second chance or condemnation?

I received the above letter in the mail a few days ago from my local Stepford Community Politburo. It made me really, really sad.

Having sex-offender information and where they live on public record and readily accessible is very, very important. Parents and people in general have a right to know if a serial rapist or child-molester is moving in. It is the responsibility of individuals to keep up with who their neighbors are. It is also their responsibility to keep an eye on their kids and teens. I have not received notice from law enforcement officials about this person moving in, nor about the other sex offender in our midst. I do not know if they do that - being a SINK I do not really pay close attention.

However, when the community association starts doing the notifying it begins to bother me. This letter makes no note of what the person is guilty of. It could be a family with a 17 yr old kid who got a 15 yr old girl pregnant; it could be a woman who got caught getting it on with her date in a park; it could be a guy who got caught jacking off in his car (better than trying to do that while driving); it could be a child molester. So, it sets off a level of anxiety and hysteria in parents. Hopefully people follow the links, and read the information beyond the photos of the person and their address to see what the facts are.

I see why they sent it. But I wonder about the mob mentality that could set in, growing out of simply shunning the person to driving them the Hell out of Stepford and up into the Woodlands.

If they are going to send these letters out, what about a murderer who has done their time? Has this person paid their debt to society? Has my new neighbor? Should they perhaps be allowed the chance to rebuild their life and move on, without having their past broadcast en masse? Where is the fine line between privacy and public knowledge?

Should their crimes be discoverable only to those who take the initiative to look out for the welfare of their children? Such people will surely tell their neighbors etc and rather than receiving an alarmist "official" letter they will perhaps process the information to a different, and maybe less hysterical, level.

Why do I say hysterical? Because murder and robbery are not as emotionally charged as sexual misconduct and offenses. The former are viewed as errors in one's ways, the latter pathological.

Would my community association notify me if that motherfucker who admitted to murdering my best friend and showed no remorse, who was out on bail moved in? I don't think they would.
So where do all these ramblings leave us? Nowhere. I'm disturbed and feel bad for this person who maywant to put his life back together after doing 4 years in prison. On the other hand, the fucker was convicted of indecency and sexual contact with a 15 yr old girl, when he was 40, which is disgusting. I dunno. He probably got plenty of extra punishment from his fellow inmates: I have read that inmates brutalize child molesters. As mature as a 15 yr old girl can look, act, etc., she is still a child, even if she encouraged him and/or lied about her age: irrelevant, it is still wrong.

I think about how I would feel if somebody tried anything with my little nieces and nephews in San Antonio and New Jersey: tear the fucker to shreds. That's the problem - when it's your children it comes too close to home and rationality goes out the window. It's important to force oneself to be objective if at all possible. And that's a problem we see our country facing on issues like gay marriage, human rights, welfare, etc.: rationality and objectiveness and on the decline.

Give the guy a chance. But keep an eye on your kids and teens.