Unfortunately, Gary King remains (apparently) unembarrassed by his latest foible, though he is getting national attention and stoking the fires for humorists.
On November 23, our illustrious AG issued a press release for the purpose of warning state citizens about “Pedobear.” For the uninitiated, Pedobear is a cartoon bear that started as a joke. Here is AG King’s Nov. 23 Press Release. The great cause for concern from the AG? Sightings of Pedobear stickers on two vehicles in Albuquerque. Yep, that’s it.
Naturally, the story continues to spin out of control, as stories involving ridiculous overreaction by government officials tend to do.
First came the formation of the National Association for the Advancement of Imaginary Bears or NAAIB, which issued its own press release and condemnation of AG King’s actions. Check out the NAAIG Press Release and Media Advisory Announcing 12.7.2011 AG Protest. And, yes, you read that correctly: protest scheduled for tomorrow.
AG King apparently responded as follows:
The news release caused quite a commotion amongst Pedobear sympathizers and others who think it was irresponsible for the AG’s Office and media to even talk about the potential link to real-life pedophiles..(as opposed to wannabes?).Even some of the journalists who covered the story were hesitant or scared off the story because a few vocal people were adamant in their claims that the whole Pedobear thing was a big joke that the media and AGO had been duped into reporting about.Thanks to the media folks who had the courage to report the story, I realize you put your hard-earned credibility on the line. You did the right thing.Some people thought it would cause a backlash of vigilantism against anyone who displayed a Pedobear sticker or flag or T-shirt.For the record, of course our investigators know that the Pedobear symbology began as an Internet meme joke, poking fun at pedophiles, and yes, we know that anyone who has the bad taste to display a Pedobear symbol is not necessarily a pedophile…emphasis on the word “necessarily.” If you are a parent of a three year old, can you really take a chance?This is most assuredly NOT fear-mongering by “well meaning government officials,” as one journalist seemed to wonder about.Law enforcement personnel across the country know about Pedobear, they are also concerned.This is the Attorney General’s Office simply trying to make New Mexicans aware that the Pedobear symbol is out there and we think the general public, especially those who are not clued in to today’s Internet culture, deserve to know what the Pedobear symbol is about and how it is interpreted by law enforcement.Individuals can make their own conclusions as to the relative importance of this information. You don’t have to drink the Kool-Aid to know what’s in it, right?Lastly, if the Attorney General’s Office is lambasted for being too cautious by doing anything and everything we can to help protect children from pedophiles…we’re OK with that.