The Scarlet Tag

[Robert]

[Robert]

Yes, here I go again. Why? Do I approve of the deeds of sexual offenders? Absolutely not! Neither do I approve of Corporate Tobacco, but you don't see them going down the street with tags that say, "murderer"!

My point? We are going too far in this country with this junk! I mean what's next, the scarlet letter "A" around the neck of each and every adulterer? Maybe we should go back to stoning sinners like the self-righteous hypocrites in the Old Testament did.

If sexual offenders are so dangerous (and many are) then why does our legal system let them out? I mean come on, let's get real. Something is fishy here....

[Amelia]

Quote:

I mean what's next, the scarlet letter "A" around the neck of each and every adulterer?

Nope, it will be branded on our foreheads.

[Neil D]

Robert,

Believe it or not, I kinda agree with the sendiments ....

Granted, if they are prone to be sexual offenders again, why let them out....

If they are not, why register them? If they do not offend for a length of time, say 5 years, why continue to register them? At what point does a registered sex offender become rehabilitated into society? If jail is not a method for rehabilitation, then maybe we need to revisit the whole jail thingy anyways....

[Robert]

Good questions and points.

[Planey]

Neil, I agree with your points as well.

However, I wondered about this:

Quote:

I kinda agree with the sendiments ....

Did you mean "sentiments" or "sediments" here?

It sorta makes a difference which...

Graeme

[Dr. Shane]

John 317 has a well thought out and logical position on this. Sex offenders can go years between victims so no amount of time without a known offense would make one safe again. I favor implanting a GPD in them and keeping them on parole for life. We simply cannot afford to lock up every sex offender for life. These people can benefit society in various occupations.

[Robert]

Sex offenders can go years between victims so no amount of time without a known offense would make one safe again.

Then why let them out? Putting a GPD in them isn't going to stop a crime from happening. They are delusional if they think that's true.

For example, if I murdered someone and I am out of jail what's to keep me from doing the same to you? Nothing. And the bad guy always has the jump on the victim.

And BTW, why stop at just sex offenders, Shane? Let's have a tag for everyone who has ever committed a crime.

I'll tell you what scares me (and it isn't the sex offenders). It's these people in power who come up with this "boot on the neck" junk. They let these guys sit in jail and usually don't lift a finger to give them some counseling. Then they let them out and make it impossible for them to make a living. Constant condemnation actually makes matters worse. It actually breeds more crime.

[Dr. Shane]

Treatment is available for sex offenders in prison. Those whose victims were pre-puberty do not respond well. However accountability has been shown to be a deterant, thus there is reason to believe a perpetrator with a GPD on parole would be less likely to reoffend.

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

Robert said:

Quote:

Constant condemnation actually makes matters worse.

And it isn't just the criminal population for which that statement is true.

[Amelia]

True that Pam. Kids who get called stupid all the time hardly

ever grow up to reach their true potential.

I still have problems with some of the things my mother tagged me with that came only from her biased viewpoint. And she has been at rest for 24 yrs.

[Gail]

:(

[Dottie]

Not only do I live with the statements made about me by my parents, but I find myself ??repeating?? them to my children, which makes me mad and sorrowful at the same time!!!

[Dr. Shane]

I guess I am lucky to have fallen into alcoholism and then into treatment at such a young age. My mother, and her trail of boyfriends and husbands, did and said many things to damage me and my siblings but I learned at a young age why she did those things and, by the grace of God, I am not repeating them with my children.

So many times when I hug my children or calmly discipline them I wonder how much different my childhood would have been if my parents would have treated me as I treat me children. I simply love hearing my daughter ask to go home after we have been away for a time. I am glad that I can provide a home that she wants to return to.

[Robert]

My mother, and her trail of boyfriends and husbands, did and said many things to damage me....

Short story:

My mother got pregnant and didn't know it; married another man (who was an alcoholic) and I came along about 3 months early. Guess what? I wasn't his kid! How do you think he handled it? Besides beating the #*!@ of my mother many a time, I was fed beer, instead of milk, in my baby bottle.

My grandparents finally had to come and pick my mother and me up. They told me (I don't remember anything) that I was black & blue from head to foot. Hank (that's his name) had almost beaten me to death with the belt buckle. I was apparently quite bloody.

Anyway, his feeding me that beer and watching me get intoxicated has affected me to this day. I was below average all through high school. Only in college did I somehow manage to pull off good grades (3.84). I guess part of my brain works okay...the other half probably died off with all that alcohol.