Lunsford Take The Money and Run (Spoof Song)

VOTE NOW FOR THE 2010 SHIITAKE AWARDS: http://shiitakeawards.blogspot.com/

Voting for the 2010 Shiitake Awards is taking place, so I set the mood by sharing the lyrics for one of the spoof songs featured in the 2009 Shiitake Awards. CLICK HERE to visit the Shiitake Awards during the month of December to vote, to watch the 2009 awards show, or to find out more about the third annual Shiitake Awards if you're not familiar with the awards show. No surprise, Mark Lunsford was a double winner (or loser, depending on your perception).

Lunsford take the money and run

[Spoof of "Take the money and run" By: Steve Miller Band]

This here’s a story about Mark Lunsford’s money woes

Some people asked where his foundation money goes

Got a custom chopper and a hummer parked outside

People got suspicious he was taking them for a ride

The IRS wanted to search his castle

You know ol’ Lunsford didn’t want that hassle

Hank Asher came in to bail out this bum

So now he’ll take the money and run

Lunsford take the money and run

Lunsford take the money and run

Lunsford take the money and run

Lunsford take the money and run

HERE IS A SECOND SPOOF, DEDICATED TO THE 2009 EVERYDAY ZEROES WINNER, PAUL SANDMAN, WHO TRIED TO EXTORT MONEY FROM A REGISTRANT:

MISTER PAUL SANDMAN
[Spoof of "Mr Sandman" By The Cordettes]

Mister Sandman Extorted Me [bum bum bum bum]

He needed money to buy him some weed [bum bum bum bum]

He tried to cheat me out of my clover [bum bum bum bum]

But one call to the cops and now its over!

Mister Paul Sandman sits all alone [bum bum bum bum]

Inside that jail cell he calls his home [bum bum bum bum]

For all the things he stole from me

Paul Sandman extorted me!

Unaccompanied adults: How far will we take Predator Panic?

I'd love to give a nod to Lenore Skenazy's Free Range Kids blog for this story.

Predator Panic in this country seemingly has no end. It is becoming more common for city parks to ban adults from being near playgrounds unless accompanied by an adult. Apparently this is the case in New York City, as seen in this sign. This week, seven people were cited (they could have been arrested) because they did a terrible thing-- they were playing Chess in the park! 

Hide your children! After all, the game of Chess has been teaching violence for a millennium or so; the object of the game is to use your army of pawns, Castles (rooks), Knights, Bishops, and even your Queen to capture the enemy king. Each piece "kidnaps" the enemy pieces (and there is no telling about the conditions of confinement upon capture, especially when our poor Queen is captured). It is a terrible game, teaching militarism, which ultimately leads to despotism-- even church members and women get in on the violence! I won't even mention the sexual undertones of the game, with most pieces shaped like a phallus. Seeing as how the Queen is the most sought after and versatile character in the game, much of the strategy involves boxing her in like you're trying to gang-rape her, so it is obviously promoting violence against women. Since the queen is the only feminine piece on the table, and not shaped very womanly, Chess promotes racism. Since most Chess games involve white and black pieces, it is possibly racist as well. Thus, those who play the game should be monitored closely.

Okay, enough sarcasm. It is time to analyze this idiotic story:

http://www.dnainfo.com/20101117/washington-heights-inwood/chess-players-ticketed-by-nypd-for-using-inwood-hill-park-chess-tables

Since blogger is acting up I'll have to summarize: Seven men were issued a citation for "Failure to comply with signs," specifically, playing chess near a playground area (which means they must be accompanied by a minor). Note I said "near;" the tables are separated from the playground by a fence. Adding to the story is the fact that the seven chess players are known by the community and has even taught some of the children in the neighborhood how to play the game. Many members in the community expressed outrage over the citations. However, the way the police showed up and approached the players implies someone called the police, likely by a "concerned citizen" (a.k.a., a paranoid helicopter mom). 

We are already teaching children to fear men as potential sexual predators. How far are we willing to take this panic? In the interest of fairness, I wonder why we cannot have child-free zones besides strip clubs and bars. After all, with all the danger outside, keeping children at home seems to be a logical solution. Maybe we can even take the hint from South Park and build a wall around our cities to keep the outsiders out, at least until the story is released that most child abductions are by the parents, so they exiled the children. At this point in our culture, the art is not far from truly imitating the life.

NCMEC drops the ball, speads more stranger danger

I have to admit one good thing about the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children; they have been trying to dispel the "stranger danger" myth. Today, they released a major setback in their quest to dispel this myth. Below is their latest press release:


http://www.ncmec.org/missingkids/servlet/NewsEventServlet?LanguageCountry=en_US&PageId=4320

CHILDREN AT GREATEST RISK OF ABDUCTION WHEN GOING TO AND FROM SCHOOL OR SCHOOL-RELATED ACTIVITIES

Rather than cut and paste the entire article, I will cut out the high points and point out the contradictions.

NEMEC: "An estimated 800,000 children are reported missing every year. That is 2,000 children every day or one child every 40 seconds. NCMEC analyzed more than 4200 attempted abductions for the five year period from February 2005 and March 2010 and found that:"

The stat is from the NISMART-2; 800,000 missing child reports are just that-- missing person reports. They do not clarify that fact that of the 800k reports, the vast majority are runaway/ throwaway children. Part 2 is a structural issue because it implies that each of the 800,000 reports are the same as abductions.The problem is they took two stats that are not alike and put the two together. They clarify this later on in the report but by then the damage has been done.

NCMEC: "Parents also need to understand that most of those who abduct children are not 'strangers'. The phrase 'stranger danger' is pervasive in our culture. However, teaching children to only be afraid of strangers is the wrong message. Children don’t get it. Children view a 'stranger' as someone who is 'ugly' or 'mean'. If someone spends time talking to a child or is even just around a child they think they “know” the person and don’t view them as a stranger. Research shows that of the 58,000 non-family abductions each year 63% involved a friend, long-term acquaintance, neighbor, caretaker, baby sitter or person of authority and only 37% involved a stranger. The number of pure strangers is not insignificant but it remains far smaller than other offenders who have easy and legitimate access to children."

This should have been mentioned without the 800,000 missing child report statistics, most of which are runaways. From the 58,000 "non-family abductions, that'd be roughly 19,000 "stranger" abductions. The definition of abduction in the NISMART-2 report is rather vague. The criteria is extrapolated from the NISMART-2:

Thus, NISMART–2 defined a missing child in two ways:
first, in terms of those who were missing from their caretakers
(“caretaker missing”); and second, in terms of those
who were missing from their caretakers and reported to
an agency for help locating them (“reported missing”).
NISMART–2 counts a child as missing from the caretaker’s
perspective when the child experienced a qualifying
episode during which the child’s whereabouts were
unknown to the primary caretaker, with the result that
the caretaker was alarmed for at least 1 hour and tried to
locate the child. For an episode to qualify, the child had
to be younger than 18 and the situation had to meet the
specific criteria for one of the following NISMART–2
episode types (summarized in the sidebar on page 4):
■ Nonfamily abductions (including a subcategory,
stereotypical kidnappings).
■ Family abductions.
■ Runaway/thrownaway episodes.

Nonfamily Abduction
A nonfamily abduction occurs when a nonfamily perpetrator
takes a child by the use of physical force or threat of bodily
harm or detains a child for at least 1 hour in an isolated place
by the use of physical force or threat of bodily harm without
lawful authority or parental permission; or when a child who
is younger than 15 years old or is mentally incompetent, without
lawful authority or parental permission, is taken or detained
by or voluntarily accompanies a nonfamily perpetrator
who conceals the child’s whereabouts, demands ransom, or
expresses the intention to keep the child permanently [Emphasis added]

Stereotypical Kidnapping
A stereotypical kidnapping occurs when a stranger or slight
acquaintance perpetrates a nonfamily abduction in which the
child is detained overnight, transported at least 50 miles, held
for ransom, abducted with intent to keep the child permanently,
or killed.

But there was no mention of the stats for "stereotypical" abductions, which was 115, the high-profile cases people fear most. There is no clarification between the different types of missing person reports, and without even knowing the NISMART-2 was quoted, you have no way of clarifying the facts.

This poses another question--why did they look at only attempted abductions rather than actual abductions? The scenario is a little stereotypical. What were the other scenarios involved? I'd like to know.

The bottom line: They should know better than to write such a easily misread article.

This news story already shows how the article is already misread and misinterpreted; notice the headline:

New Stranger Danger: Sex offenders target middle school-aged children

Read more: http://www.cbs12.com/articles/kids-4729646-children-school.html#ixzz15SZHJKNM

"JUPITER, Fla.-- It's something many kids have to do, walk to and from school. But it's a passage of childhood filled with peril.... The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children says a startling amount of attempted abductions, 43%, now involve kids between the ages of 10 and 14. 38% of attempted abductions take place to and from school. And about the same number of cases,37%, occur between the hours of 2pm and 7pm. The results were released in August after the NCMEC analyzed over 4200 attempted abductions between 2005 and 2010..."

No mention of the NCMEC's warning about how the number of true stranger abductions. After all, the whole point is to scare you. Do we really need ignorance and fear to be the catalyst for teaching a few tips on prevention? I have no problem with the safety tips. However, our culture of fear mongering has also made us very blind and hypersensitive to the true degree of risk. It is sad we cannot learn honesty in addressing the issue. The NCMEC really dropped the ball on this one!

UPDATE: Read eAdvocate's dissection of the CBS 12 article by clicking on the link below:

http://sexoffenderresearch.blogspot.com/2010/11/how-to-co-mingle-unrelated-facts-to.html

Collective Punishment: Should one man suffer for the sins of another?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_punishment

Collective punishment is the punishment of a group of people as a result of the behavior of one or more other individuals or groups. The punished group may often have no direct association with the other individuals or groups, or direct control over their actions. In times of war and armed conflict, collective punishment has resulted in atrocities, and is a violation of the laws of war and the Geneva Conventions. Historically, occupying powers have used collective punishment to retaliate against and deter attacks on their forces by resistance movements (e.g. destroying whole towns and villages where such attacks have occurred).

This is the Wikipedia definition of "collective punishment."Collective punishment, simply put, is the concept of punishing a group of individuals for the sins of one person. Sex offender laws are a prime example of collective punishment.

You need to look no further than the Adam Walsh Act to understand this concept. The law was named after a child who was killed in 1981, before my fifth birthday. I was still living in Baltimore, MD in 1981, so there is a pretty good chance I had nothing to do with young Adam Walsh's disappearance and death. Yet, nearly 30 years later, I am punished for his death by a law passed in his memory. In fact, there are 715,000+ (and growing) individuals who had nothing to do with Adam Walsh's tragic death, but are punished in his name.

What happened to Adam Walsh was tragic indeed and no one deserves that kind of fate. However, should I be held accountable for a tragic murder that had occurred when I was in Kindergarten? Should I apologize over and over again for something I did not do? Society seems to think so. I don't. Somehow not claiming responsibility for a crime I didn't do somehow makes me "unrepentant?" I don't think so.

Sex offender laws should be based on reason rather than revenge. Revenge motivated laws have tarnished the memories of those children we have named laws after. Why is it we can name a law after Adam Walsh to satisfy our bloodlust but we won't throw our support to a grieving family who believes in rehabilitation of former offenders, as in the case of Esme Kenney? Where is an Esme's law that supports the things that the Kenney family believes in, such as a common sense approach to the issues?

The answer is simple. America supports revenge, not rehabilitation. That is why we have the highest incarceration rates in the world, beating out Russia and China. Ironically, as a former offender, I'm supposed to apologize for every tragedy that happens, accept whatever punishment they arbitrarily throw my way, and if I complain, I'm "unrepentant." To that I say, is Esme Kenney's family as deserving of a voice as Adam Walsh's family? Think about it.

Election Night Thriller (Yet another spoof song)

My first spoof song since the Shiitake Awards, I think. As heard on ARC Talk Radio on my birthday, Oct. 31, 2010 (yes I was really born on Halloween)!

ELECTION NIGHT THRILLER
(Sung to Michael Jackson's Thriller)

It's close to midnight/ And something evil's lurking on TV
Right now on primetime/ You see some crap you really can't believe
You Try to scream/ But you still can't drown out Ann Coulter's screeching
You start to freeze/ As Bill O'Reilly looks you in the eyes
Feeding you lies!

'Cause its a thriller, election night!
And no one's gonna save you from four more years of this tripe!
You know it's thriller, election night
Your fighting for your right to fight this killer, election night!

You change the channel/ But election cov'rage rules on every one
You feel a cold chill/ You're wondering who voted for this bum
You close your eyes/ And hope some people voted independent
But all the while/ You see another tally rolling in
You just can't win!

Cause it's a thriller, election night!
There ain't no chance he'll lose now with a lead that friggin' wide!
You know it's thriller, election night
You'll want to end your life here on this killer election night!

The votes are all tallied and evil ones cheer in their masquerade
There's no escape from the lies of the winners this time
Its the end of your life!

They're out to get you/ It feels there's nothing more that you can do
They'll raise your taxes/ but then again that's nothing new to you
Now is the time/ for us to move the heck out of this country
All through the night/ I'll push the car pedal to the floor
To reach the border!

'Cause its a thriller election night
And no one's gonna save you from the damn teabagger's strike
Yeah it's a thriller election night
So spread your cheeks real wide and take this-
-Killer, diller, chiller, thriller, election night!
It's a thriller election night
Those elephants and donkeys got you locked into their sights
Yes it's a thriller election night
So spread your cheeks real wide and take this killer, thriller, ow!

We're getting screwed tonight!

Darkness falls across the land
Election hour is close at hand
Creatures ponder for your votes
The night air fills with pundit's notes
And whosoever shall be found
An undecided voter still in town
Must stand and face the ballot from hell
And choose from two clowns he can't can't apart tell

The foulest stench is in the air
The funk of FOUR MORE YEARS!
And grisly laws from womb to tomb
Will be passed soon to seal your doom
And as you watch the nightly news
Your body starts to shiver
For no mere mortal can withstand
The evil election night thriller!

[Evil laugh]

Lets just lock 'em up now before they're grown!

The NPR recently reported that a judge reported that a four year old can be successfully sued in court for negligence. The case stemmed from a 4 year old running into an elderly lady with a tricycle, who fell down, broke her hip, and died. It is a sad situation, but the concept of suing a toddler for negligent death just shocks the conscience.

This pales in comparison to the current insanity related to sex crime panic. Children as young as age 3 have been suspended from school or even arrested for "sexual harassment:"


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/19/AR2007101901544.html

-- I recently learned that children nationwide, some of preschool age, have been suspended from school or taken to jail after being accused of sexual harassment. In their zeal to avoid lawsuits, educators seem to be ignoring important information, such as whether the accused child intended to commit a crime or even knows how to pronounce the word "harassment..."

Consider these egregious examples: In December 2006, a 4-year-old boy in Waco, Tex., was punished with an in-school suspension after a female aide accused him of sexual harassment. According to a television station there, the child had hugged the woman while getting on the bus, and she later complained to administrators at La Vega Primary School that the child had put his face in her chest. School officials later agreed to remove sexual references but refused to expunge the "inappropriate physical contact" charge from the boy's school record. 

In my home state of Maryland, state data show that during the 2005-06 school year, 28 kindergartners were suspended for sex offenses, including 15 for sexual harassment.

Our fear of all things sexual has led to disastrous results. Why stop at age 4? Considering the USSA have the highest incarceration rates in the world, we could just turn our schools into prisons. Why stop there? Lets turn day care centers, nurseries, and even hospital delivery rooms into prisons as well.

At what point will the witch hunt end? I'm not sure. I wonder if that female teacher's aid understood the concept of "sexual harassment" any more than Beavis and Butt-head does.

We hear this mantra all the time: "If it saves just one child, then it is worth it." Is saving one child worth destroying countless lives in a hypersensitive witch hunt? You decide.

If I was a monster, then why...

Was Frankenstein's creation truly a MONSTER? We're all familiar with at least part of the story. Dr. Victor Frankenstein created an artificial being. He was freakish in appearance, and at times was very scary. He was abandoned by his creator, people were afraid of him and tried to kill him, and his quest for love and acceptance went unrequited. He was labeled a monster because he went after his creator in an act of vengeance, but felt remorse for his actions and took his own life. It was a tragic story, but "Frankenstein's monster" was not a monster.

I feel a common bond with this story. Frankenstein's creation was no monster. He was misunderstood. He was doomed from the start because he would always be seen as a freak in a society that judges based upon superficiality. He was aware he was seen as "broken." He wanted love and acceptance. He felt remorse for killing his creator. We judge him based upon fighting his creator, yet we forget the other aspects of the creation's personality.

Last month I wrote an article asking if I am a monster. Maybe I have a preconceived notion of what constitutes a "monster." We hear this a lot as registrants -- "Sex offenders think of nothing but sex. They do not have any feelings. They lack remorse/ empathy. Etc." In short, we lack the capacity to feel for anyone but ourselves.

If I was a monster...

Then why do I feel pain?

Why do I feel remorse for past wrongs I have done?

Why do I feel sad over losing my mother and fiancee?

Do monsters do these things? I pondered these things while I took a trip to Oregon. I watched the waves crash onto the rocky shores of Oregon as the sun set over the Pacific Ocean. I partook of the most heavenly brownies at Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood, Tillamook cheese, and Marionberry Cobbler in various shops around Oregon. I shopped for Oregon Duck attire at Clackamas Mall. I stood in awe of the artsy buildings of downtown Portland. I stopped to smell the roses in Portland's famed Rose Garden. I felt the mist of Multnomah Falls land on my skin. I stood in awe of the devastation left by Mt. St. Helens 30 years ago. I spread mom's ashes at Mt. St Helens and the Pacific Coast at Manzanita. I enjoyed the beauty and diversity of the lands in Oregon, the nice people of Portland, and the feeling of experiencing something new and exciting. I was in good company, though I wish I could have shared this journey with my ex-fiancee.

Looking back on that short trip, I think a "monster" would not have enjoyed the experience. Can a monster feel love, feel sad, or feel pain? I think not. If a monster's only goal is revenge or inflict pain and incapable of feeling remorse, then why do I feel remorse and why do I still care about the one who betrayed me? That must mean I'm not a monster!

People love to label other people. Do we have to be slaves to the label? I think not.

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