Given that I am and will remain a denizen of a small rural community in Alaska, I am still an odd one indeed to be writing about the state of America's urban areas. If you've been reading my work for more than about six minutes, you know I grew up in a rural setting in Iowa, and today I am and will remain a happy rural dweller. I have little time for cities, despite having lived in them for four decades. I find them unpleasant; crowded, noisy, and, to be honest, they smell bad. I like the clean country air of the Susitna Valley, and if that means I have to put up with the occasional moose eating our raspberry bushes, that's fine. Besides, moose is good eating.
So, why am I still worried about America's cities? Because our cities are the beating hearts of our nation. Much of the country's economic activity happens there. Urban areas host much of the country's industry and academia. What's more, our cities used to be the pride of the nation, but that's less the case now. Case in point: The California city of San Francisco seems to be showing some frankly callous disregard as to where they house known, registered sex offenders — especially pedophiles.
City Journal's Christopher F. Rufo and Haley Strack have some details.
It’s Tuesday morning at Little Learners Daycare in downtown San Francisco. Teacher Wendy herds bright-eyed toddlers, amped up after playtime in the courtyard, back inside. They’re laughing and swatting at each other playfully, oblivious to the pack of pedophiles lurking nearby.
Four hundred feet away, dozens of registered sex offenders live at 111 Taylor Street. Wendy knew that the Tenderloin, where she operates her Mandarin-immersion daycare, was dangerous. It’s a hotbed for illegal drug activity and homelessness. But she didn’t realize that sex offenders live so close to her daycare—or that taxpayers fund their housing.
We might note that perhaps a little more due diligence was in order here for "Teacher Wendy," as the lists of sexual offenders and their addresses are, by law, a matter of public record. But these might not be something one thinks of when setting up a center to care for little tots; as the late, great Paul Harvey used to say about such things, "If you could understand them, we'd have to worry about you." The ordinary run of decent people probably don't automatically think, "I should make sure there are no pedophiles nearby" when setting up a child care facility.
And yet, in San Francisco, screening neighborhoods for this sort of thing does indeed seem to be important.
According to this City Journal investigation, more than 25 percent of sex offenders in San Francisco with addresses in the Megan’s Law database live in taxpayer-subsidized buildings. Many live near a park, school, or daycare, or reside in a neighborhood with a high concentration of children. They do all of this despite statewide efforts to ban concentrating pedophiles so close to children. Instead of listening to California voters, San Francisco has become a taxpayer-funded dumping ground for sex criminals.
25 percent, according this investigation, of San Francisco's registered sex offenders live in taxpayer-subsidized housing. Many of those are, according to the required Megan's Law database, located near schools, daycare centers, parks, or other places where children are gathered. That is simply unacceptable. The city should be taking precautions to safeguard children, not to expose them to possible predators.
Now, not all of the registered sex offenders are predators of children. But here's the thing: Adults have a far greater ability to take steps to keep themselves out of harm's way. Adults have the experience and the discipline (presumably) to be aware of their surroundings, to be suspicious of questionable people and questionable activities, to be aware and alert for any possible danger.
Children, though, are uniquely vulnerable. They are trusting, they are naive, they are often self-absorbed and inattentive to their surroundings. Sane people, responsible people, protect children; it's in our nature, for this very reason.
But the city of San Francisco isn't protecting children. It is, however, housing registered sex offenders near the very places where children should be considered safest. One facility alone, in the Tenderloin, near the Little Learners Daycare, mentioned above, houses 240 people, 31 of them are reportedly registered sex offenders. But hey, they get classes in "cultural diversity education," and "gender-responsive groups." Just what they need, I'm sure.
Here's the solution, or at least the start of one: Parents will have to step up where the city failed. Escort kids into and out of the buildings if necessary. More to the point, confront the city council about these practices. Look at which of them support sex offenders and which support safe kids. Talk to them, and when necessary, vote them out.
Sadly, this is San Francisco. We have little reason to believe much will change in this quarter; and so the decline of what was once one of the world's great cities will continue.
