>I
>gently--I am able to be gentle at times--point out that our fears are
>not and can't be based on actual incidence of malfeasance, since crime
>rates are lower across the board from when we were kids. This is
>usually met with the retort that "there are lots of sick people out
>there."
People trust things like sex offender locator maps that tell them there are dozens of predators lurking outside the door. Meanwhile, the fact that most sex offenses against children are committed by someone known to the family is ignored.