Welcome to Salem, USA

Welcome to Salem, USA

My heart goes out to Stacie Halas, the former porn actress who lost her job as a science teacher in Oxnard, California.  This woman is being burned at the stake right before our eyes.  She didn’t hurt anyone.  She never molested a child.  Yet this woman’s career in education is finished.  Even if she hires the best lawyers in the world, she will have no choice but to choose a career path that does not involve working with the public – our hypocritical society demands it.

When the Wi-Fi on my laptop went out I couldn’t afford to have it fixed right away.  I had to use the computers at my local library.  At the downtown branch of the Seattle Public Library there are 142 computers available on one floor alone.  And they’re all in use at any given time of day; you have to make a reservation to use a computer.  Writers are nosy parkers so I walked past row after row to see how many of my fellow Wi-Fi-less folks were downloading porn.  Of 142, I’d say at least 100 terminals are nonstop conduits of free porn.

Americans watch porn.  They’re obsessed with it, consumed by it.  Americans are such avid viewers of pornography to have made the industry one of our country’s most reliable employers.  Given how pervasive pornography is in our culture… is it any wonder so many young, attractive bodies flock toward the cameras?

Ms. Halas went to the trouble to educate herself to get a teaching job, wrongly assuming she lived in a country where a woman can put her past behind her.  Given the countless student-teacher scandals involving teachers having sex with 14 year-old students, one would hope something like this would be a non-issue.

When I read that a student scrawled profanity on Ms. Halas’s classroom window and how many people are weighing in to call this woman a whore – all done under anonymous handles, of course; stone throwers never use their real names – I realized I’m living in a new era of Witch Hunts.

This time last year, I went on a letter writing campaign when the University of Washington admitted two Level 3 sex offenders to the sprawling campus of 40,000 students.  In a very condescending reply to my missives, the media relations specialist said he could not fathom why I had a problem with these men who raped or abused children.  After all, the school went to the trouble to make sure these men would not attend classes with minors. 

There’s a daycare just a block away from the main campus.  Of the 40,000 students attending classes, how many of those have children or bring children to school?  I never suggested felonious men are not entitled to an education.  I believe all citizens have a right to better themselves but why can’t Level 3 sex offenders earn their degrees online?  Lots of people earn degrees online; it’s a viable option.

My concerns were summarily dismissed.  These men – who are no doubt receiving full financial aid packets since felons have more difficulties finding jobs – simply went after children.

It’s not like they were porn stars or anything.