Becoming a Mother Afterall

Okay, so I think I am going to remove the password protection and just keep her pictures, or at least the majority of them, on Ainsley's photoblog. A few people already have the user name and password for it and if you end up wanting it, please just email me.

Jenn made an interesting comment. It makes sense, Jenn. Why would someone want to password protect their blog just to keep the creep-os from looking at their child when they could (and inevitably will) see them in public? I don't quite know how to answer that except to say that I feel like I have some control on who is looking at her in public. (at least at this age) With her pictures on the internet, I can't *see* who is looking at her and when. The hair just stands up on my arms thinking about it, really. I am not sure where this fear comes from, but I could give you some background on when I realized how many predators there really are out there.

In college, my undergraduate degree was in Social Work and Sociology. The FBI agent who arrested a famous pop star here in Las Vegas many years ago at a local hotel for various things, along with a disgusting set of child pornography, said that it made him sick to see some of the things he found in his hotel room. He, of course, did not disclose all of that information and I am certainly not attempting to piss off any fans out there. Personally, I think he has gotten away with so many horrible things all because of money and fame. He is a waste of breath.

Anyway, the same FBI agent told us that he began working many years ago for a unit that handled sexual predators and he began investigating many local cases of child predators. He began researching their behaviors, documenting the similarities, and looking for clues on how to catch other predatory criminals. One thing he said he learned when talking to another agent who apparently had, at that time, written a book on child predators, was that if you really open your eyes . . . you will see they are everywhere. The local fast-food joint, the street outside an elementary school, the mall, anywhere. The agent began taking note of men that loitered around establishments that housed children. He went to 10 local casino arcades and watched men standing outside many of them, staring at children. He took notes, observed behaviors. He became so aware of what he was seeing that later that month at his 7-year old daughter's soccer game, he noticed a man taking pictures of the game and he realized he was not a father of any of the girls. He approached the man. He asked who he was taking pictures of. The man ran. He was tackled by the agent and two other fathers. He had a long rap sheet and was arrested that very day. The photos? All zoomed in pictures of the lower half of the girls. Horrifying.

So, for one of my final projects, I chose five local places that I thought were public enough that I could observe without being noticed and places that all had varying ages of children around. I chose a local mall, a toy store, a large city park, a municipal swimming pool, and an after school program at a Boys and Girls Club. I went to each location at least 5 times over a two month period and at different times of the day. Sometimes I saw nothing out of the ordinary. But as time passed, I picked up on a few things. At the park, I took notice of a young, handsome man walking his dog on three different occasions. Each time, he started a conversation with a group of boys playing basketball. It was almost as if he steered his way to the courts to get their attention. Could have been nothing, but it could have been everything. There were other instances where I couldn't be sure, but that I just *had that feeling* that something was off with the person.

At school this year, we have had two instances where someone came on campus and attempted to approach a student. In one case, the man entered a portable classroom that was unlocked and grabbed the girl nearest to the door and drug her out. The teacher was able to wrestle the girl away and the police were called. He was, indeed, a parent of another girl at our location, but he said, "He thought the girl was his daughter." It wasn't. Because our school is under construction, I also approached a construction worker at the beginning of school that was clearly oogling two of my female students. I gave him the tongue lashing of a lifetime and reported him to his supervisor. I wasn't sure he would do anything, so I called the company, too, later that afternoon. Needless to say, I haven't seen him since.

Maybe I am overeacting some, but I just feel like it is my duty to protect Ainsley from these horrible people as best as I can. I know some other online friends only show pictures of their child when their face is turned. Some simply show them for a few hours and then remove the picture. To each their own. I am fine with whatever choices everyone makes. But for me, I just feel more comfortable knowing to some degree who is looking at her and for how long. Even in public, as I said above, it is hard to really see who is watching. And I know it is highly unlikely that anyone would be prowling blogs for pictures of babies. But I just have to say, "What if?" and treat her as precious cargo. She is the biggest piece of me and carries my heart. If I could always keep her safe, I would. Feasibly, this is something I do have some power over right now, so I will do my best to keep her sacred.

Okay, Grey's is getting ready to come on. I will work on the blog tomorrow. In the meantime, let me know your thoughts or if you would like a password to her photoblog. Happy Thursday!