Being in this social cul-de-sac may give me the advantage of distance from the issues of the day, allowing me to take a broader perspective without being particularly swayed by the fever of the mob. Maybe.
For decades I have been out of the swing of sexual politics and the shifts in the mores of interpersonal relationships. It has been interesting, watching the debates pass by my window, although sometimes it has been horrifying to see a social consensus develop into an unchallengeable ideology.
I absolutely detest any situation where a subject is ruled out of order for discussion. As a broad guide, I enjoy unpicking an idea, extracting the principles and putting them under a conceptual microscope.
The politics of sex is an area fraught with topics which are sacrosanct from debate. These are the areas which most attract me, in a iconoclastic sort of way. The matters most worthy of discussion are precisely those which people are too afraid to discuss.
To stick to the remit of the blog, prisons and their adjacent environs, this brings me to sex crimes.
There have been a few obvious shifts in beliefs and culture over the years I've been observing from my seclusion and seeing the knots that society, and law, has tied itself into has been bemusing.
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In relation to sex crimes, the most prevalent fear that has developed since you went into prison is the fear of paeodophiles. It's become a national obsession. As far as I can tell, statistically you are no more likely to have your child molested than you were 20 odd years ago, and something around 80% of sexual abuse of children is perpetrated by a family member of family friend, however you have to be background and CRB checked if you are to have anything at all to do with children now. There was even a recent suggestion that parents picking up other people's kids from school should be CRB checked before being allowed to do so. In today's society, any man anywhere near a child is to be automatically considered a pervert unless he can prove otherwise. It's so bad that my father, who has recently had surgery on his leg and needs to walk for physio, borrows my dog before going out for a wander in the local park so that people will assume he's exercising his pet, not scoping for a victim. Men have been criminalised and it's not healthy at all.
ReplyDelete@Vicola
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. I never walk by myself solely for pleasure unless I am out in the Highlands. When walking I am always on my way somewhere so striding purposely. I have no such qualms when going for a run though, even though I am often in a state of minimum dress then.
We occasionally look after a friend's dog and then I do enjoy just 'going for a walk' and people stop and say hello to me. The last time that happened while I was walking purposely it was an obviously lonely old lady who had just moved into the area.
It has come to a pretty pass when we men are not even allowed to parent our children without being accused. I heard on the radio just recently of a guy who was prevented from photographing his own child at a playground, on the grounds that there was no proof the child was his, yet was allowed to leave with the child.
As the father of two girls I am glad they are now grown up. I also hope they have sons, it will make life so much easier.