To catch...

Last night I was waiting out a thunderstorm and keeping one ear glued to the news in case of a tornado warning. After the storm passed I flipped to MSNBC, who's programming is getting all kinds of tired. They were showing 'To Catch a Predator' with Chris Hansen, and I felt it was 2003 all over again.

We all know the premise behind the show. Pervert chats with what they think is a teen, show up at the house, Hanson pops out and asks them to have a seat over there, after confusing stories are told the men are arrested.

I'm of the mindset that sexual offender databases are useless and unnecessary. While no one can condone the horrible crimes these folks inflicted on their victims, they spent their time paying their dues. To assume they'll reoffend is just that, an assumption. How these registries keep anyone safe is a mystery to me and I just assume our citizens not have a scarlet letter. Stranger danger is really overrated as most people will be harmed by someone they know.

That being said now that I'm a parent-elect I looked up the sex offender registry in my area. There were no one in my immediate area that have a criminal record and I breathed a sigh of relief. I'm not sure why as I'll be attempting to protect my kids regardless if there's one around or not. Still for a second it gave me the illusion of security and I thought to myself I'm on to those threats, real or imagined.

My god I'm becoming a parent.

“The challenge for us is also to make it journalistically solid.” - Chris Hansen