MOLOCH, horrid King besmear’d with blood
Of human sacrifice, and parents tears,
Though, for the noyse of Drums and Timbrels loud,
Their children’s cries unheard that passed through fire
To his grim Idol. – John Milton, Paradise Lost (Book I)
Moloch is the traditional (via the Bible) name for a Semitic god worshipped by the Canaanites, Phoenicians and Carthaginians. There is some debate over whether the word is actually the name of the god himself, or else the type of sacrifice he demanded in times of crisis: living human children thrown into a furnace at the base of the idol, sometimes in the shape of an open mouth. Some historians dispute the scale of the practice, claiming that it was exaggerated by enemy writers, but there is little doubt of its historicity considering that it is described independently in Hebrew, Greek and Roman sources. A cemetery in which the charred remains of such offerings were buried was called by the Hebrews tophet, a word which has since become synonymous with “Hell”. And the name of Moloch has come to mean any institution or cause which requires a horrible sacrifice, especially of children. Some Victorian writers used the name as a metaphor for industry which employed child labor, and modern America has its own Moloch: our viciously-misnamed “justice” system, into the maw of which uncaring functionaries hurl kids by the thousands for the sake of a “war” as barbaric and ultimately futile as those lost by the Carthaginians over two millennia ago.
In the early ‘90s, politicians responded to rising crime rates with a number of measures designed to convince the Great Unwashed that they were “tough on crime”, including “three strikes” laws, wildly disproportionate sentencing and trying juvenile offenders as though they were adults. And while some ruthless teenagers undoubtedly deserve more serious sentences than those available in the juvenile court system, most do not…and some states allow even prepubescent children (most of whom have not even achieved adult cognitive levels) to be tried and convicted as adults, with results that endure for decades if not for life. Furthermore, this draconian “crackdown” occurred just as America was relapsing into a state of hysteria about sex, especially sex among legal minors; despite a total lack of evidence for the belief, the public and legal establishment became convinced that any kind of sexual contact (including mere conversations or the taking of nude or simply suggestive photos) before the magical age of 18 was inherently harmful, and that the older party – even if under 18 himself – was automatically “exploiting” the younger one, even if they were not in physical proximity to one another or the younger one was unaware of the sexual interpretation the older placed on such interaction. This eventually led to the absurdity of charging teenagers with “child pornography” for “sexting” (because the little monsters should know better than to sexually exploit their innocent, childlike selves), and when combined with the nightmare of “sex offender registration” we arrive at a formula for mindless, destructive tyranny and child-sacrifice on a scale that would’ve made the Carthaginian priests avert their eyes in horror.
This article, which appeared in Time on January 8th, gives some idea of the full scope of the injustice:
…more than one-third of the sexual abuse of America’s children is committed by other minors…these juvenile offenders pose a profoundly complicated challenge for the child-protection and criminal justice systems. It’s a diverse group…encompassing a minority of youths who represent a threat…and a majority who are…unlikely to reoffend…[Our] public policy includes a federal law…with a requirement that states include…offenders as young as 14 on their sex-offender registries. Many [experts]…object to the requirement, saying it can wreak lifelong harm on adolescents who might otherwise get back on…track…Some states have balked at complying…even at the price of losing some federal criminal-justice funding. Other states have provisions tougher than the federal act, subjecting children younger than 14 to the possibility of 25-year or lifetime listings on publicly accessible registries that include [their] photos…Delaware recently [registered] a 9-year-old…Several other states have registered 12- and 13-year-olds. “We’re bringing down a very heavy hammer on the head of kids, with significant life-altering consequences,” said Marsha Levick…of the Juvenile Law Center in Philadelphia. “It’s a knee-jerk reaction that’s foolhardy beyond imagination.” [And] Nicole Pittman, a Human Rights Watch researcher…says states should halt the practice…”Most legislators do not believe children should be on the registry — yet it’s the kiss of death for most politicians to vote against any sex offender law,” she said.
…[A government] analysis…found that juveniles accounted for 35.6 percent of…[those accused of sex offenses]…against minors…93 percent [of them] were male [with an average age of 13]…and…59 percent [of “victims”] were younger than 12 and 75 percent were female. The report referred to a popular misconception that juvenile sex offenders are likely to reoffend, and said numerous studies over the years have shown the opposite — that 85 to 95 percent of offending youth are never again arrested for sex crimes. University of Oklahoma pediatrics professor Mark Chaffin…says efforts…are complicated by the tendency…to lump them together with adult sexual predators…”Now that the data has shown most of those assumptions were wrong, it’s difficult to undo those messages that people in the advocacy and treatment fields were putting out a generation ago.”
…While some youths commit violent, premeditated acts of sexual assault and rape, others get in trouble for behavior arising from curiosity, naivete, peer pressure, momentary irresponsibility, misinterpretation of what they believed was mutual interest, and a host of other reasons. Some cases involve sibling incest; sometimes the offenders have autism or other developmental disorders that lessen their ability to self-police inappropriate conduct…sociologist David Finkelhor…of the University of New Hampshire’s Crimes Against Children Research Center…[says the system] “…needs to differentiate between the kids we should stigmatize as little as possible…and others who need a lot of intervention…”
…The latest juvenile crime data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics indicates that arrests of juvenile sex offenders declined by about 25 percent from 2000 through 2009. That would mesh with a decline in child sex abuse committed by adults, as well as a decline in the overall juvenile crime rate. But data from New York City, Florida and elsewhere indicates that the prevalence of child-on-child sex hasn’t dropped noticeably. In any case, forms of abuse evolve with the times as sexting becomes a common youth activity and easily accessible online pornography affects some children…”There’s a fear of technology — parents don’t think they can control it,” said Marsha Levick, who has been working…to dissuade prosecutors from criminalizing commonplace teen sexting activities…Nancy Arnow of Safe Horizon, a New York-based victim services agency…said the child-on-child sex abuse cases are among the most difficult. “We have to distinguish between sexualized behavior that might be pretty normal — experimenting, touching each other — versus molesting, subjecting another child to harm,” she said. She recalled investigations of children as young as 7, and the arrest of an 8-year-old…
Another challenging type of abuse cases involves youths who are autistic…[Jay Deppeler, who runs a treatment program for adolescent male sex offenders,] recalled one autistic young man who…had committed a sex offense as a 14-year-old and later — after turning 18 — committed a property…offense…[he was then] obligated to apprise prospective employers of his full record, including the juvenile sex offense — making him “virtually unemployable…Long term, I fear his prospects are quite bleak,” Deppeler said. “What do we end up doing with a guy like that?”
Though there’s some good information in the article, it has a major flaw: it doesn’t actually question any of the established “child sex abuse” narrative. Oh, we’re told that the majority of the “offenders” are no real threat, but the assumption is still that they did something wrong and need “correction”. The basic idea that it’s OK to punish someone for life for a non-lethal offense goes unchallenged, and though the article calls the belief in high recidivism among sex offenders a “misconception”, it wrongly qualifies the term with the adjective “juvenile” (in fact, adult sex offenders have a low recidivism rate as well). Even Nancy Arnow, who clearly states that adolescent sexual experimentation is normal, feels compelled to add the qualifier “pretty” and to say it’s “difficult” to distinguish harmless activities from crime. Adolescent sexual experimentation isn’t just “pretty normal”, it’s absolutely normal. And there’s a very easy way to distinguish sex play from molestation: did the supposed “victim” complain or draw adult attention via obvious stress or anxiety, or did some busybody adult discover the young people together and impose “exploitation” and “crime” paradigms on what was actually a harmless and mutually consensual activity?
One Year Ago Today
“Aggressive Ignorance” demonstrates the truth of James Baldwin’s statement that “ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.”
>Furthermore, this draconian “crackdown” occurred just as America was relapsing into a state of hysteria about sex, especially sex among legal minors; despite a total lack of evidence for the belief, the public and legal establishment became convinced that any kind of sexual contact (including mere conversations or the taking of nude or simply suggestive photos) before the magical age of 18 was inherently harmful
If sex before 18 is harmful, then humans have been harmed terribly through out history. My great grandmother married at 17. I’m thinking it likely she had a wedding night, and had sex. She was a looker at that age, even as a working class girl from a mill town.
We’d better stop performing Romeo and Juliet, as it portrays under aged sex.
The saddest thing is that the people pushing this don’t give a sweet FA about children being harmed. They’re quite placid about children working in horrid conditions in factories to produce their I-Phone. They don’t mind U.S. Churches sponsoring branches in Nigeria where children are tortured to death for “witchcraft”. And many children are abused by those in authority.
No, “Think of the children” is simply the Trojan Horse they use to try to control all sex.
I totally agree. For many people, “for the children” is a candy coating that will encourage them to swallow any poison pill an “authority” presents them with.
“They say I am running a whorehouse,” said the 60-year-old innkeeper. “I run a motel. The only thing that I don’t have is the five stars.”
Police wouldn’t say why they parked the Peacemaker last week in an abandoned lot directly across Ouaknine’s Parisian Motel in the 500 block of Northwest 23rd Avenue.
Police and city records show Ouaknine and her motel had been the subject of an undercover operation targeting prostitution starting in September. Ouaknine was arrested on Oct. 28 on three counts of renting rooms to prostitutes for $20 an hour. Her case is pending.
The city’s nuisance abatement board sent her a warning letter and summoned her to appear for a hearing in February based on the investigation. It’s the second time since 2008 that the board has targeted the motel, city records show.
She says she’s doing nothing illegal.
“They’ve tried everything to shut me down and have failed,” she said. “Now they bring this truck to intimidate me and my customers.”
But Maggie! Don’t you know that prostitutes and those who house them are so dangerous we have to go to the premises in an armoured car?
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/fl-neighborhood-crime-surveillance-20120126,0,7715068,full.story
Yeah, I saw that one; it’s going into my “That Was the Week That Was” #5.
The problem is with we, the voters. We keep electing these asses and we don’t really pay attention to what they’re doing once they are reelected.
Last week we saw that crook John Cornyn and the rest of his buddies abandon all support for the SOPA – after people mobilized across the nation to call them up and threaten their jobs. It took them only a day or so to kill the SOPA after that kind of grassroots blowback.
Look, I’m not a very civilized guy – and I’m not very smart. In order to survive in this world – I always have had to “simplify” the problems I’ve come across …
You know what? Recidivism aside … I have a 12 year old daughter and I kind of figure one of my primary roles as a Dad is to keep her safe – at the cost of my own life if necessary. So, yeah – I’m interested in the guys in my neighborhood who have a history of preying on young children – I’d like to know who those guys are – sure.
But when I go online and search the sex offender data bases – what I’m wading through is THOUSANDS of penny-annie sex offenders who are in no way a threat to my daughter – or my wife. Sex Offenders labeled as such for “CRIMES AGAINST NATURE”. I care not a whit for those people – they are no threat.
And now – you have kids added into the database because they’re guilty of “sexting”.
I CAN’T SIMPLIFY THE PROBLEM because the government has turned everyone into a sex offender!
Why isn’t this illegal? I thought it was. I thought once you had served your time for a crime – you could not be punished for the rest of your life by the government for it. Sex Offender registries are punishment for life. I think, really, they came about because of exasperation that so many criminals were getting off with light sentences. Look – if a guy rapes a 10 year old girl – maybe he deserves A LOT MORE TIME IN JAIL for doing it? Rather than simply trying to make up for that by tracking him the rest of his life? Me? I’d favor the death penalty for that guy – and he’s never a problem again. But that’s just me, and I’m uncivilized and “dim” and like to “simplify” problems – and that certainly simplifies it! At least for me! 😛
Look – in the military we were taught that you can’t make every document “Top Secret” – because, if you did – NOTHING would get treated as “Top Secret”.
It’s the same here – by making all these kids criminals for life – you ensure complete “target saturation” – to the point that you can’t keep track of anyone anymore. Oh sure – you’ll spend a lot of money trying – but in the end it’s futile and … quite frankly – it’s a sad endeavor anyway.
>Why isn’t this illegal? I thought it was. I thought once you had served your time for a crime – you could not be punished for the rest of your life by the government for it.
The goal for the government is to have as many people “in the system” as possible, for any excuse they can, and sex is a great one because it’s something everyone does. If they could use eating and breathing, they’d use that too. They may yet, there may soon be real “diet police”.
It’s all about power and authority.
The problem with giving a child rapist the death penalty is that it removes any incentive for the rapist to leave the child alive.
Well, I know that most won’t agree with me here on that. That’s just the way I’m wired. Like I said – I’m not very civilized and my first reaction to things like this is to simply implement Roman-style vengeance to address the problem and send a message to future potential wrong-doers.
Which is why I could never be elected as a politician. 😛
I would be an absolutely AWESOME dictator though. 😀
According to WTFfacts on twitter, the Romans crushed the testicles of rapists under stones.
Much better.
The Romans were always very unforgiving of rape; remember, it was the rape of Lucretia by Sextus Tarquinius that precipitated the revolution which toppled the Roman monarchy and established the Republic.
Actually, the idea of ever-harsher punishments would make you very popular as a politician.
Until they found out that you wanted to make sure that you were only applying those harsh punishments to the right people, and that you want to be careful not to throw the innocent out with the guilty. Then you’d plummet in the polls.
You would lose the election, not because you are too primitive and too harsh, but because you are too nuanced and too intellectual.
I’ll leave it to you to decide whether that says more about you, or about the voting public.
There is a real savage glee coming from the LEOs and the authoritarians when it comes to stuff like this. When the system itself has become cruel and sadistic, how can we expect it to accomplish what a reasonable person would consider justice? Putting eight year olds on the sex offenders registry for the rest of their lives isn’t justice. It’s barbaric. Sure it might not be the visceral and primal savagery of Moloch and throw children in the furnace, but savagery in its most elegant form is still barbaric.
I consider it far worse than Moloch for the simple reason that those worshipers sincerely believed that the sacrifice of those few children might save their entire culture from disaster; nobody believes that putting kids on the “sex offender” registry will literally end terrorism or solve the global financial crisis.
“Get Tough on Crime” legislation started in the 1970s, before the “crack epidemic” of the 80s-early 90s. Much of the “Get Tough” mentality started before the mid-70s rise in crime; Jerry Brown campaigned on it in California during his first gubernatorial run. California used to have a model prison system; over 90% of inmates left prison, never to return. Now CA frequently has the highest recidivism rate. The nasty truth is that the War on Some Drug Users and the GTOC movement preceded, and almost certainly caused, the 20-year rise in crime from ’75-’95. Should we instead call it the “rise in crime statistics” to distinguish it from an actual rise in criminal activity?
Adding to my previous comment:
The chief proponents of GTOC legislation have always been correctional officers; I suppose it must really have been galling for a sadist to see someone he lorded over for 5 years get out, and then start making more money than he does because of training the inmate received while under the sadist’s boot.
In addition to having over one-third of the sex offenders be juvenilles, did you notice that of these sex offender juvenilles that 93% of the criminals were male adolescents and male children? The neofeminists must be proud for all the sadism practiced on males. Does anyone here think that if it were 93% female adolescents and female children being charged with sex offender crimes that the neofeminist crowd and their boy toy syncophantic men would tolerate this? I doubt it. You all made good points about when does the punishment end? It doesn’t. The recidivism rate for sex offenses is low so why are they being punished? Sadism. Even if there was a high recidivism rate, this does not justify punishing a person forever. I’m definitely not advocating violence because at this point I would regard it as immoral and counterproductive. However, does anyone think that even 100 years ago there wouldn’t be many dead police officers, prosecutors and judges over this? I think there would be. They understood liberty much better then we do now. We have a population of sheeple being led to the slaughter.
I want to add to my commentary above. If you notice on most job applications, they will ask if you have been arrested and convicted of a crime within the last 10 years. A perpetrator could theoretically have intentionally murdered, maimed or mutilated a victim. If he spends at least 10 years inside a prison and gets out on parole, he can honestly say no to any questioning if he has been arrested or convicted of his crime in the past 10 years. In essence a murderer has more ability to rehabilitate and recover and be a law abiding productive citizen than a sex offender in this country once the checks for the job is complete.
“The neofeminists must be proud for all the sadism practiced on males. Does anyone here think that if it were 93% female adolescents and female children being charged with sex offender crimes that the neofeminist crowd and their boy toy syncophantic men would tolerate this? I doubt it.”
Consider the neofeminist opposition to the HPV vaccine; given that this virus is associated with over 90% of cervical cancers it would be logical for anyone that has concern for women to seek the eradication of this disease.
And yet, neofeminists prefer to highlight the small number of problems with the vaccine rather than focus on the tremendous potential benefits.
The hostility they show to “male-identified” women, who look like “pornbots” (ie. they dress nicely) and who, essentially are sleeping with the enemy (men) leads me to believe that they want heterosexual sex be as dangerous as possible for women. In that, they are identical to the Puritan/Pharisee element.
I think I asked you this before on another thread, but I’ll ask it again—where are you getting the idea that neofeminists are opposed to the HPV vaccine? From what I have heard, most of the opposition is from religious conservative groups.
Here in my home state, part of the “fun” of being a “sex offender” is that you legally can’t live within a certain distance of a lot of facilities. This results in whole towns and cities being off-limits to any registered “sex offender,” and some of them go homeless, while others duck into the underground economy and live “off the books.”
Part of the problem with draconian punishments for _everything_ is that it removes all incentive to be law-abiding. Kind of like the story of how the Qin Dynasty (the one that built the first Great Wall of China) fell:
Some workers were drafted to work on the Wall, and were delayed by a flood. So, one of them said:
“What’s the penalty for rebellion?”
Back came the answer: “Death.”
“What’s the penalty for being late to work on the Wall?”
“Death.”
“Guess what, guys—WE’RE LATE!”
Cue one revolution.
Much of traditional adult behavior toward children has a sadistic character even today. Look at conventional schooling.
Well, I don’t really think children are singled out for that; adult “authorities” are pretty sadistic toward other adults, too.
It’s all part of our draconian “no tolerance” culture. When every act incurs punishment, punishment ceases to work.
I agree. And it’s grown steadily worse since my childhood; in the late ’70s most PSAs and other government behavior-modification campaigns were based on appeals to intellect or personal morality; they were slowly replaced in the ’80s and ’90s with threats and appeals to emotion. Since the turn of the century, it seems one sees a direct or implied threat in anything to do with law or government: It’s always “Do what we say or else!”
As I mentioned above, prison reform (up to the mid-70s) was about making the system less evil; when convicts were given work skills, they typically avoided offending again. It worked well; recidivism stats were extremely low. So why was it so easy to sell people on the idea that “rehabilitation doesn’t work”? I can understand why politicians would make the claim; you expect mendacity in election seasons.
I just read about Carola Jacobson and her boy. I’ve never said this about anybody online before.*
I hope that the Maricopa County prosecutors die. All of them together, through some natural event like an earthquake or lightening strike. Having them and nobody else in a building when it’s hit by a meteor would do nicely.
The idea of eternal hellfire in the afterlife is a comforting thought for people who feel like I do right now, but that’s all it is. It doesn’t do anybody in THIS life any good.
* I might have said it about Osama bin Laden and the al Qaida after 9/11, but I don’t remember.
I note once again your way with the choice quotation:
“MOLOCH, horrid King besmear’d with blood”
Is *such* a thick and luscious line of metrical English.
Almost goes without saying that the posts beneath them are always perspicacious, pertinacious, and downright shrewd.
Your mind’s in great fighting trim, Maggie. I wish you had some public power. Beyond that of your blog’s good works.
Thank you, thank you and thank you, in that order. 😉