The Journal Gazette editorialized this morning about the "unintended consequence" of laws prohibibiting sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of many buildings serving children. I won't argue with the editorial, since all it did was state the obvious -- there tend to be "sex offender clusters" that are especially dangerous for poor people who have to live in their proximity -- then quotes some people who say "there are no easy answers." But the editors thought we might have trouble visualizing how far 1,000 feet is, so they provided a helpful visual. I'm not sure that does it for me, but it certainly helps me put the difference between a 3/8-inch-long gray bar and a 3-inch-long gray bar in perspective. Wow -- 1,000 feet is more than three times as long as a football field and more than twice the length of a city block! who knew?
This blog post has about 165 words in it, by the way. Let me put that in perspective for you:
