Pokemon needs to check sex offender registry
By Sandy…..
The current Pokemon Go craze is sweeping the nation and raising concerns this could put children and youth in “proximity” to registered sex offenders.
This is shaping up to be the new “Halloween boogie-man” scare. Now that enough people have said often enough and loudly enough that there is no statistical increased sexual risk to children in connection with Halloween and trick-or-treat activities, along comes Pokemon Go to keep the fear-pot boiling.
And of course the sensationalism-creators and fear-mongers can point to an actual incident: a registered citizen was “caught” playing Pokemon with a 16 year old teenager — outside of a downtown courthouse, a location that probably boasts as many law enforcement officers per square foot as any other in town.
Television anchors, a-la-weather map style, are displaying maps of local areas with Pokemon stops marked in one color and the homes of registered citizens marked in another and pointing out, with horrified faces but barely concealed glee, the places where one is within proximity to the other. Well, that does it! Put a kid on the same block with someone on the registry, and Katie, bar the door. I wonder what the statistical risk of harm is to a minor while playing Pokemon Go within shouting distance of where a registrant lives?
Hahahaha what idiots. Did they honestly think there weren’t guys and gals who were on the registry who liked pokemon? If you’re in your late 20s, you were alive when the pokemon crazy first became popular. (I never cared for it but every kid around me seemed to.)
Geezus I swear some folks just LOVE living in fear.
A young man in my court ordered treatment got seriously confronted/threatened because it was discovered he watched anime. I laughed out loud when the “therapist” first brought it up. You should have seen the glint of almost insane fury in his eyes.when he turned on me and said, “Mr. ____, what do YOU find so funny!”
I guess i found it funny that we were harassing a young man, in his early 20’s, who had a diagnosis of Asperger’s, and liked to watch anime.
Apparently, because these cartoon character’s appear “childish”- cute with big sparkly eyes- watching anime makes one a high risk of re-offending.
The young man was there for possession of CP. Maybe watching anime is a slippery slope. I don’t know- i’m not an expert. Certainly, in my opinion, it did seem absurd to attack the young man over watching cartoons. I used to like watching the Simpson’s. Sometimes I even like watching the old Looney Tunes. The coyote and roadrunner. Love the artwork and sound effects. Does that make me suspect?
Fortunately we have a new therapist and the tone of the group has changed for the better. The new therapist I feel I can actually call a therapist without using “quotes”. Amazing what a difference it makes when you can deal with compassionate professionals! Being a RSO is about the worst label/lifestyle a person can be condemned with. Having decent people in the system (and good outside support) is about the best we can hope for- until we can reverse this insanity, that is.
Again…this is a tactic to scare the public. Give me a break!!! Convicted drug pushers….murders could be your kids next stop…..what would concern you more…wake up!!!
There has never been a case of a stranger sexually assaulting a child on Halloween, correct?
So why are we freaking out?
What kind of insane laws can we expect from the fallout over this? My concern is that someday soon we will all be marked with implants, or something of that nature, and if someone goes “out of bounds” or if a minor comes within a certain distance, the authorities will be notified.
Another scenario would be to have all RSO residences marked (not just online but with actual signage).
Nothing would surprise me- fear and ignorance run pretty deep regarding sex crimes. Look at our mainstream politics- everyone is afraid of the “other”, everyone gets whatever facts they need to feel justified in their beliefs from whatever source will provide them.
A wall between the US and Mexico? Sure! Immigration problem solved.
If that’s any indicator of the rationality and foresight of nearly half the country we had better look out.
Hmmm. Will we be relocated so people can “safely” play pokemon go?
What if all the hundreds of thousands of US citizens who have fulfilled their court ordered sentences and are labelled as sex offenders simply refuse to be registered in the sex offender registry? Just not comply and to hell with this registry which is nothing but lifelong punishment? Will the government run around catching everyone and putting everyone behind the bar?
People in the registry need to make a strong statement, otherwise they will keep on adding more and more burden while stigmatizing them even more. I recently heard an ad in Pandora radio of all places about a state senator or a local office politician in NC and in that ad it was mentioned that he would be strong on the predators who prey against little children. It was obvious that that politician was after more votes.
We need to make a strong public statement but continue to follow the law, because yes they will arrest us if we don’t. There is money in it to arrest us and it will give them more justification to continue the registry. Not following the law will only work against us when we are working hard to present ourselves as law abiding citizens who do should not be subjected to any kind of monitoring.
I would like to see massive public protests, but we have not been able to get that kind of support. Most RSOs and their families choose to keep a low profile and quietly hope things will change. They are afraid to bring attention to themselves that will likely result in some form of social backlash.
I don’t think it’s just social backlash, I think it’s fear of having their property vandalized as well. I’ve heard this from a few people that have had their cars or homes spray painted with words I’m sure we are all too familiar with. This is my bigger fear – that the cowards will wait until they have a golden opportunity.
I’ve also seen people be harassed online too. It’s harder to have someone prosecuted when they are in another state (unless it’s an accusation from a child) and it doesn’t seem law enforcement is too interested either.
Fred, I have to disagree. There are over 80 thousand people on the SOR? Or even more than that? I may have my numbers wrong but it’s HUGE!
Law enforcement CANNOT arrest that many people. All we need to do is something similar to a “Million Man March” where we pass around the word that on a specific day at a specific time, we gather in peaceful protest against continuing to register with the Sex Offender Units of our states. It’s that simple.
STRENGTH IN NUMBERS, PEOPLE!!
80,000? More like 840,000. Yes it is huge.
I agree a Million Man March type of protest would be great, but that is not illegal. If you can think of a way to get everyone motivated enough to pull together to do that, I think that would be great and will really go a long way in helping our cause. I didn’t mean to sound like I was against that. I only said we have not be able to generate that kind of support as of yet. Even I have pushed for it myself.
However on the matter of following the law, we must continue to do so. We are trying to show the public that we are law abiding citizens and not a threat to society. Refusing to comply will only cause them to request more funding, build more task forces and create more severe punishments and restrictions.
Nobody said they had to arrest us all at once if we all stand up and refuse to comply. They will be perfectly happy chasing us for the rest of our lives as it will mean more money for them.
Lets follow the law, but lets also try to find the courage to come out of hiding and make our voices heard and unite as one, so we can force them to hear us clearly.
i don’t know where you live, but in Florida, just forgetting to register a new car by a family member can get you 5 years in prison. Would love to make a stand, but don’t want to pay the price……sorry
Yes they would go to any means necessary and spend untold millions hunting down and locking up SO s. My state of Washington is very harsh on it. They once hunted me down several states away, jailing me, causing career loss. They hunted an acquaintance down in Mexico. A 2nd ftr conviction here nets about 18 mos in prison, a third, 3 to 5 years.
I want to know how many poor children walk within a 1000 foot radius of a registered citizen every day at Wal Mart or Taco Bell AND NEVER EVEN KNOW IT.
Sometimes I get tempted to announce that I am RSO while shopping at Walmart or visiting a Garage Sale just to see how people freak out.
My girlfriend is big on Garage Sales so we visit a lot of them in the summer. Often there are kids there and a couple times they approached me to say hi or to ask me if I wanted to buy some lemonade. I can’t help but think “How would their parents react if I told them I am a RSO?”
I doubt it will be too much longer before they pass the law that says we can’t go to private garage sales either.
lol, I’ve actually started to introduce myself as followed ” Hi, I’m Ivan Diaz i’m a registered sex offender. nice to meet you” and it sure is funny how it throws people way off. At first everything is like normal till i get to the word registered and then it looks like as if they take a step back while shaking their hand, and their face goes from friendly greeting to confusion. Other registrants i greet in treatment act the same way kid of weird some laugh, but i’ve only introduced myself when a friend is introducing me to another one of their friends. I was thinking of making a shirt at the swapmeet with the words Registered Sex Offender in the front not the back because i want to see the attack coming just in case. will have to gather some money together and make a layout of how i want the shirt to look. Anyways i’ll be careful if you do announce your a RSO.
That sounds dangerous, but I understand the concept. We have to stop hiding. Let people see that RSOs are just regular people too.
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You need to put the distance requirement that the state you live in has on the back. Stay back 500ft, 1000ft, etc. The distance they require you to stay away from schools, playgrounds, etc.
My girlfriend is big on Garage Sales so we visit a lot of them in the summer. Often there are kids there and a couple times they approached me to say hi or to ask me if I wanted to buy some lemonade. I can’t help but think “How would their parents react if I told them I am a RSO?”
I doubt it will be too much longer before they pass the law that says we can’t go to private garage sales either.
Or murderers or thief’s or arsonists right?
Sex Offender is just a label. You are not a sex offender or any other label that the society chooses to impose on you, you have been labeled as one. Now it’s up to you to live up to the label or rise above it.
I saw a headline yesterday “Two men fell to their deaths after walking off a cliff while playing Pokemon Go” That game has some REAL dangers that need to be address and they have nothing to do with RSOs.
The game clearly warns “be aware of your surroundings at all times, stay alert”. If you walk off a cliff, you have bigger problems than the game.
Have you ever heard of the “Darwin Award”? It’s given to someone who dies because they were being completely stupid. I know this sounds cruel, but if you walk off of a cliff because you’re chasing some stupid cartoon on your phone… you don’t deserve to live, j/s
What on earth does playing Pokémon have to do with being on the sex offender registry? This is crazy and ridiculous!
Ahh, the good old Election Year Hysteria makes a lovely return. All I can do is shake my head at this nonsense.
Murderers, drug dealers, burglars, extorters, family abusers, and thieves (basically every other type of felon except child murderers) get left alone after they’ve paid their debt to society. WE are constantly the target of sensational media, ambitious politicians, professional misandrists/misogynists, vengeful people, trouble makers, and violent law enforcement. We are put on public display which puts our innocent family members in danger as much as we. We are told where we can live, where we can go, what we can say, who we can look at, and who we can be near.
And yet, it is STILL NOT ENOUGH!!
EVERYTHING these days is the fault of some Registrant somewhere. If they’re not going after Muslims, shooting & blaming black people, and/or beating up anyone who disagrees with their views (protesters), people and law enforcement are aiming their vengeance at we who have paid our debt to society.
I don’t know about you all, but I’m really starting to feel like a constant and eternal scapegoat.
Politicians on both sides of the aisle constantly commit sex crimes. Cops as well. Billionaires and millionaires even get away with sex crimes – often with children. One billionaire has a jet called “The Lolita Express”. He’s that blatant and he’s hosted many celebrities and politicians. Has he been convicted of anything? Nope.
Jail, prison, parole – only for the poor and not connected.
The person you are referring to, Jeffrey Epstein (The Lolita Express), WAS convicted in 2008 of soliciting sex from a minor, served only 13 months, and settled numerous lawsuits from alleged victims. He remains wealthy. His plane was famously used by both Bill Clinton and Donald Trump. Some of the articles refer to him as a “convicted pedophile,” which is not possible… because pedophilia is a psychological term, not a crime.
Personally I think we should band together and create a SO *security force” that would ‘gently’ remind those harassing RSOs that it won’t be tolerated. I met several quite intimidating men in prison who would gladly volunteer.
*Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do, when the SO s bigger than you* 🙂
Hello all,
By now you should know that in New York State, they have now made all SO on community supervision sign a paper stating that they will not participate in Pokeman Go or be with anyone who is participating. Went in full effect and its on the CNN website.
Why don’t they also label drug sellers and murderers and regular people who harm children or have bad intentions. This has to stop. How will offenders ever fit back into society. We all need to take a stand for once and all. Everyone points to the constitution but sex offenders are crucified even after paying their dues to society. As the gay community stood their ground so must offenders to disband the registration list and housing restrictions or demand the government to offer a place to built a new society. You can’t do anything, you basically don’the have a life. Jail time does not provide the sex offender classes until years later. If you are a menace to society as they state why not immediate intervention? Let’s quote the constitution!!! Let’s make noise in Washington who by the way are also foul in their own sugar coated crimes. The rules and regulations are getting worse. It’s time to be heard. The “entrapment stings” should not even be allowed. These now prisoners did not truly have a victim.
Yeah, i hear you. The laws are so nonsensical and paranoid to be almost schizophrenic.
I was just told I need to submit to an AODA assessment even though I do not use drugs and quit drinking over 13 years ago. The assessment will cost me $250 and i was warned there’s a high likelihood i’ll be required to attend weekly AODA classes (which i’m sure will require a co-pay). Ummmm….why???
I haven’t had an alcohol or drug related offense in over 22 years…First it was the S.O. therapy – which was very disruptive of my life, being held weekday mornings so that i would have to take 3 hours off from my job every week. Now there’s a high likelihood i’ll have AODA “therapy” too. I’m just trying to hold on and keep my life together. It’s expensive paying for all this “help”. Plus, i just want to put this behind me. It’s hard to get on with having a life and all the normal stuff that people do when i am being constantly reminded of a stupid decision i made YEARS ago!
I was arrested in an online sting. There was no “victim” (except perhaps ME). I hate the state for what it’s done to my life. Every day i struggle with anger and shame, suicidal thoughts and physical problems due to stress. Yes, i made a bad decision, but who hasn’t?!?! If the state hadn’t co-coerced and encouraged me to do what i did I would not be in this position.
Very unfair and seems to convict offenders without proof of violating anything. As others quote the constitution to their defense and rights, so must the sex offenders! What in heavens name will an offender ever get to do normally???
i stand corrected.. The ban goes further than that. It bans RSOs from accessing ALL internet apps with games.
I do not know whether it’s just me or if everyone else encountering problems with your website.
It appears as though some of the text on your posts are running off the screen. Can somebody else please comment and
let me know if this is happening to them as
well? This may be a problem with my browser because I’ve had this happen before.
Thanks