FlowerChild
Peace And Love
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2007
- Messages
- 1,669
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- 21
first bolded section...one does NOT need a computer to do a SO check, it is as easy as going to your local police station. This information is available in 3 different languages in california. These parents were neglectful in the respect that they allowed an individual to come into their home and stay there without knowing his background first. Your comment does not hold water in that respect.
As for our angel Jessica, these are two VERY different circumstances, as they did not allow him to come stay as a gues in their home.
Well I don't know a lot of working class parents near the poverty line who have the time to go to the local police station with their kids in tow (they don't have a babysitter and can't afford one) and wait around while someone assists them to look up some guy whose real name they might not even know (or know how to spell) on the RSO list.
Let's be realistic here - parents are busy - especially working parents with sometimes multiple jobs - not to mention working SINGLE parents and a lot of them are barely making it as it is - and we expect them to be at the Police Station checking out every male they know every week? I daresay many parents of missing kids who did NOTHING WRONG did not even know the RSO's in their area before their kids went missing. Some of them didn't even own a computer or have the internet at home. It is comparable - these parents are real parents who did NOTHING WRONG and lost their children to a RSO they didn't know was a threat to their children.
It shouldn't be so hard to keep up with these creeps - they should be easily indentifiable on SIGHT! Why don't schools send home a list? Parents have so many things to worry about - and asking them to be private detectives and visit a police station every week or two to look up sex offenders is ridiculous. All the single middle class Moms I know don't have time to get their hair cut or do anything for themselves - they work all day and do "kid activities" the rest of the time - they barely have time to read their e-mail - checking out RSO's might happen every 6 months, not every week. And the Hispanic parents I know - 75% do NOT have a computer or know how to use one and most are illegal - they certainly are NOT gonna go walking into a Police Station to check out RSO's. And do you think pedophiles don't KNOW who the most vulnerable kids are??? They specialize in knowing!
The only people I know who are checking the RSO list regularly are mothers (and fathers) who are like WS'ers - concerned and who have the time and focus to keep up with the information. In our neighborhood one mother keeps the other parents informed of the RSO's in OUR AREA - but I doubt most of the "upper class" parents around here ever think of checking out their friends and co-workers. They just don't. They just figure the CPA or Dr or Lawyer they know who lives with his wife in a nice fancy big house is "OK".
I cannot (and will not) condemn parents without knowing the whole story. What if this is a long-time family friend, the step-son of a relative (by marriage) or someone they have known since childhood?? IF they have known this person a long time and have NEVER had reason to check him out (and no-one told them) why would they know he was a RSO? Maybe his parents and family don't even know he is a RSO? What was the conviction for? Was it a rape - or a statutory rape (big difference) - was it a child or an adult - what is the story there? I don't know many parents who have not lost a child who have sat down and looked up every man they know or have known (related or not) in their life from childhood forward to see if they are on the RSO list. I don't know many parents who have not lost a child who ask for ID's and then look up every male above puberty who comes to their house or is at a family event. It just doesn't happen because we think our kids are safe under our roof and that we can always protect them from bad things and bad people.
Like I said, people make mistakes ... lets say you are a 35 year old guy and have a party, and a friend gets really drunk and you do the "right thing" - take their keys and allow them to sleep it off on your floor or couch. Do you 1st check to see if they are a RSO? What if you are married? Does your wife check? What if you have kids? Do you check then? What if its 3AM and you AND the friend have to get up early the next day and go to work? Do you check then? What if the friend is someone you know really well, do you check then?
It's easy to judge other people - hindsight is always a perfect 20/20. There are no perfect parents out there and even the best ones have all made mistakes. Under a microscope no-one looks good.
My Opinion