Sometimes when a point is being made it will ruffle a few feathers. Sad thing is when we, any of us on the side of reform will not even read beyond a title. If we can thus be so close minded we cannot expect legislators, victim’s families and the public to be any different when we present the facts of our case. Becoming open minded must start with us. Only then can we begin to understand the process. Only then can we begin to be effective teachers.
Our movement should have powerful momentum considering the weight of the laws that target those on the registry and their families. No other class of convict has to deal with anything like the punitive laws that target all former sex offenders. For this reason alone there should be an outcry great enough for legislators to take note. And yet no such cry is rising. Our lips are somewhat sealed.
Why?
Fractured! Our groups are unstable. One word can light a fire and blaze like dry stubble across an open field. OH, you may be thinking I am talking about the “N” word. No we are past that. It does not even take that much to turn our people on each other. Let’s look at the fractures for a moment and think about what we are doing to our own movement.
Class Distinctions
One would never think that there would be class distinctions among sex offender groups, but there are. One of our biggest fractures is between the classes or crimes. Let’s look at the classes and pardon me if I miss one or two because the fractures are along certain lines.
Tier I
Tier II
Tier III
——————
Romeo’s
Falsely Accused
Child Porn
Internet Stings
Rapist
Child Molester (Familial)
Child Molester (Predator)
1. A predator is more commonly in prison due to recidivism, thus a lessor threat statistically due the their small numbers.
2. A predator must have a definable Psychosis that proves they are a threat. This can be determined by professionals in the field.
Among us these are often the dividing lines and it goes something like this.
Some of these divisions can be down right funny if you are on the sidelines listening. The Tier I saying the Tier III is the bad guy when just a few months back they were both Tier I. Tier Levels mean nothing!!! The AWA has proven that point.
Some parents of Romeo’s make the distinction that their children are not sex offenders; they were young and made a mistake and besides it was consensual. Therefore they will not fight to reform laws for others on the registry since they see themselves as the highest class.
Some who are Falsely Accused look at themselves as not being sex offenders or criminals at all. They therefore look at the Romeo’s and other classes, who did actually break the law and they will not help reform the registry for anything other than their class.
Child Porn and Internet Sting offenders many times will feel much the same way as the Falsely Accused. They see their crimes as victimless so some of them will turn away from helping to reform the registry for the benefit of any of the rest as they see them as having crimes with victims.
Most Rapists of adult women do not even want to be associated with other sex offenders as they see their crime as completely different. In all my time with this movement I have yet to meet one. They do not want to be associated with a name that has become synonymous with child molesters.
What about the child molester of the familial variety. After doing much research I found that this is one of the largest classes among us. They are also the least likely among us to reoffend. And they are near the bottom of the classes with all above them looking down with disdain.
And lastly there is the predator. The true reason for the registry. I do not believe that I have ever encountered one of this class in the reform movement. That is not to say they do not sneak in, but they are unlikely to stay long as one of our goals is to protect all children.
Now, have I offended any of you by pointing out the class distinctions? I hope not because, I now want you to think of the reason you are part of this movement.
Are you on the registry?
Is it your child who is on the registry?
Or perhaps a spouse or a friend?
If the answer is yes to any of the above, I hate to burst your bubble but that person on the registry, they are a sex offender. People in society do not make the same class distinctions that we do. They put us all in one pot and they stir that pot. They stir that pot by creating more laws against all sex offenders.
Are classes within our movement productive to the goals of the movement? NO! These class distinctions are causing us as many problems as the anti movement is causing us…. Perhaps even more when you consider that some registered offenders have switched sides and now cause us heartache at every opportunity.
It is time to end the class distinctions and unite! Aside from the predators, we need to work together to bring about reasonable laws that both protect women and children and protect the civil and human rights of every citizen of the United States of America, this includes the rights of all convicted, reformed, registered sex offenders.
United we are a force for change, fractured we are simply prey for the vultures of society.
We, each and every one of us, must apply the phrase “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”. It is a proverb that advances the concept that someone who is the enemy of your enemy is therefore your friend. It further means that because two parties have a common enemy, one can use the other to advance their goals. This concept is not new, we should know and understand it.
We, as a group, have common enemies. They are ignorance, hate, fear. Our enemies take on the form of laws that are ill-conceived and counterproduct ive. These enemies are causing each of us harm in one way or another and yet the groups fracture along class lines. Talk about counterproduct ive!
Having strong principles is a good thing, admirable. But if our goals are the same, why can we not work together? Simple. Our goals are not the same. It is all about “ME”. Even among us we cannot see beyond our own noses. What we need are simple common goals. So I will lay out some that should not be objected too.
1. Remove the registry from the public view. (Why? Vigilantism and false sense of security)
2. Remove residency and proximity restrictions. (common sense)
3. Reform the registry to remove those who are of little threat of re-offending and end lifetime registration.
4. Promote educational programs in schools that teach children about abuse and prevention.
5. Promote public education of prevention to reduce the first instance of abuse.
6. Remove barriers for families that are seeking reunification.
7. Remove barriers for families and individuals seeking help from trained professionals.
8. Remove civil commitment for all but those deemed (by a third party committee) as truly dangerous.
8a. Require annual testing to determine if a person qualifies for release.
9. Return sentencing guidelines to their previous levels and bring them in line with similar crimes.
There may be more that could be added to this list but if we just focused on these, the lives of RSO’s and their family’s would improve greatly. It is also likely that this would reduce first time offending. Education is the key to that. And educating the children is not enough; educating the parents is a must!
If we work as a united group, fighting the same enemy, we can be effective, we can win. Or we can separate along class lines and we will have little or no effect on the laws that are causing more harm than good to those we love.
So the next time you think, “I’m different” or “My sons case is different” or “My husband/wife’s case is different”, remember in the eyes of the public you are wrong, each one is the same.
To bring about the changes we must put aside our own prejudices and unite. You see, the “N” word that got so much attention should not get us near so fired up as the SO word.
Do you disagree? If you do, please, by all means do this. Go into a large crowd of say 500 or more and if you are not the SO, take them along. Now have someone walk up to them and say loudly you “N”, and watch the reaction. Next do the same thing this but time, if you have the guts and think the “N” word is the worst thing in the world, shout loudly you’re a SEX OFFENDER! You tell me which one gets the worst reaction. Which would you prefer if you are the RSO. By all means please just call me a “N”.
The SO word is far worse, and that word should infuriate us. We were not born with that label, it was added after a mistake was made. But even after payment for the mistake was made in full, it remains. How angry we should be over that word that BRANDS us.! It should cause us to stand up and say NO MORE! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
I have presented much to think about if we are going to bring about change, but in the end the choice belongs to each one of you, Fractured or United.
On another note, I have told RSOl staff to pull my Jim Crow article permanently. I did not want to case anger and fractue among us.
I was hoping that our people had open minds and would consider an opinion other than their own.
At this point I will leave the decision on the article in their hands. If they want to use it that is fine, if they do not then trash it.
R. English, COO SOSEN Inc.