Vocabulary (SO Series)

I've had something on my mind for a long while now. About a decade, in fact. It is a knotty issue, one that won't easily, if ever, be unknotted. It's the kind of issue on which one generally remains silent unless one wishes to lose friends, whatever side one stands on.

My feelings on the matter stem from my own experiences in life, and from the experiences of a number of people in my life. My opinion has been shaped by laws and their implementation, and by my views of justice, of what is just.

I am not saying I'm right, or wrong, or anything but one woman who has had occasion to form an opinion regarding a particular facet of our society and its views.

The subject?

Sex offender laws.

It's too big for one, or even two posts, so I'm going to write a series of however many it takes to satisfy me that I've articulated whatever it is I'm trying to articulate.

So, to begin, let's have a bit of vocabulary, shall we?

Sex Offender (Dictionary.com)
noun
someone who has been convicted of a sex crime

Sexual Predator (Wikipedia.com)
A sexual predator is...a person who habitually seeks out sexual situations that are deemed exploitative...

Pedophile(Dictionary.com)
noun
an adult who is sexually attracted to young children.

Rape (Dictionary.com)
verb
any act of sexual intercourse that is forced upon a person.

Rapist (Dictionary.com)
noun
a person who commits rape

And one thing that is not a definition, but rather a parameter:
Age of consent in USA: 16 - 18, varying by state

One last thing - as I am certain I will write about other things (like Life, the Universe, and Everything), I will try to remember to add "SO Series" to any post title regarding this topic so you can skip the posts if you prefer. Just because I feel the need to express myself on the matter doesn't mean you should have to read about it.