Posted on 08/05/2006 9:37:49 AM PDT by wagglebee
In the nearly ten years since Jon Benet Ramsey’s death, I’ve spent little time pondering the identity of that little girl’s murderer. I’ve known the answer to that question for years. And so have you. But one time several years ago - during the height of the media coverage of the case - I did hear one interesting assertion about the parents of Jon Benet Ramsey; namely, that there was absolutely no evidence they had ever sexually abused their little girl.
When I heard the assertion that there was “absolutely no evidence” of sexual abuse of Jon Benet Ramsey, I immediately recalled a picture of the little girl when she was around the age of four. She was wearing a brightly colored strapless dress that matched her brightly colored lipstick. Her makeup was as heavy as that of any hooker or drag queen in San Francisco.
This begs a fundamental question: Are we sexually abusing our little girls when we dress them up to look like prostitutes? Of course, I would submit that we are.
Fortunately, when the Ramsey case broke it was very unusual to see a couple dressing a small child like a hooker. Unfortunately, today it is commonplace. An episode I witnessed the other day illustrates just how little parents seem to think before allowing their little girls to dress and carry themselves in an entirely-too-adult fashion.
On my daily jog though my neighborhood I ran by the house of a man I know fairly well. His garage door was open and music was blaring out of a jam box inside - in fact, the music was so loud it was barely recognizable. But I could tell the song was “These boots are made for walking,” which was popularized by Nancy Sinatra in the 1960s. His two grandchildren were dancing in the driveway to the recent remake of the tune, sung by Jessica Simpson.
As my neighbor’s two grandchildren were standing in the driveway - while gyrating their hips like a couple of prostitutes - I noticed they were both wearing cutoff “Daisy Duke” style short and halter tops. The oldest girl looked like she was wearing mascara. She is 11 years old, by the way. Her younger sister is nine.
There is obviously something very wrong psychologically with the parent who actually dresses a four year old girl like a prostitute. There is also something wrong with the parent who allows a nine or even an eleven year old girl to dress herself like one – not to mention carry herself like one, too. It is not cute. It is simply crude and indecent.
But there is more to the equation than bad taste, here. In today’s world, people who do not make sure their little girls are dressed like little girls are exposing them to extreme danger.
Shortly after I finished my afternoon jog, I went to one of the numerous websites (http://www.mapsexoffenders.com/) that can be used to locate registered sex offenders. I wanted to know how far those two little girls – the ones dancing like hookers - were from the nearest convicted pedophile. The answer: about 500 yards.
Parents of small children (especially little girls) need to do the following things after finishing this short but important column:
Log on to the internet and find the nearest registered sex offenders in your neighborhood.
Make sure you voice your complaints to local retailers who sell sexually provocative clothes marketed for little girls.
Make a note of the names of the companies that manufacture inappropriate clothing for children next time you see these products. Write them and tell them exactly why you will never, ever buy their products.
Tune in occasionally to The O’Reilly Factor to keep track of Bill’s segments on Jessica’s law – a measure designed to impose mandatory 25-year sentences on first-time child molesters.
Make sure that your lawmakers know you will not support them unless they support Jessica’s Law. In other words, impose a simple ideological litmus test on all of your representatives.
I hope all of my readers will give serious consideration to the advice I have proffered today. Even if you reject some of my specific points, keep my general thesis in mind. Our little girls will be women far sooner than we would like. For the time being we should just let them be little girls.
Same here.
*sigh* there are over 2000 registerd sex offenders in my zipcode.
95+% of them have 288(a) LEWD OR LASCIVIOUS ACTS WITH CHILD UNDER 14 YEARS on their rap sheets.
I had a hunch you're living in California.
I say we take it one step further, lets cover them head to toe and not allow them outside without our permission. We all know that wearing skimpy clothing and makeup is just asking to be raped or abused...lets make it illegal!
/sarc
"These Boots", huh? I like the Megadeth version best. But anyway, a lot of people in general are stupid and leave themselves open for criminals to victimize. For example, feminism has taught young women, the ones who are especially stupid and in need of good advice, that the way to prevent rapes is to have a regular "Take back the night" vigil rather than say, get a gun, learn to use it, and carry it. Oh, yeah, not getting falling-down drunk at parties might be helpful as well.
We have something in nursing called "standard precautions". You take protective measures with all patients. We should do the same with our children. Yeah, you can check who is on the list but you don't know who isn't. I use standards precautions with everyone, regarding my little one. Preachers, teachers, etc.
Unfortunatly the murderer just died without facing justice, her mother.
Maybe I misunderstood the point of your sarcastic comment. If so, I apologize in advance.
I'd like to know how covering girls from head to toe and not letting them out is one step further. That appears to me to be about 1,000 steps further.
Only one registered sex offender within my zip code.
Well, then trot right down to the DA and show him your evidence.
Oh, you don't have any?
You are just guessing?
Well, then that means that your claim to "know" must be questioned and everything that you declare from this point on in the article must be considered at least suspect.
Congratulations, what ever point you may have had was trashed by you in the first paragraph.
No one deserves to be raped. There is nothing wrong with modesty and being careful with where you go and what you wear though. These clothes for kids now are ridiculous.
... Great idea! Quick someone send Mohamed a memo!!!
/sarc.
I don't know of anyone who "dances like a prostitute". How are prostitutes supposed to dance? I suspect they would dance like almost any young person today raised in our permissive society but that, alone, doesn't distinguish them from anyone else.
I can agree with the general sentiment of the argument - that we sexualize our children far too early and that dressing up like Madonna at an early age has its downside. But I think the author goes a bit over the top with some of her descriptions, coming across more like a prude than like a sensible parent.
As for Jon Benet, I do think dressing little girls up in such a provocative way at such a young age can be harmful. It's not proven, though, that her beauty pageant lifestyle had anything to do with her murder.
"Tune in occasionally to The O’Reilly Factor to keep track of Bill’s segments on Jessica’s law – a measure designed to impose mandatory 25-year sentences on first-time child molesters."
I agree with most of the article. What I am concerned with is a one strike and you are in jail for 25 years.
Is is unheard of for either law enforcement or the judiciary to make a mistake? What if you are set up, having sexually assulted no one, and you are in for a mandatory term that might last for the rest of your life?
While I agree we shouldn't dress little girls provacitivly, I don't think pedophiles prey on those girls any more than ones dressed like little girls. After all...they want little girls because they are little girls, not adults. As far as rape, I thought everyone knew that rape is about violence, not sex.
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