Thanks for sharing Rew. I read both articles, and nobody could have said it any better. I have been thinking of ways to really explain this to the uneducated, and this is exactly what they need to hear. I also started reading the comments and realize that there are still people with blinders who just want to hear what they want to hear. They don't even listen or try to understand. We had this "test" in Germany, and it would have instructions on what to do. The first step was to write your name in the upper right hand corner. The second step was to skip to the last question. The third step was to circle your name in the upper right hand corner, etc...the instructions went on and on. When everyone finished, most people failed, and do you know why? Because the 2nd step clearly mentioned to skip to the last step, but people just did not pay attention and started following all the instructions. The same goes for multiple choice questions. We tend to answer the first correct one we see, but many have "All of the above" answers. Again, people don't take the time to understand the whole problem. Same goes for the people who only hear "Child Molestor" but they fail to look at all the other possible answers as to why someone is on the SO registry. There is never a "one fits all" answer, and it would be great if more people opened their eyes to other possibilities rather than being so tunnel visioned, narrow minded and blind. Wake up people!

Rew, thanks for sharing the articles. I read them both too and agree that Diane takes a reasonable and honest position when writing about the issue. This is her website http://dianedimond.net/

I hope she writes more articles very soon. I wonder if she would be interested in interviewing family members of registrants and helping them to tell their stories. Just a thought.

The article has her e-mail address, and maybe it is worth a try.

I agree REW she is a gem and we need more like her. My only criticism is that she needs to be educated about the use of the term pedophile and what it really is One of my pet peeves....

Totally agree, Advocate2. Nobody wants to be a pedophile. It just is. She still addresses anyone with that sexual preference in the context of "monster", which is false.

I think the best thing she does in these articles is point out that each form of "sex offense" should be addressed differently. (Thus, making her use of "pedophile" a little more ironic.) This is only sensible, but beyond the understanding of so many people these days.

I think what this really points out is that despite the fact that she has thought this problem through extremely well, even those of us who have looked at it deeply still have some digging to do. It is a very complex issue.