It’s true; I believe we have rustled up another Arrogant Jerk DA. I don’t mean to play to a stereotype here, but the job seems to attract a certain kind of person who enjoys casting the first stone, despite all the rules about ‘casting the first stone’.
David McDade is the district attorney for Georgia’s Douglas County, and it seems to me that he is so Arrogant, and such a Jerk, that he can’t recall what it’s like to be a young-and-dumb teenager. Neither can he understand that sex among teenagers is one of our nation’s most popular pastimes, and that a punishment of ten years in prison for doing such a thing might be just a little over the top. I can’t imagine what our overcrowding problem would look like if we followed this guy’s lead.
What ever happened to a swift smack on the head and a sternly-pointed finger while shouting something like ‘I brought you into this world, and I can take you out,… so help me, If I ever catch you with that girl again…’ No; the courts have displaced Mama as sex counselor, and apparently the DA thinks ‘He’ knows best.
Enter Genarlow Wilson, a 17-year-old teenager out on New Year’s Eve with a 15-year-old female schoolmate and, unfortunately, a video camera. Genarlow somehow thought it would be a good idea to have himself filmed while engaged in sex with the girl and subsequently found himself embroiled in a sexual crime case. Charges against him as a rapist were apparently dropped, but he was convicted of something akin to ’sex with a minor’, and now has the words ’sex offender’ stamped on his permanent record. Young Genarlow gets to register his place of residence with the state for the rest of his life, and will be shunned by every cautious parent and employer at every turn. For having sex with a minor, as a minor.
Now, I am not here to argue for young Genarlow’s moral aptitude or his wariness in film making. We could be here all day arguing to and fro about whether he made the right decision. But isn’t that the point? Teenagers are deemed ‘too stupid to make good decisions’ by society already, so why are we leveling serious punishment against this guy when he makes a bad decision? Mind you; I am working with the difference here between ‘having sex’, and something I would regard as severally punishable, such as a thoughtfully executed plan to shoot up a local high school. There is a huge difference.
The sex between two consensual minors, while morally sticky, is not causing anyone harm.
You may argue that point, too. Teenage pregnancy, disease, and ‘going to hell’ aside; do you really think we should take a kid (a high achiever, by the way: a school athlete with outstanding GPA), and throw them away for 10 years for foolin’ around? Come on; bring in Mama, slap him silly, and let’s get back to work.
We don’t let teenagers drink because we know they won’t be thinking clearly before, or after, the first sip. We don’t let teenagers vote, because we are certain they don’t have all the facts when it comes to choosing our public leadership. We make teenagers wait until age 16 to drive a car, and would wait even longer if us parents didn’t have to accommodate their increasingly painful social schedule with cab services. We don’t let teenagers do a lot of things because we know they are not good decision makers, yet.
Despite our imposed restrictions, teenagers are at that critical age of expanding interest and experimentation. They don’t know enough to be afraid, and are ready and willing to experiment with the mysteries of the world. Sex being one of the more attractive and attainable ones, for obvious reasons. This is common knowledge, and is supported by every study we have conducted since the time of Adam and Eve. And probably earlier, if anyone cared before then.
David McDade apparently fails to grasp this basic understanding, and thinks ten years up the river is adequate punishment. What an Arrogant Jerk. It makes me curious what he would do with the five-year-old who’s teacher last week filed a sexual harassment complaint against the boy for giving her a hug. Ridiculous. I have a five year old boy, and I guarantee he has absolutely no ’sexual’ motivations, no matter how he hugs you. A five year old is simply incapable of comprehending sexual motive, and a teenager does not deserve a single day in jail for fooling around with a girlfriend. I’ll say it again: Ridiculous.
Last year I was appalled to learn that an Iraqi father took part in his daughter’s stoning-to-death for similar reasons. David McDade thinks the same way as that ignorant father, and is an Arrogant Jerk for doing so.
Genarlow Wilson has served two years in prison for having sex. What is this world coming to?
Genarlow is set to become a celebrity, having been featured on the cover page of Fox’s website, and is getting full coverage by CNN. I’ll bet there are more than a few people looking at this sideways and saying ‘what an Arrogant Jerk’ that DA must be.
