Lunsford's "Ride for their Lies" Rally a commercial flop

I had reported on and critiqued Mark Lunsford and the Surviving Parents Coalition's latest get rich quick scheme in an earlier post on my blog. Well it appears at least for the amount of publicity, or rather the lack of publicity, that the so-called "Ride For Their Lives," the fundraising scheme to earn a million dollars for lobbying, has been a bigger flop than Gigli or Son of the Mask. The next picture sums up the typical rally quite well:

http://www.kplr11.com/news/ktvi-ed-smart-st-louis-083110,0,5285312.story

ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI-FOX2now.com) - Stopping sex offenders before they strike. Ed Smart whose daughter Elizabeth was taken from their Utah home, joined local parents Tuesday night to push for tougher laws. Ed Smart and Ahmad Rivazfar are on a cross country bike tour to encourage lawmakers to throw the book at convicted sex offenders. Both Ed and Ahmad speak from the heart and from experience...so why didn't anyone go to Kiener Plaza to listen?

Ed Smart replied "Sometimes we don't like hear about these stories."

I don't think so, Ed. People hear it all the time. The problem is people are starting to become skeptical of people like Mark Lunsford, who has been embroiled in controversy over mismanagement of funds donated in his deceased daughter's name.

The "Ride for their lives" event was a 3000 mile trip from Rochester, NY to Los Angeles, CA. The month long trip was to raise a million dollars for lobbying for the Adam Walsh Act and other useless bills that already exist. I suppose Ed mart and Lunsford figured star power alone would get enough attention to make their goals. Lets just ride our bikes a few miles, Lunsford on a motorcycle, and watch the masses flock to us -- easy money.

A funny thing happened along the way. Turnout was ridiculously low, as evidenced by the picture at the St. Louis event. In fact, you'll find little media coverage at all about the event.

There is absolutely no media coverage of the "Grand Finale" to the rally in Los Angeles, CA. None. Unless you count what the SPC put up on the internet.

These rallies, no matter how unsuccessful they may be, are still golden opportunities to counter the ignorance and blind hatred of the populace. There are plenty of materials at Sosen and Once Fallen you can print out and hand out. Approach media hounds. peak with event organizers. You don't have to have an organized counter, just be there.

UPDATE: It seems Jane Velez-Mitchell reads this blog because now, over a week AFTER the fact, wrote a small piece on the Ride 4 their lies:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/09/30/velez.mitchell.victims.families/

AM I A MONSTER?

"Are they monster? You bet they are. You bet they are." -- Ron Book, Florida Lobbyist and advocate for stricter residency laws

AM I A MONSTER? The answer has plagued my mind for days on end. My neighbors watch me with suspicious eyes and gossip behind my back. People shout obscenities at me while I'm walking down the street. People devote website to hating and attacking me. I am put on a public list, and that makes people afraid.

Recently, my now ex-fiancee was told by her neighbor, a child, "That man who comes over to your house, he' a bad man, he hurts people." He's a monster. We could not get married because she has a child so the law won't allow it. We could not easily go on trips together or attend kid friendly events together out of fear of vigilantes.

My ex-fiancee could not take it anymore so she left me. Even she began seeing me as a monster. I will never forget that she sees me as a monster. I can never forget.

AM I A MONSTER? Am I eternally doomed to virtual exile? Is death my only escape? Once fallen, can anyone restore his or her own life? Is there hope? Is there forgiveness? Is there LOVE?

If I am a "monster," then I have none of those things. If that is the case, why should I bother to fight anymore? I have lost everything-- my family, my friends, even the one person in this world I truly loved. All I have left is instinct to survive. I have fought not because I wanted to because I felt I did not have a choice.

Every morning I wake up from a nightmare and into a bigger nightmare of life. Every day I am gripped with the thought of the hells in tore for me today. I wonder what new law will be passed out of fear of the people on that public list. I wonder what more people can do to harm me. I fall deeper and deeper into despair. It is as if even God himself has forsaken me. Each day is filled with one objective-- finding the will to live.

I'm sure this makes those who hate me feel happy. It is sad how people get such pleasure from another person's suffering. They love to point out the harm I caused, but if they get pleasure out of my pain, then what does that make them?

AM I A MONSTER? The Cypress Times wrote an article last year called "The Monster Next Door: The Plague of American Sex Offenders." In it he says this:

“There’s no such thing as monsters.” We tell our kids that. The truth is that monsters are real. A real live monster might live next door to you, or across the street from your child’s school, even around the corner from your church. These monsters are called “Sex Offenders”, a label that is far too innocuous to convey the evil of those who have earned it.

Most people agree with him. To most people, we are all "monsters." It does not matter what landed us on the registry, whether we are rehabilitated or not, or whether or not we are a threat of any kind. To them, we are ALL "monsters."They have made up their minds. [To the Cypress Times's credit, they did allow me to write a counter-argument]

It was funny when I typed in the words "sex offenders are" into Google. It did not end with "monsters." Instead the first item that came up was "sex offenders are people too." The article begins with a quote by GK Chesterton:

To love means loving the unlovable. To forgive means pardoning the unpardonable. Faith means believing the unbelievable. Hope means hoping when everything is hopeless.

It stopped me in the middle of writing this post. It was a different view on sex offenders than the norm. Forgiveness? The sex offender is a "human being?" What audacity! The article asks this question:

While a child who has been harmed deserves justice, does an offender who has served the sentence required of him deserve a second chance at life?

Read that article in its entirety and you will see she discovered she was truly blind to the issues until it impacted her family. she once held the same views as the majority. That's the issue I have with society-- no one is ever aware of what these laws do to us.

People have blindly supported laws because "monsters" don't deserve to be treated like human beings. People find it hard to believe the effects the laws have in my personal life. They did not know what they were supporting.

AM I A MONSTER? If I am, then why do I feel pain, remorse, heartbreak, and sadness? I am reminded of the classic work "Frankenstein."

Victor Frankenstein created a "Monster." He feared the monster. He flees the "monster" he created. The "monster" was abandoned. It was confused, angry at being abandoned, and afraid. This poor creature sought out friendship and acceptance, only to be met with derision and violence against him. His own creator betrayed him. The "monster" could find no peace, neither in reaching out to others or by getting revenge on his creator. In the end the "monster" destroys himself.

I feel like Frankenstein's "Monster." I have been searching for love and acceptance but I am only met with anger, derision, fear, and violence. AM I TRULY A MONSTER?

It does not matter what I have done since my release. It does not matter I have never been suspected of any wrongdoing. It does not matter that I have never re-offended. It does not matter I have made reparations and atoned for the wrongs I have committed to the extent allowable. In the eyes of society, I committed the unforgivable sin, and there can never be a pardon.

I wish I could say I am not a "monster." If I am not a monster, what am I? Even the angels desire to he human. If only I knew the answer.

Pedobears, bus surfers, and Lone Guys on Park Benches! Oh, My!

Do we need any more proof that America is getting too paranoid about sex offenders? It seems that our fear of sex offenders has not yet reached its peak.

Below are some of the most recent stories:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39088022

The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department is warning parents about a disturbing new phenomenon made popular by pedophiles and sexual deviants. The Pedo Bear began as an online Japanese cartoon character, and is known for his "lecherous nature" towards prepubescent children. Recently, pedophiles have adopted the bear as a mascot. Although there have been no reported sightings of the image on the Central Coast, individuals dressed in the bear costume and car decals have been seen in Southern California. Local law enforcement cautions parents to be aware of the image, particularly at public events. For concerns about the image, contact the Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement division of the sheriff's department at 805-781-4550.

For those of you who have never heard of "Pedobear," Pedobear is a character created on a popular website called 4chan that was used to call out someone who makes a comment that sounds sexually inappropriate, or calls to attention something that oversexualizes children or minors. Pedobear eventually became used outside the 4chan site, of course. But many do not understand what it means because it is a 4chan inside joke. Apparently, neither did the San Luis Obispo Sheriff's Office. They saw a person dressed as Pedobear at the comic book convention and they sound the alarm. It may be a joke in bad taste, but it is not necessarily a criminal, either.

The San Lius Obispo Sheriff's Office is not the only one creating panic. John Walsh of AMW, the leader in fear promoting for almost 30 years, has created a new panic: Watch out for "bus surfing pedophiles:"

http://sexoffenderissues.blogspot.com/2010/07/nv-americas-most-wanted-host-john-walsh.html

"The front lines against a disturbing reality. John Walsh calls it "bus surfing" -- pedophiles who follow buses and prey on children at bus stops."

Of course, the problem is not just that he creates a new fear, he finds a few people willing to back him up on his latest campaign of fear:

The bus drivers here say they're aware this goes on. And they say John's presence here serves as inspiration to constantly be on the watch and report any suspicions. They know their neighborhood routes well, so they say they look out for cars who linger behind buses or people who seem out of place. And they say they're not afraid to report suspicious activity to the police.

Oh yeah, if you are lost or new to the neighborhood, be prepared to be a suspect.

The last featured article is relevant in light of recent trends that ban sex offenders or even people without children from parks.

http://blog.seattlepi.com/wallingford/archives/220922.asp

The Monster of Meridian Park

This post originally appeared on Wallyhood, the Wallingford, Seattle neighborhood blog. Visit us for more Wallingford news.

(By Margaret)

Imagine, if you will, an idyllic park setting where sounds of children's laughter and shrieks of delight fill the air. You shade your eyes from the sun and catch a glimpse of someone sitting on a nearby bench. Looking around, you discover that this person is at the park alone, which you find strange. "Something's not quite right," you think, as you watch him wander through the playground. Your instincts tell you that this person shouldn't be anywhere near children.

Back home, you log onto your computer and check the database of registered sex offenders, during which you find that there are 12 offenders within a mile radius of your address. Your pulse quickens as you look through the database. You suddenly see a picture of someone that stops your heart cold, and you ask yourself, "Is it him? Is this the man who was at the park"? You're horrified. That man is a Level 2 sex offender, and what's more, he's NON-COMPLIANT. Your hunch was right. He has no business being anywhere near children.

So you share the news in the public forum of your community's neighborhood blog because people need to know, and parents with children who visit the park need to be aware that this dangerous man could return to the park at any time and possibly re-offend. Before long, people are asking, "Why is this guy allowed to be in the park?" People then report that they've seen this man everywhere: at the supermarket, the library, and a bus stop. What's worse is that someone else calls the Seattle Police Department to report "the incident," and dispatcher tells the caller that since the man is not on probation, there is nothing stopping him from being around children.

Meanwhile, fliers emblazoned with "HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MAN?" and the man's photo are distributed to parents in the park. One parent Google's the man's name, only to find out that he was thrown in jail last year for keeping pornographic files of children on his computer. "Why the HELL," she asks, "isn't this man still in jail?"

But then, someone else does a bit more digging. Finds that the man in question is actually not the same man in the database. That man has been behind bars for the past year, and he will remain so for 11 more. That man should have been taken off of the Sex Offender database last year.

It's an honest mistake, to be sure, but one that has raised a lot of fears. The intention was admirable, but the cascade of events that followed was not.

We are incredibly lucky to be living in the digital age--where infinite information is delivered to us effortlessly. We are more informed, more aware, and as such, more proactive about delivering information that can be helpful to our neighbors. But sometimes, a little information can be very dangerous. Without checking facts or digging deeper, we stand a chance to instill unnecessary fear and widespread panic.

And there you have it. How do you think this innocent man must have felt because some idiot thought he was a pedophile? His only "crime" was sitting in a park. Men are increasingly cast as potential sexual predators in this country.

Sexual predators are EVERYWHERE! HIDE THE KIDS! Watch the video below, and you'll see how far this has gone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBw1I0AOhQ4

ADDENDUM: There is one more panic out there. Now CNN is reporting an alleged "Pedophile Manifesto," and promotes the fear by getting Ed Smart, Robin Sax, and Mark Klaas, complete with faulty stats. Joy Behar should've stayed on The View. The irony is that most of the child advocacy place put info out there on how molesters work. That is about the same thing, in my opinion.

http://joybehar.blogs.cnn.com/2010/09/08/manual-for-child-molesters/

ADDENDUM 2: The Pedobear scare spreads!

Tulsa's Fox 23 News claims the guy under the mask was a Registered Sex Offender, yet there is no actual report of that, the man would have been arrested on the spot and would have been in the earlier report.

http://www.fox23.com/news/local/story/Pedobear-The-New-Pedophile/jcdOrr1dzU2Pbv12JE4qZw.cspx

Are "unintended consequences" REALLY "unintended?"

"I think this is a clear example of an unintended consequence, which can occur when we go beyond what we call police protocol when handling sex offenders. I understand the concern of parents for their children. But we must not allow hysteria to take place."-- Marion County, Florida Sheriff Ed Dean, responding to the suicide of a handicapped Former Offender after flyers picturing him with the words “CHILD RAPIST” printed in big bold letters were plastered all over the community

I am always hearing the term "unintended consequences" in many articles about the pitfalls of overbroad sex offender legislation, but I wonder if the people who have used this term really understand the term "unintended consequences."

"My intent personally is to make it so onerous on those that are convicted of these offenses . . . they will want to move to another state." -- Georgia House Majority Leader Jerry Keen (R)

"Is there anything left we can do to sex offenders with a few days left in the session?" -- Louisiana State Rep. Danny Martiny, R-Metairie, during the closing days of a 2006 legislative session

If Georgia passes laws to make living "onerous" and they are conscious of the fact, then the consequences are not "unintended." When a Louisiana state senator half-jokingly muses if we can find ways to destroy the lives of people who have completed their sentences, that is not unintentional. When a state passes residency restrictions knowing they have Iowa's problems as an example beforehand, or they pass the Adam Walsh Act knowing Ohio's problems implementing the laws, that is not unintentional.

Let me illustrate "unintentional consequences," because the concept seems to elude politicians.

In the span of a month, I have experienced both the death of one of my loved ones and the break-up of a two year long relationship which compelled me to move.

The grieving process over losing a loved one is my first exhibit. While in the process of grieving, I was also in charge of the arrangements. I also wrote the obituary. However, because I was afraid vigilantes would disrespect my loved one's memory or use the info to attack my living loved ones, I completely omitted myself from the obituary. That was also the week one of those local mug shot newspapers decided to feature me, and one of my neighbors were quick to mention it to my now ex-fiancee. Then the car broke down in Nashville when I went to pick up a traveler to the funeral, and my mind raced to thoughts of having to show my ID card with "Criminal Sex Offender" in bright red letters to an officer or repair man in a place far from home. Each of those experiences were examples of "unintended consequences." Or are they?

The second exhibit is my break-up with my long time fiancee. There were many reasons for the break-up, but a major aggravating factor is my status as a sex offender. Because she has a child, we cannot live together. For nearly two years, we lived a "double life." Our days revolved around trying to see each other as much as possible while spending as little time with her child as possible, not because I was a risk, but because of paranoia brought on by nosy neighbors. Busybodies abound in rural America. Once we broke up, tasks as simple as returning unwanted mementos of the broken relationship take on new dimensions. As an RSO, you're always suspect of being a threat, despite never showing aggression. It becomes a weapon to use against you. The neighbors stare and whisper, watching that "dangerous sex offender" being hassled by the police for doing nothing more than returning unwanted mementos to its rightful order in neatly stacked boxes. I wish to say those were unintended, but then I reflect upon the events of that day and ask myself it it was truly "unintentional?"

If I committed suicide, would that be an "unintended consequence?" I wonder if that is really what those who pass these laws against me intended for me to do.

I hardly think the impact of these laws are "unintentional." Unconsidered, possibly, but not unintended. The intent of tough sex offender laws is to make life as miserable as possible. It is not about child safety, or about reducing sex crimes, it is about causing the maximum amount of pain upon those who made mistakes. There is nothing "unintended" about that!

I see no changes wake up in the morning and I ask myself
is life worth living should I blast myself? -- 2Pac from the song "Changes"

Once Fallen registry poll

There is a little debate regarding whether the registry should be reformed or abolished (or even expanded). I have created a poll to gauge how my readers view the registry, so please take a minute to vote. The poll is to the right, just below the graphic of my book. It only takes a second, so please vote today!

Ride For Their Wallets

UPDATE: The video of the event now available. Scroll down to bottom of article to view!

Looks like Mark Lunsford has cooked up yet another Get Rich Quick Scheme (TM). As a charter member of yet another group, the "Surviving Parents Coalition," Inc., Lunsford is a part of the "Ride For Their Lives," coming to a major city near you. So what is the purpose, exactly? Well it is pretty simple. Read it for yourself:

The purpose of The Ride For Their Lives is to raise more than $1,000,000 to help walk the halls of congress to advocate for laws that protect our children. The Surviving Parents Coalition focus changes to meet the ever present need to prevent predatory crimes against children and young adults.

COMMENT: So let me get this straight. The purpose of "The Ride" is to raise a million bucks or more so Lunsford can have cocktails with Congressmen who already blindly support his legislation? Does it really cost THAT much to hang around in DC for a few days? I only spent $500 for a five day conference in DC back in 1996 when I was in college and that included my airfare and my hotel stay, and a couple of souvenirs. Damn, inflation is something else.

So what are they planning on doing in DC? They were at least kind enough to explain:

The four causes being focused on during this ride are:

1. Mandatory DNA testing upon arrest:

Oh great. They support more Big Brother legislation. I wonder if they'll be the first in line to give their DNA to the beast.

2. Protect our children act of 2008

Ok. First off, why would Lungsfull lobby for a law ALREADY PASSED AND FUNDED? And where do these crazy stats come from? Do you think Lunsford is aware the law passed yet?

3. The Adam Walsh Act

See #2. What the hell has Lunsford been doing all this time? Okay, I'll explain s-l-o-w-l-y in case Lungsfull ever reads this. THE AWA PASSED 4 YEARS AGO, AND BARACK HUSSEIN OSAMA FUNDED THIS STUPID BILL! Again, why waste a million dollars to send someone to lobby a bill already passed and funded? Of course, most states found implementing AWA has been a disaster.

4. Child safety initiative

Now see, I have no problems with education and prevention. However, will this education tell kids not to sext or have relations with each other lest they land on the registry? Of course, there have been such programs in place for years, but people do not utilize them.

If that wasn't enough to get you going, check out the "state report cards:"

http://ridefortheirlives.com/State-Report-Cards.html

Ohio is just one of the states they will ride through. Ohio has DNA testing already. Big whoop. They're also AWA compliant. Again, big whoop. Since the Ohio Supreme Court ruled retroactive application of SB 10 (their version of the AWA), I wonder if Ohio is still technically "compliant."

This is where it gets kooky. Their stat page claims Ohio has "100,624 known sex offenders." Wow. They must have something the NCMEC doesn't because the latest stats from the NCMEC show there are just under 20,000 Registered Sex Offenders in Ohio.

The site suggests the Protect Act stats are from the ICAC though there is no study that suggests anything like they are suggesting. However, even with my limited knowledge of the internet, I'm fully aware of the use of viruses to infect PCs with child porn, sometimes even as a set-up. Lunsford should know since a news article had reported it days after his daughter's death. Considering how we let John McCain, a man who admittedly cannot use a computer, much less understand the internet, pass laws restricting the internet. Well crap, that means I could write and pass laws on combatting Nuclear Proliferation.

One activist for the rights of Former Offenders attended the Chicago event. It seems there were only about 30 people who attended, he being one of them. If you want a play by play, you can listen to the play by play on the August 28 "Open Mic Night" on ARC Radio.

The play by play highlights of the Chicago event:

1. Only 6 riders
2. Event lasted 30 minutes
3. Lunsford arrived late, did not ride during rally, appeared drunk
4. No politicians or legislators

As of this writing there is not much media coverage of the events. It looks like squeezing a million bucks from the poor people of this nation is going to be just a little tougher than he thought.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUsvIkEoy2A#normal

Spending more on corrections than education

Americans are spending more on incarceration than education. I'm not surprised to hear it, but I did not think about it until I moved to Alabama to be with my (now EX-) fiancee.

She has a child enrolled in public school. It seemed like every day, there were notes from the school asking for money. Hat day fund, one dollar. Pizza day, three dollars. Buy a school T-Shirt (a "requirement" I'm told, $10), a CD "yearbook" costs $10 (that anyone with a CD, a label making copying machine, and Microsoft picture slideshow maker could make). And I'm not even counting those "required" supplies on that list that we were forced to buy to "share with everyone" (yet when the kid actually NEEDED a pencil from that communal stash of school supplies they were nowhere to be found). Nor did I mention the endless barrage of other "fundraiser" activities-- the candy sales, the catalogue order forms, the bookmobile, etc. It was staring to sound like a Mastercard commercial, only without the "priceless" line. Actually it felt more like petty theft mixed in with extortion.

I kid you not, if we bought into every fundraiser, hat day privilege, party, field trip and event, we could have paid enough to send the kid to a private top-notch local academy. This is supposed to be a public school paid for by the insane amount of taxes even the poorest citizens pay, like the sales tax. It makes me wonder exactly what the schools do with all that money, that communal school supply stuff we had to buy the start of the year, and all those donations collected for that "tools for schools charity."

Despite Wal-mart selling pens, paper, and notebooks at pocket-change prices (an in spite of that tax-free holiday), we still found ourselves over school budget.

While our kids' educations are compromised by the constant need for funding, the feds are spending BILLIONS to run public lists of people who committed crimes as far back as the 1950s (or kids as young as age 10), to send US Marshals to knock on doors just to see if they are home, to keep them in mental institutions just to please the public, or to send someone out with a tape measure to ensure that guy on the public list is at least 1 foot outside that residency restriction buffer.

"If it saves one child" apparently is a relative term. After all, our attitude about sexual accountability education is to shield them from it until they have it, then brand them for life. Somehow, we've grown to equate teaching kids about the legal pitfalls is equivalent to condoning a "pedophile" act. How come we do not think that "scared Straight" is the same as teaching kids how to do drive-bys and how to turn powedered cocaine into crack rock? It just seems when we put the letters S, E, and X together to form a word, people become instant paranoid schizophrenics.

But I digress. I've written TWO articles on my website on the money issue in the sex offender field. They've been up there for a while. This is just another example of capitolism gone wild.

Lets Play "The Fear Mongering Game"

We're quite the fearful nation. We're scared of sexual predators, terrorists, and whatever the flavor of the week is on our nightly news. A few months ago I was talking to some fifty-something year old guy about computers and we started talking about the Internet and the first thing he mentioned was "there are sexual predators on the internet." Do you think this guy is worried he'll be targeted by "sexual predators?" No mention of Nigerian scam artists, spammers sending you offers of cheap meds or find "flirty singles" in Timbuktu, cyber-bullies, or the loads of OTHER problems of the internet.

It made me think about all the things blasted in the media lately to scare the crap out of the public.

Let's play "fear mongering" game. I'll start off by listing as many events that was blasted over the airwaves over the years that got people afraid to leave their homes. Lets see how many we can come up with. Remember, these are fears where a few isolated cases created widespread panic or called "epidemics," or REAL epidemics where there was a lot of misinformation and acts of hate committed out of fear:

1. Sex offenders/ stranger danger
2. Terrorists
3. People sending powdered poison/ Anthrax in the mail
4. Swine/ Pig Flu
5. Bird Flu
6. SARS
7. Occult Ritualistic Abuse occurring in Day Care centers
8. Pit Bull attacks
9. Meavy metal/ violent movies/ Dungeons and Dragons/ violent video games turning kids into parent killers
10. School shootings
11. HIV
12. Food recalls (they'll recall millions of pounds of a product because it MIGHT have some virus that gives you diarrhea)

That's just for starters. Anyone else remember a good scare lately?

Pit Bulls, Sex Offenders, and stereotyping

I am not a fan of pit bulls. Personally, I think they are ugly as sin with fat, bloated heads with floppy mouths and slobber (the demon dog from "Turner and Hooch" immediately comes to mind). My fiancee thinks they are adorable. I'm not really a dog person, come to think of it.

A few months ago, my fiancee and I were walking around the neighborhood on a lazy Sunday afternoon when this stray dog came up to us and started sniffing us. It looked like a pit bull. I was one of those people who believed the media hype about vicious pit bulls, so I was on guard. The dog was very friendly, however, and followed us like the lost puppy it was. It eventually followed us home, and after some tearful pleas for the dog's life (as shelters routinely euthanize Pit Bulls), my fiancee talked me into letting her keep the stray.

The stray turned out to be a "Rhodesian Ridgeback." They are related to bulldogs such as Bull Mastiffs by breed, so it could be rather easily confused for a Pit Bull. So now I'm the reluctant "co-owner" of an energetic, bone-chewing, poo-and-grass eating, hole digging bag of fleas that is scared of kittens. The dog is far from vicious. Rhodesian Ridgebacks were bred for chasing lions, but this particular dog is more cowardly lion than lion chaser. It reminded me how little I knew about Pit Bulls or dogs in general.


People stereotype everything. If I say a group of anything, such as "pit bulls," we conjure up a particular image. Many people, when asked to imagine a pit bull, will conjure up an image of a vicious dog that kills cats or people, is vicious, and has "locking jaws." I was one of those people. I just accepted news media accounts and my own fear of the dogs as absolute fact. Only when I thought I was on the verge of having to share part of my life with one of those "vicious dogs" did I really research the breed.

The first information I found was a website called www.pitbulls.org. There is a wealth of information at that site that breaks down the stereotypes surrounding the breed. The site refers to http://atts.org/,  a site that tests various breeds for certain traits that make dogs less-than-ideal pets, like unprovoked aggression, strong avoidance, and panic without recovery. The more dogs than show one of these traits, the lower the score. Below are the numbers of a few select breeds:

American Pit Bull Terriers: 86%
German Shepherd: 84.2%
Collie: 79.7%
Miniature Poodle: 77.9%
Chihuahua: 71.1%

As an aside, my Rhodesian Ridgeback scored a 84.4%. My fiancee's mother owns a chihuahua. She's quite a vicious little nipper, and I've been bitten by the little runt. Which dog is the more dangerous dog? [To see a really good video on the Pit Bull CLICK HERE]


Thanks in part to selective breeding, the Pit Bull is a very people oriented dog. In fact, at one time they were also known as "nanny dogs" because of their people-friendliness. However, it is also thanks to people that Pit Bulls have a very bad reputation. Many people are scared of Pit Bulls. Pit Bulls gained their reputation because they are powerful and tenacious dogs, making them perfect for pit fighting (hence the name). According to the Pitbulls.org site, the current state of Pit Bull Panic stemmed from a 1987 Sports Illustrated article on Pit Bull fighting. The 1987 cover was indeed a very powerful image depicting the dog in the most negative light. It is an image not easily shaken, and fits perfectly the "dangerous Pit Bull" stereotype. Sports Illustrated has admitted their 1987 cover played a major role in the hysteria surrounding Pit Bulls. As an act of penance, Sports Illustrated ran a more recent article following the success stories of the animals rescued from Michael Vick's dog fighting ring.

Destroying stereotypes embedded in our culture is no easy task. A recent article landed on CBS news, entitled "Pitbull Kills 2-Year-Old Boy in California: Recent String of Attacks Renewed Calls for Regulations on Dangerous Breed." The article lists a total of two attacks, on that killed a 2-year-old boy in California, and one that killed an elderly man in Memphis (the dog's owner is a registered sex offender). Apparently it does not take many incidents to declare an epidemic, especially when a child is involved. The article also highlights the city of Worchester, MA, and the typical knee jerk reaction to news stories. The city is looking to pass restrictions on Pit Bull owners, including muzzling the pets and placing warning signs on the properties of owners after dog bite reports. Other cities, like Minneapolis, MN, Seminole Co., FL, and Sarasota Co., FL all have public "dangerous dog" registries, complete with mapping software (Ironically, upon actually viewing these registries, there are a lot of non-Pit Bull type breeds on this list). They look a lot like the public sex offender registries run by the same sheriff's websites. Some cities have outright bans, including Miami, FL, Denver, CO., and Cincinnati, OH (as a former Cincinnatian, I can assure you they do not enforce the ban).These actions are referred to as "Breed Specific Legislation" or BSL.

Fueling BSL is a lot of inflated statistics and fear mongering. One of the Worchester city councilmen went on record stating while the Pit Bulls make up 2% of the population of licensed dogs on the city, they are accountable for 25% of dog bite reports. That comment mirrors the statistic mentioned in the 1987 Sports Illustrated article-- 12 of the 18 fatal dog bites in the 18 months prior to the 1987 article were from Pit Bulls, though they make up only 1% of the US dog population. I'm admittedly not an exprt in the field, but I have enough common sense to know that many individuals keep large, powerful dogs like Put Bulls, German Shepards, Rottweilers, and Dobermans for protection. Even many police departments have canine units and killing a police dog can carry as bad a penalty as killing a human officer.

In a heavily-criticised Miami Herald article on using Pit Bulls as service dogs, Broward County resident Larry Steinhauser states, "I've never seen one that isn't aggressive. I think they're a danger to society."

Pit Bulls are ALL dangerous, cannot be cured, the stereotypes, the inflated "OMG" epidemic statistics, the blanket bans, the targeted legislation, and the public registries, the outcries for more laws to protect our children from these vicious predators.

Does any of this sound familiar to you?

I was in the dark about Pit Bulls until I decided to research the facts. I eventually learned everything I believed about them was a lie. How many people have changed their opinions about American sex offender laws after they were targeted by the very laws they blindly supported? How many have read both of the story? How many have researched the facts?

Education is sorely needed to separate fact from fiction. We are indeed fighting an uphill battle. Many current laws were passed out of fear, loathing, and blind ignorance. It will take tanacity, persistence, and the ability to grasp the truth and never let go. Not all Pit Bulls fit the sterotype. Not all sex offenders fit the stereotype. The best example we can lead is in our own lives. Educate one person at a time. Live your live above the stereotype and do not believe the hype.

The greatest "enemy" in our fight -- APATHY

Who is the greatest "enemy" in the fight against these crazy sex offender laws? Pandering Politicians pimping the nlatest ill-conceived laws? Celebrity advocates like John Walsh? Camera-hogging media news analysts? Self-made vigilantes and vigilante groups like Perverted Justice? No.

The greatest "enemy" in our fight is APATHY.

The old adage "we are our own worst enemies" rings very true in this fight. I have been involved in this fight for about seven years, and www.oncefallen.com has been up for years, and in this time, I have received many emails from people seemingly desperate for help, get their answers, thank me, and disappear. I feel a lot alike I'm in that movie "300." I am one of just a handful of people, many of whom have been in this fight for years. We fight for a "nation" of 700,000 people plus their families, every one of them threatened by a larger army backed by tough laws and blind support. Our resources are few, our warriors are fewer. Much like in the movie, this small band of warriors are fighting for the sake of their homes, while the rest sit back and watch us fight to the death.

I can understand the concerns of those affected by these laws. I fear for my safety. I worry how this will impact my fiancee's life. I worry how each high profile case in the media will ultimately impact my personal life. However, it is exactly for these reasons I have decided to fight.

Unlike the soldiers in "300," I am not wanting to die fighting. I'm not trying to be a martyr to the cause. My desire is to live. However, I cannot live my life under this fear for the rest of my life, because living this life the way I'm forced to live is not truly "living" at all. I fight for myself, yet, by fighting for others, I achieve not only great things for them, I achieve great things for myself as well. We all want to live. If we all want to live, we should all want to fight.

If you think you won't be targeted because you obey every law and submit to every whim of the people, you're sadly mistaken. For two years following my release, I kept to myself. I battled umemployment and homelessness until I found a minimum wage job and a sleeping room in the "hood." It was not what I wanted but it was life and I made the most of it. I started making small contributions where I could to society, donating money and supplies to those less fortunate. Two years later, the state reclassified me arbitrarily, and determined I now lived too close to a GED school (a place pre-approved by the sheriff's office). I lost my job and my girlfriend, and eventually my tiny sleeping room. After I moved to another place meeting the residency law requirements, the city I lived in decided they were going to pass an ordinance increasing residency restrictions. I had enough.

It can happen just as easily to every one of you.

Over the past few years, federal, state, and local officials have targeted registrants on a regular basis. Below are just a few of the ways sex offenders have been targeted over the years (some may or may not apply to you today, but it is only a matter of time):

1. Public Registries
2. Community notification
3. Residency restrictions
4. Anti-loitering laws/ complete bans from certain places like parks, amusement parks, playgrounds, school functions, certain eating establishments, churches
5. Civil commitment laws
6. Mandatory minimum sentences and registration time increases
7. Barred from getting certain jobs/ cannot work too close to restricted areas
8. Barred from living around other sex offenders (anti-clustering laws)
9. Barred from living in a household with minors present
10. Barred from many internet sites like MySpace or Facebook for any reason, or from the internet altogether
11. Fees for registering
12. Cannot wear costumes/ masks/ give out Halloween candy
13. Cannot obtain emergency shelter during hurricanes/ blizzards/ other inclement weather
14. Scarlet letter license plates
15. Scarlet letter ID cards
16. Random "compliance checks" by the police working with US Marshals, then threaten you under duress to agree to warrantless searches
17. Barred from Section 8 Housing
18. Proposed: barred from obtaining small business loans
19. Proposed: Denied Unemployment Benefits
20. Proposed: Denied Federal Housing Authority Loans (FHA)
21. Chemical castration, polygraphs, "peter readers" (plethysmographs) and other witch-doctor science
22. Periodic changes to any of the aforementioned laws
23. Assumption of guilt in all your actions
24. Constant threat of vigilantism; vigilante attacks are rarely severely punished
25. Promotion of fear and loathing makes you more likely to face discrimination based upon status alone

Many of these laws have been passed without a single thought to the consequences.

This is not about promoting websites, selling books, or collecting donations. This is about taking a stand and fighting back. This small group, this "300" has done great things-- awareness has been raised, laws have been defeated, and hope has been brought to thousands impacted by these laws. To paraphrase the movie, If we could achieve so many things with "300" Spartans, imagine what an army of "10,000" Spartans can do!

Don't sit still thinking someone else is going to fight for you. Chances are, the person you are waiting for is likely doing the same.

ADDENDUM: Let me just reiterate one thing. Fear is indeed a strong reason not to fight, but I see apathy as being as great, if not greater, than fear. There is an old adage about 20% of the people doing 80% of the work. We have LESS than 20% in this movement. Based on what I have seen, very small numbers are willing to do tasks like sign an online petition, post on a message board, or participate in online groups and forums. I'm not surprised to see the same screen names when I post a comment in Boston, Portland, or Houston. I'd like to see them flooded with new faces speaking out.

On my front page are a few suggestions on how to get active: http://www.oncefallen.com/