(no subject)
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/03/10/nc.sex.offenders/index.html
Is anybody else bothered that "sex offenders" and "child predators" are used interchangeably?
I'd expect that from advocacy groups, politicians, and the media, but the state Attorney General? That's not a good thing.
It would be refreshing if just one of these fear-spreading reports would include a shred of context, like how many of those 2,116 sex offenders were actually convicted of dangerous or violent crimes, as opposed to pissing on the side of a building while drunk. Does that mean I'm soft on crime?
It's really easy to hate sex offenders, but it's really hard to watch a group of people get systematically turned into the new scapegoat criminal class. I'm torn. Sex crimes aren't like murder, where there's a dead body and a Bad Guy. The term is just too broad.
We get angry when people do this to illegal immigrants and the homeless... yes, I did just make that comparison.
And speaking of murder, convicted killers don't need to register with the police for the rest of their lives, if they manage to get a non-life sentence with one of those fancy lesser charges like manslaughter or murder 2. That's pretty fucked up.
I guess drug- and gun-slinging gang thugs really are less dangerous than creepy trenchcoat-wearing flashers.
Is anybody else bothered that "sex offenders" and "child predators" are used interchangeably?
I'd expect that from advocacy groups, politicians, and the media, but the state Attorney General? That's not a good thing.
It would be refreshing if just one of these fear-spreading reports would include a shred of context, like how many of those 2,116 sex offenders were actually convicted of dangerous or violent crimes, as opposed to pissing on the side of a building while drunk. Does that mean I'm soft on crime?
It's really easy to hate sex offenders, but it's really hard to watch a group of people get systematically turned into the new scapegoat criminal class. I'm torn. Sex crimes aren't like murder, where there's a dead body and a Bad Guy. The term is just too broad.
We get angry when people do this to illegal immigrants and the homeless... yes, I did just make that comparison.
And speaking of murder, convicted killers don't need to register with the police for the rest of their lives, if they manage to get a non-life sentence with one of those fancy lesser charges like manslaughter or murder 2. That's pretty fucked up.
I guess drug- and gun-slinging gang thugs really are less dangerous than creepy trenchcoat-wearing flashers.