Is it just me or is there more HATE out there than in a
very, very long time? We've had the Republicans and Democrats (or Conservatives
and Liberals) at one others' throats for a couple of decades now but it has
certainly gotten worse since (God Bless Him) President Obama came into office.
As a friend of mine put it just this past weekend, "I am appalled at the
amount of racism that still exists in this country! I thought we were past so
much more of this by now." And then we have Donald Trump running around
the country (and I'm sorry to say, with ample help from the
national media) busy stirring up as much racism, xenophobia and misogyny in a few months as the KKK has managed to
do in the past decade. And now in addition to the whole gay marriage issue,
people are going nuts over bathrooms!
Now allow me to explain why I
should be considered something of any ‘expert’ to speak on that last issue.
First, as a ten year veteran of a county sheriff’s department, I can tell you
right up front, I’ve seen more than my fair share of sex offenders, both those
our department arrested and those who were required to register regularly.
Sexual offenders come in all sizes, colors, religions, and ages, although the
vast majority are straight white guys. WHY?
Because the majority of males in America are still straight white guys
so go figure. Next, it is a fact that sexual predators do not care WHAT the
sign says on the bathroom door nor are they particular about WHO might be using
said bathroom. Sexual predators, from teenagers to decrepit old men, will take
their opportunity for a new conquest wherever they can and an elevator is every
bit as dangerous, if not more so, than any public bathroom. (And yes, I’ve been
known to step off of an elevator at the last possible moment, when a man who
just didn’t set right with me, stepped on as the doors were closing.)
Secondly, as a person who has
traveled outside the United States and a friend to many others who have done
so, I can tell you, public bathrooms in many other countries are much more open
and unsecured than those in the US. I am thrilled to see so many more clean
functioning public bathrooms, complete with toilet paper, in Latin America than
when I was a child, teen and young adult there. So often back then, you were better
off with ‘clean’ bushes! My friends who travel in Europe and Asia, tell me of
same sex bathrooms everywhere and a lock on the door in many of those places,
is a true luxury! And no, bathroom sexual assaults are no more prevalent there
than here.
Finally, if a person is serious
about protecting their child from sexual molestation, then look first within
your own home! Literally, in ten years at the sheriff’s department, every case
of rape, sexual molestation, abuse, and assault we dealt with, was perpetrated
by someone known to the victim. Women, children, and adolescents, both male and
female, were assaulted by their own—significant others, uncles, grandfathers,
classmates, dates, stepbrothers and cousins—but more often than any other, by
mother’s new boyfriend or husband. Yes, watch the nightly news, if you are in
doubt. Mothers’ poor judgment or maybe just an incredible hunger for some
attention for herself, is a greater threat to her child’s innocence than who is
using the bathroom at school or the local Wal-Mart. Are there stranger sexual
assaults? Yes, they do exist but statistically, a child is much more likely to
be in a serious car accident than to be sexually attacked by a stranger.
So America, some, and certainly
most in this area, like to claim we are a Christian nation or at least a nation
based on Christian principles. The last time I checked Jesus’ principal message
was one of Love. How does that jive with all that we are hearing from our
politicians, from Donald Trump and the bathroom protestors? If we are going to claim the name of Christ,
then we must live according to what he told us…”go and make followers of all
people in the world. Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the
Holy Ghost. Teach them to obey everything that I have taught you….(Matthew
28:19-20) That is not a message of HATE, by anyone’s measure.
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