On another note, can we get a law that actually acts as a restraining order and those who break it don't end up killing. It is fairly clear at this point our current restraining orders just don't cut it.
We've had just about enough of 2005
by Joy Stephenson
It is a good thing that 2005 is almost over. America couldn't stand much more. The country has seen too much in the past year and we need a break. One of the most upsetting things we've seen, besides the Iraq war, is the apparent war against children. It's open season on little girls and little boys.
Recently, I saw on television a very ordinary looking mechanic found guilty of kidnapping, raping and killing an 11-year-old girl named Carlie in broad daylight. Before Carlie, there was the sad story of Jessica. We still don't know what happened to Natalie in that strange story and before that trauma there were many, going all the way back to Polly Klaas and the little one named Amber. Her name is remembered because of the alert system established after her abduction.
A 14-year-old ran away with her 18-year-old boyfriend. When her parents objected to the relationship, the boy shot and killed them both. She fled with him. Today I learned of a Houston junior high janitor who had invited two young female students to his home where the girls were sexually assaulted. Apparently the students went willingly.
Almost every day we are hearing or reading some terrible tale of a child being molested and after that crime, they are almost always killed so they cannot tell. It is even more sad that judges seem to take the crimes a little lightly, issuing no heavy punishment. Boys will be boys, you know.
And what's up with older women choosing boys barely into puberty for lovers and even husbands? Can you believe some of these women are teachers? There must be a reason why all these sexual crimes against children are happening. Knowledgeable people, trained in this area, are trying to figure it out. So am I.
One wonders whether the children have too much freedom. Are the moms afraid to say, “You can't go there,†or, “You may not associate with that person.� Is there a law which says we must allow high school young people to travel in a foreign country? It has become apparent that most such trips are lightly chaperoned.
Are parents just too busy to know where their children are and who their friends are? Some of us can remember times when we needed a break from children so badly we would have allowed them to go outside and play with Jack the Ripper if it would only afford us a few minutes of quiet. It's understandable. Perhaps we are so concerned with allowing our children freedom of expression that we are afraid to say “no†to them. We would be better off to stifle their creativity a little and teach them about dangers.
To blame all this sexual business on television is just a cheap shot - too easy. It is true, however, that if children and young people don't understand what sex is, they only need to watch a few hours of television and they will quickly see what it is and how its done and that everybody does it casually for recreation. It must follow in young minds that, “if I am not participating, there must be something wrong with me.â€
None of this answers the question of why predators seem drawn to children, even babies. It is true that many times, 11- and 12-year-old girls are dressed and made up so that they look to be 21. We no longer want our girls to look pretty and wholesome, they must look sexy even at a tender age. What happened to their childhood? Did they just skip playing with dolls so they could just leap from fourth grade to recreational sex?
It is probable that there is no answer to the problem short of our spending a couple of generations restoring our civilization, or at least going to work on American social standards. If there is an answer, it lies in the hands of parents.
http://www.navasotaexaminer.com/articles/2005/11/29/news/opinions/editorial03.txt
