The creator of Bonsai Kitten could have saved a whole lot of trouble and the attendant controversy by taking a few common-sense steps:

1. Posting a disclaimer at the top of the site that the site is intended to be humorous, and that no kittens were harmed in the creation of the site, etc. etc.
2. Inserting the volunteer meta keytags which indicate the site is unsuitable for viewing by children
3. Posting prominent links to sites such as the HSUS, ASPCA, or other animal advocacy sites, urging people to report actual animal cruelty to those agencies

Children Think in Black and White

Family Circle Magazine, in its February 20, 2001 issue, says in an article on communicating with children:

• "Children think in terms of black and white. They take what you say literally."
  "From ages 4 to 11, children go through an extended stage of 'concrete thinking,' which is characterized by understanding the world around them in black-and-white terms. They learn and think literally, and have much less ability to deal with subtleties or abstract concepts."
  

(Such as PARODY, SATIRE, or BLACK HUMOR.) This is what the fuss is all about, folks; this is where the webmaster demonstrated irresponsibility. Yes, parental responsibility is of prime importance when dealing with Internet usage by children-- but many of them depend on the meta tags and other guidelines mentioned earlier, to help them with that job.
First Amendment Responsibilities

Freedom of speech carries with it certain responsibilities, including shouldering part of the blame for actions of others as a direct result of our own misuse of this freedom.

I sincerely hope (as BK supporters claim) that not a single impressionable child attempts his own Bonsai Cat experiment as a result of this MIT student's attempt at a joke. Unfortunately the webmaster is not only NOT attempting to discourage children from visiting his site; he has now decided to invite kids there by adding a kids' page (directions for making a little Bonsai Kitten tissue cover.) Harmless enough in itself, if you can ignore some of the instructions, but the immediate impression is that the BK webmaster is purposely flaunting the concerns of animal advocates.

Perhaps some day 40 years from now, this person will look back and think, "Sheesh -- that was a really stupid stunt I pulled back then. I'm really glad nothing serious ultimately came out of it."

One can only hope.

Notice: In the three years since these articles first appeared, I've received hundreds of emails, both from supporters of the BK site, and from innocents who still believe these horrible acts are really happening.

Please do not email me to debate this issue. While I appreciate reading various viewpoints, (and have already read about everything to be said in support of BK), I simply do not have time for email debates, and will not respond.