tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8435777.post113008013603499324..comments2023-12-25T12:57:29.431+02:00Comments on Mel's Diner: Forgive and forget?melusinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04096116965055620488noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8435777.post-1130217378286278932005-10-25T08:16:00.000+03:002005-10-25T08:16:00.000+03:00People can change. They can turn their lives aroun...People can change. They can turn their lives around. Lazy people become hard workers when they have a family to support. Gang members leave a life of murder and theft to become anti-gang advocates. We see many examples and the reverse is also true where something 'snaps' in people and they leave a law-abiding, productive life to one rife with drugs and violence.<BR/><BR/>As a society, we allow people the benefit of the doubt...that's why we tolerate relatively lenient prison terms for some offenders. But giving people the benefit of the doubt does not equate with trust or even forgiveness in my opinion. It's the 'once bitten twice shy' mentality we all have. When it comes to sexual offenders and heinous murderers, I don't care if they have the ability to change. I don't care if they've stopped committing criminal acts after their first offence. They threw away their privileges and rights to anything the second they intentionally destroyed someone else's life. I certainly don't give them the benefit of the doubt and I don't forgive them. They can take it up with God, Allah, Budda, Zeus, whichever God of Forgiveness suits them...just not me.The SeaWitchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11157875952893208383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8435777.post-1130154659283229782005-10-24T14:50:00.000+03:002005-10-24T14:50:00.000+03:00Well, and see the facts you found out SeaWitch bri...Well, and see the facts you found out SeaWitch bring me back to my point. I thought, when writing this, to delve deeper, but I figured I would find out things about the parents that would make me judge them, and then I wouldn't be able to make my point.<BR/><BR/>When I first read the article, my immediate reaction was to judge the parents. Looking closer, I wondered why it couldn't be that they might have changed.<BR/><BR/>Can people change? Can only certain criminals change? (ie. not sex offenders, not serial killers) Can society allow them the benefit of the doubt?<BR/><BR/>It is a really tough subject for me. I find myself wanting to think yes they can change but deep down thinking they can't.melusinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04096116965055620488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8435777.post-1130138774618026932005-10-24T10:26:00.000+03:002005-10-24T10:26:00.000+03:00Interesting post! And a great reply from sea Witch...Interesting post! And a great reply from sea Witch! <BR/>Blogging is superb brain fuel!Miss Kimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05755376182972818159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8435777.post-1130132688142773762005-10-24T08:44:00.000+03:002005-10-24T08:44:00.000+03:00Good blog Mel. Thanks for bringint it to my attent...Good blog Mel. Thanks for bringint it to my attention. I hadn't heard of the case so I had to read up on it. This is what I found out:<BR/><BR/>--Father's real name is John Joseph Lentini.<BR/>--He pleaded guilty in 1983 to rape and sodomy and spent more than a decade in prison for the crime.<BR/>--He claims to be the chief of an unrecognized native Indian tribe.<BR/>--He is unemployed<BR/>--NY State parole records indicate he sodomized his own daughter<BR/>--County lawyers have a doctor's report where the mother admitted using cocaine and meth and working as a prostitute.<BR/>--Mother lost custody of her 21 month old baby in a case which questioned the fitness of the father (Daishin).<BR/>--She had won a restraining order on Sept. 30 against the state in the efforts to keep them from asking about her pregnancy.<BR/><BR/>Considering all the above facts, the parents really cannot claim that they were surprised by the county's decision to remove the child. Considering all the stats about the high rates of recidivism in sex offenders, it is no wonder they removed the child. (This is why all convicted sex offenders must get registered upon their release).<BR/><BR/>The CNN story neglects to give the full story of this case. If they had, neither of the parents could play the 'shocked' role of victims. I applaud the state for putting the safety and welfare of the child ahead of the complaints of the parents. Child Aid workers regularly remove children from the homes where there is a history of abuse and bad parenting. This case is no different. They just did it a lot sooner. Even if only one child has been abused or neglected in a home, all minors in the home will be removed as well.<BR/><BR/>**I learned more about the facts surrounding the case from ABC, Newsday, and CNN. Statistics and profiles of sex offenders can be found on websites such as US DOJ, Centre for Sex Offender Management as well as a host of independent studies and reports.The SeaWitchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11157875952893208383noreply@blogger.com