coalition of crime bloggers
Another Child Missing
You know, I'm getting mighty sick of this.
Nancy grace tonight covered the disappearance of seven-year-old Somer Thompson. She was walking home from school with her twin brother and older sister. According to ABC News, she stomped off ahead after getting into an argument with her siblings, and was out of sight for all of fifteen minutes. When the other two kids reached home, she was not there.
Fifteen minutes, people!
Apparently, there was an attempted abduction in the same area a couple of weeks before, but neither the ABC article nor Nancy Grace made clear whether the neighbourhood was notified of that attempt.
Fifteen minutes!
It seems to me that, as parents, we have two choices. We can make prisoners of our children (which we are well on our way to doing), or we can rise up and let lawmakers and law enforcers know that we are mad as hell, and we're not going to take it any more!
Predators seem to be everywhere! Go to any one of the find-a-sex-offender sites and put in your zip code, and see what you find! Please remember that those are just the ones who comply with the legal requirement to register. Not the ones who are flying under the radar, or have not yet been caught.
I have an idea. First, we have to separate sex offenders that prey on children from those who have been caught peeing on a tree, or messing with their fifteen-year-old girlfriend after their seventeenth birthday. We have to admit that there are degrees of sexual offensiveness. Then, child molesters, rapists and others whose offenses are violent and life-changing need to be confined forever on the first offense. No parole, no second chance, no three-strikes...nothing. The recidivism rate for these cretins is high enough to justify this, in my considered opinion. Counseling doesn't help. Probation doesn't help. voluntary sterilization doesn't help (think, "voluntary").
We are quietly, like sheep, shutting our children up in order to keep them safe, when what we need to be doing is convincing these animals that some things need to remain in the realm of fantasy, and, the minute they step over into putting that fantasy into reality, they are going to regret it for the rest of their lives.
Fifteen minutes!
I had half a mile to walk, at eight, nine and ten, over the ridge, up a logging road, and through the woods. Usually, it was a pleasant walk. Sometimes it was cold and rainy, but I never once saw another human being on my walk to or from school. How many of you would allow your children to do that, nowadays? If you did, and something did happen, you would take a lot of flak for allowing it.
I liked my walk (unless it was cold and rainy), and it gave me time to reflect on my day, and process what I was learning, and spin fantasies of fairies dancing in the moonlight. Personally, I think kids need time like that...away from parents and siblings and teachers, oh my.
We are allowing these predators to rob our children of a very valuable part of their youth.
Judges need to be made aware that we expect the laws we have to be enforced to their strictest limits. Legislators need to be told that we want our children safe, and we don't give a good God damn about the civil rights of cretins. First try, say goodbye! First offense, get thee hence!
I recently saw a news story about a bunch of registered sex offenders who were all camped out somewhere because the poor little darlings couldn't find a place to live that met the requirements of their sentences. ( ) Hear that? That was the sound of the sympathy these guys get from me. Can't find a place to live? THEN GET THE HELL OUT! Get out of my neighbourhood, my city, my county, my state, my country and my world.
Fifteen minutes!
(cross posted from ronni's rants)
Nancy grace tonight covered the disappearance of seven-year-old Somer Thompson. She was walking home from school with her twin brother and older sister. According to ABC News, she stomped off ahead after getting into an argument with her siblings, and was out of sight for all of fifteen minutes. When the other two kids reached home, she was not there.
Fifteen minutes, people!
Apparently, there was an attempted abduction in the same area a couple of weeks before, but neither the ABC article nor Nancy Grace made clear whether the neighbourhood was notified of that attempt.
Fifteen minutes!
It seems to me that, as parents, we have two choices. We can make prisoners of our children (which we are well on our way to doing), or we can rise up and let lawmakers and law enforcers know that we are mad as hell, and we're not going to take it any more!
Predators seem to be everywhere! Go to any one of the find-a-sex-offender sites and put in your zip code, and see what you find! Please remember that those are just the ones who comply with the legal requirement to register. Not the ones who are flying under the radar, or have not yet been caught.
I have an idea. First, we have to separate sex offenders that prey on children from those who have been caught peeing on a tree, or messing with their fifteen-year-old girlfriend after their seventeenth birthday. We have to admit that there are degrees of sexual offensiveness. Then, child molesters, rapists and others whose offenses are violent and life-changing need to be confined forever on the first offense. No parole, no second chance, no three-strikes...nothing. The recidivism rate for these cretins is high enough to justify this, in my considered opinion. Counseling doesn't help. Probation doesn't help. voluntary sterilization doesn't help (think, "voluntary").
We are quietly, like sheep, shutting our children up in order to keep them safe, when what we need to be doing is convincing these animals that some things need to remain in the realm of fantasy, and, the minute they step over into putting that fantasy into reality, they are going to regret it for the rest of their lives.
Fifteen minutes!
I had half a mile to walk, at eight, nine and ten, over the ridge, up a logging road, and through the woods. Usually, it was a pleasant walk. Sometimes it was cold and rainy, but I never once saw another human being on my walk to or from school. How many of you would allow your children to do that, nowadays? If you did, and something did happen, you would take a lot of flak for allowing it.
I liked my walk (unless it was cold and rainy), and it gave me time to reflect on my day, and process what I was learning, and spin fantasies of fairies dancing in the moonlight. Personally, I think kids need time like that...away from parents and siblings and teachers, oh my.
We are allowing these predators to rob our children of a very valuable part of their youth.
Judges need to be made aware that we expect the laws we have to be enforced to their strictest limits. Legislators need to be told that we want our children safe, and we don't give a good God damn about the civil rights of cretins. First try, say goodbye! First offense, get thee hence!
I recently saw a news story about a bunch of registered sex offenders who were all camped out somewhere because the poor little darlings couldn't find a place to live that met the requirements of their sentences. ( ) Hear that? That was the sound of the sympathy these guys get from me. Can't find a place to live? THEN GET THE HELL OUT! Get out of my neighbourhood, my city, my county, my state, my country and my world.
Fifteen minutes!
(cross posted from ronni's rants)
Comment
About
Coalition of Crime Bloggers
Badge
© 2009 Created by coalition of crime bloggers on Ning. Create a Ning Network!
You need to be a member of coalition of crime bloggers to add comments!
Join this Ning Network