Miley Cyrus, Stacy McCain, and that "going viral" Reuters photo w/Update

I received an email from Stacy McCain - along with many other "lady" bloggers who are, no doubt, way more important than moi.  He's requesting that we weigh in on Reuters' decision to post a picture of Miley Cyrus in which her "girlie parts" are exposed during a performance.

I have a ton of errands to run, but a request of Stacy's is too important to ignore.  However, since I'm in a hurry, he and Smitty will have to excuse any misplaced or non-existent commas.

My first reaction to Stacy's original post on the subject was diametrically opposed to Stacy's angst over Reuters' running that picture.  Since I don't particularly like to post on people such as Miley,  I just rolled my eyes and moved on.

However, after thinking about it, my conclusions have changed to be more in line with Stacy's three suggestions:

1. The photo editor at Reuters who approved this image for distribution needs to be fired;
2. Miley Cyrus needs to be advised against traveling down this ex-Disney Princess road to Britney/Lindsay burnout; and
3. Someone at the Justice Department’s Innocent Images Task Force should make a friendly phone call to Reuters, and a slightly less friendly call to Perez Hilton, just to let them know that they’re in the danger zone.

Stacy's number one point is dead on.  Just because Miley clearly has greedy management who are exploiting her, and parents who have abdicated their responsibilities, doesn't mean we need to jump on this bandwagon and hasten what is sure to be a disaster for this girl. 

Number two point.  I used to have a lot of respect for Billy Ray Cyrus.  He appeared to be living a good Christian life.  But ever since the Vanity Fair spread with the overtly sexual picture of he and Miley, I've come to question his ability to make sound decisions.  Fathers are supposed to protect and guide their little girls - not turn them over to management that is turning that girl into the new celebrity train wreck.

Number three?  I'm not sure Reuters can be held legally responsible for showing a picture of an underage girl flashing her girlie parts when the flashing took place at a concert in front of hundreds of people.  Reuters does have a moral responsibility, and they breached that barrier - big time!  The ultimate Judge of this matter is the only judgment that matters and I don't think He is real happy.  

As a nation we are quickly losing all sense of decency.  The ultimate villain in this fiasco is not Reuters, or even that  purveyor of slime, Perez Hilton.  The ultimate villains are the management team, the parents, and anyone who buys into this sleazy trash.  There was a time in this country when such things only happened in the establishments that huddled on the outskirts of town on the other side of the railroad tracks.  Now it's an every day occurrence in "polite" society.  We all share the blame for this.

Update:

Pat at So It Goes In Shreveport weighs in:

Shame on Reuters and shame on Miley