Speaking of the combination of pedophiles and power, click here to read about an awesome super trio of Canadian teens! The teens, two of 17 years of age and one of 18, dressed up in Batman and Flash costumes to confront online predators. After posing as young girls to schedule meetings with older men, the trio would confront the men and videotape the encounters. The videos were then posted on Youtube, where the teens gathered a substantial following before a police intervention shut them down.

Some have questioned the motives of the teens. One police officer is quoted as saying, “they may also be doing this for some kind of personal gratification that they too could be real-life superheroes.” But that’s pure speculation, and anyways, who cares? Regardless of whether or not the stunt gave the teens some sort of sense of power or self-worth, the truth is that their little online combat against sexual predators generated awareness and accentuated how little action is being taken by officials. Penn State was an example of how sexual crimes can go unpunished for years, even when several people are aware of the situation.

So I’d like to take a moment to applaud these mini-heroes for their take-action attitude. Because of them, four predators have been brought to police attention, and hopefully something will result from it. It’s a refreshing piece of news after the riots at Penn State University, which were (incredibly) held not to protest the fact that a pedophile worked at the school for so long, but to protest how coach Joe Paterno was fired for knowing about Sandusky’s actions without doing anything to stop them. Paterno was made aware of the situation in 2002. That’s nearly 10 years! I am amazed at how little was done and for how long, and I am absolutely disgusted by the students who don’t see why it was necessary to fire Paterno along with his filthy sidekick.

These men worked at an educational institution. They were trusted with the responsibility to help young people grow and build a future of happiness and security. For some of these students, a dark cloud has been cast over that future. Unlike the teens who took it upon themselves to act out against the faces of sexual crime, Paterno actually had the power to stop what he knew was happening, but he chose not to use it.