On a daily basis my Facebook news stream is an endless series of debates, discussions, and downright arguments. Some of it is all in good fun like sports fans trash talking. Some of it is pretty heavy but understandable like gay marriage and global warming. Some of it is even questionable how it can be debated like dog fighting and terrorism. On the whole, people find a way to disagree with just about everything someone else says…whether they are doing it genuinely or just to stir up controversy.
Not today.
Today every single post and comment in my Facebook and Twitter streams were in agreement. Hurting children is not acceptable. Child pornography is not acceptable. Sex with minors is not acceptable.
The Jared Fogle plea agreement hits really close to home for me. Literally close to home. His sister was my daughter’s 2nd grade teacher. He lives just miles from my house. The girls in the pictures and videos were the same age as my daughters and may have even been in the same school, church, or dance classes as my daughters. It’s not just some random Hollywood celebrity doing something raunchy that only hurts himself. It’s a suburban dad who was at the same college I was at the same time, lives a few miles from me, and interacts with the community I am a part of.
But I am thankful for one thing in all of this. What he was accused of (and is apparently pleading guilty to) is not acceptable in our country. It doesn’t matter what your views on contraception, abortion, pornography, or other debatable issues are. As a society we agree that pedophilia and child pornography won’t be tolerated or accepted or excused away in any way.
Today is a reminder to all of us to be vigilant about what our kids are doing and who they come in contact with. It’s not a reason to lock them down and keep them from ever going to sleepovers or using the Internet. But it’s a reason to talk to them about being safe, telling an adult if they suspect or experience anything inappropriate, and understanding that not every adult can be trusted. Almost all statistics on child sexual abuse show that the majority of sexual assaults on kids are perpetrated by someone that they know.
It’s a sad day today for a lot of people–Jared’s family, the families of the children impacted, and the community that trusted the wrong person. There’s no “silver lining” in a case like this. In fact, the story has spawned other news stories with sad statistics about human trafficking involving children and the lengths that people go to in order to procure child pornography.
Yet I take solace in the fact that we can stand in agreement about protecting children and am thankful that our country is a place where we put a premium on protecting children from predators.
And if you don’t agree with me that children should be protected from people like Jared Fogle, don’t bother commenting. It’s not a debate I am even willing to have.
PREACH. He has been entrenched in our community for years. He’s buddies with local radio folks, he’s been out at community events, hell he probably has even made appearances in schools. My heart goes out to his wife, children, family and the Zionsville community. No one should have to go through what they’re going through.