What if you know that...

Someone is a registered sex offender? Pebbles and I had occassion to be at the police station the other day (no, we didn't do anything wrong, we just had to report something....another story for another day). Anyhow, while waiting for an officer to come in and take our statement, I was browsing through the odds and ends of pamphlets that they so conveniently placed in the waiting room--everything from joining the state police to protecting your online privacy. Anyhow, I came across one pamphlet that had the URL to the sex offender registry in our state.

Of course, knowing us, we went home and browsed the web page just because we were bored and because we knew that none of our friends or acquaintances would be on that site (though of course I had to check for my own name just to make sure that there's something I didn't know about myself!). So we're looking and looking and looking...suddenly, a familiar face popped up! The cashier at the supermarket is on the site? no way! Then another face popped up, the guy that Pebbles had a hard time with on the bus a while back is a registered sex offender too? Hell no! So of course, we're both in shock. Now the guy that was on the bus with Pebbles is a known homeless sicko who annoys folks in general, so no major surprise there, but the thought that he was on the bus alone with her sort of made us really edgy! Thank God she drives now.

Today, I walked into the supermarket where the first guy works and I decided OK he only had pics of kids, so he's not the really dangerous type. But still, I found myself unconciously avoiding him. Only when I'd gotten out of the store did I realize that he only had one customer, yet I was willing to wait behind two other people not to have to deal with him. Am I being completely irrational? or is it normal that after you learn something shocking about a person you tend to avoid them? I have no idea, but I'm just confused as to whether or not I should avoid that person from now on. Shit, I shouldn't have been looking at that site in the first place...

Comments

Anonymous said…
Does "Registered" means that they have been found guilty of some sort of sex offence before?

The world in whch we live today....nutten wrong with being cautious the way I see it...so many sick mofos walking round the place now, one jus never knows to rass! Dr. D.
Abeni said…
I'd not only stay far but I'd let my friends know too.You can't be too careful at all and if they have a liking for kids you never know who will be the next victim.
Jdid said…
I guess its sort of a sticky issue to me. On one hand I'd let people know but on the other hand suppose dude is tryin to chance his life you really dont want to blow up his spot. so lets just say i'm glad i'm nt in your shoes
Mad Bull said…
Intriguing. I'd say stick close to him, try to get into his head, find out what makes him tick... it ought to make for a coupla interesting posts, and maybe you'll get some insight into when he plans to make his next move and you can stop it... Then you'd be a superhero, and you'd get on NBC and ABC, heck, maybe even on CBS. Of course, then you could give all our blogs a plug, and we'd all think "A.D. is the greatest, man!". Then you could write a book about the whole thing, and it would sell mega bucks, and you would get on Oprah, where you'd plug our sites as well, etc. etc....
See, sticking close to him is probably your path to riches, fame and popularity!
Just remember who gave you this idea when you buss out, rasta...
Scratchie said…
I think it's a personal choice AD. Do what you feel comfortable.
It is a definite headscratcher. You would want to inform people but then again maybe the person just wants to move on with their life. good post.
CoolDestiny said…
This was an interesting post and a valid question. The truth is some of them may have been rehabilitated. It's not irrational for you to be cautious. You never know ... what about when you have your children and decide to stay in that neighbourhood? It's something you would wanna know.

It's a tough call. I don't think there's any harm in checking your grocery with him though. Right now, you're an adult and have nothing much to fear of him right now.
Desiree said…
I think that they have been listed there would give me pause for thought, but then, if it is in a pubic area where other people are around I'd try and carry on as normal. I know thoughts would be buzzing in my head as I did.