2017, New Year New Hope
There are times when I struggle with a topic for this blog, this last week of 2016 is one of those times.
Like the rest of you, I want to see changes in the registry and I want them now! No, actually, I want them yesterday!
When is it going to happen? What’s taking so long? People’s lives are ruined everyday by a ridiculous registry that brands everyone termed a ” sex offender” with the same scarlet letter even though their crimes may be vastly different.
I’ve blogged on some of the small changes that have come about over the past year, court cases that have been won, celebrities and political figures who have gone to prison for sex offenses, judges who have scratched their heads and admitted there are problems with the registry.
But like a child on Christmas, I want more! I want everything we’ve asked for, I want the term “sex offender” changed, I want the registry dissolved, I want all those stolen years when our loved ones were incarcerated for crazy mandatory minimums, back!
Unfortunately Santa didn’t bring us everything we wanted, but we’re strong, we’ll deal with it. (And we’ll just ask for it again next year!)
One of the most important things I’ve learned in 2016 is that for every registrant and their family member reading this blog, everyone of us in this WAR room is or has been exactly where you are right now. We’ve been knocked down to the ground, risen to our knees and finally got up again. We’ve been hopeless and become hopeful. We’ve cried enough tears to fill an ocean and learned that we can stop crying and fight back. We’ve learned that there is strength in numbers and that if we ban together, we can make change. (OK, so they’re small changes and they are taking a long time, but still, it’s something.) All the changes we wanted didn’t happen for us this year, we didn’t get everything we wanted, but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen next year. Remain hopeful.
Here’s to Peace & Hope & Strength for all of us in 2017 !
