“Since two young girls were raped and murdered on Florida’s west coast this spring, molester mania has gripped the state. Fueled by outrage over the inexplicable tragedies, neighborhood associations have turned into vigilante groups. Handmade signs have been planted in sex offenders’ yards, and fliers with their pictures on them have been plastered on trees, stop signs and telephone poles… Unfortunately, in the furor over the killings, those who deal with sex offenders and even those who advocate for victims of sex abuse say an important fact has been lost: All sex offenders aren’t John Couey. ‘There’s a difference between a 25-year-old who exercised bad judgment and had a relationship with a 17-year-old and a 45-year-old man who had sex with a 5-year-old,’ said Jennifer Dritt, executive director of the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence… Aside from demonizing people who don’t deserve to be treated like the latest reincarnation of notorious serial killer John Wayne Gacy, the state is squandering limited resources that could be better spent tracking people who are serious threats or providing treatment to the thousands who could benefit from it, she said. Further, she and others said, there is no evidence that the laws lawmakers have passed over the years in response to yet another unspeakable tragedy even work.” —Palm Beach Post (US)

This is a long article — well worth the read — describing how “molestor mania,” an emotional wave of response to sensationalized crimes against children, has incited vigilantism and legislation that may really be useless. Its point is not that you should shrug off crimes against children but rather that you have to be cautious about letting emotion, rather than reason, dictate public policy and personal behavior.

Naturally this is easier said than done when it comes to molestation since pedophiliac crimes touch on what may be, aside from self-preservation, the most potent instinct: the protection of one’s children and, by extension, children as such. In fact, given that the majority of parents would give up their lives to protect their children, it may even be the single most potent instinct of all. And if you need any further proof, just imagine the opposite situation. Plenty of older women — mothers with adult children — get raped, and yet you don’t see the media whipping up stories about crimes against parents. There is no Amber Alert for absconded moms. Why? Because children, even if they’re adults, don’t feel particularly responsible for protecting their parents. When a mother is raped, it’s perceived as a crime against an individual, whereas the rape of a child is a crime against a family.

Given the potency of this underlying psychology, “molestor mania” and its various expressions — harrassment of sex offenders, legislation based on frenzy rather than study — will prove difficult to counter. In an effort to quell the storm, the article provides research data about relatively successful rates for rehabilitating sex offenders; it reminds readers that most crimes against children are committed not by deviant strangers but rather by family members; and it also makes the disconcerting observation that while such incestuous relations may be “offensive” they usually present “no danger to the community” — the implication being that vigilantism and legislation do little or nothing to combat the vast majority of crimes against children.

VideoBox

It's like the iTunes Music Store for Porn. Download unlimited high-quality video for only $9.95/month.