
lot bounded by past mistakes.
Was
Manti Te’o duped by an online prank, or was he part of the hoax? In either
case, his story will never be the same, although his career as an athlete can continue.
Not
so for the young lady who until last week was a science teacher in a middle
school in Oxnard, California. Stacie Halas is the victim of her own petard---the
Internet itself serving as her grand inquisitor, revealing the intimacies of a
salacious past she failed to elude. Apparently she wanted to close permanently the
door to her brief stint in the world of pornography. The only problem was that
some of the other teachers discovered on the Internet that Stacie Halas was at
least for a time, a porno star.
Halas
was fired. Not a surprise. She appealed. Last week, she lost her appeal. Not a
surprise, either.
What
is astonishing is that Halas apparently thought her past would go undetected,
even though she had made not one but several films in her few months in the
porn industry. She went by a stage name in her movies, but sooner or later the
truth would out. It most always does.
Especially
when it’s available to replay on the Internet.
Last
April ABC’s 20/20 highlighted the story of Natalie Oliveros, a porn star, who
now is intent on shielding her 10 year old son from knowing anything about her
career in porn. "I've been trying to knock down all the smut and all the
nudity when you Google me that comes up. It's not just about me but it's about
Luchino (her son) and his friends," she said. "I still would be
devastated if he saw this stuff on the Internet."
Eventually, either he will find it, or someone will show it
to him.
Once
again we should be reminded ( how long did those involved in the Manti Te’o
hoax think the mythical online woman’s identity or lack thereof would stay
under the radar screen?) that the Internet doesn't forgive and forget: it simply reveals and remembers.
To
be sure, Stacie Halas committed no crime. In response to the ruling against
her, Ms. Halas’ attorney underscored that she “is more than just an individual
fighting for her job as a teacher. I think she’s representative of a lot of
people who may have a past that may not involve anything illegal or anything
that hurts anybody.”
That
much is true. And what about the biblical King David---as well as the modern
Bill Clinton? Didn't they get entangled in embarrassing sex scandals and still retain
their high positions as leaders in the land?
Indeed
they did. But neither did Bathsheba or Monica film their trysts and post them
on YouTube.
I
don’t know if Stacie Halas thinks her involvement in porn was immoral; nor do I
know if her seeking a new career path was accompanied by a desire for forgiveness:
She may have simply wanted to start over and move on.
But
the Internet will forever stymie that effort. The judge in the case concluded
that Halas’ “pornographic materials on the Internet will continue to impede her
from being an effective teacher and respected colleague.” And the superintendent
of the Oxnard school district said, “Maybe it’s not a crime as far as the penal
code is concerned, but we feel it’s a crime as far as moral turpitude is
concerned.”
Or
As “Ulysses Everett McGill” told “Delmar O’Donnell” in the film, O Brother, Where Art Thou? when Delmar claimed
he and Pete had been redeemed and therefore should be exonerated from their
crimes, “Even if that that did put you square with the Lord, the State of
Mississippi’s a little more hard-nosed.”
So
is the internet.
As
another movie character, Roy Hobbs (Robert Redford) put it in the film, The Natural, “Some mistakes you never
quit paying for.”
Especially
those that can be viewed time and time again with a simple click of a button.
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