I have not always lived in a good neighborhood, and because of that, I believe in being careful. Nevertheless, I think my roommate takes it too far. She is pretty paranoid. Part of the problem is that she grew up in the projects. There were drug dealers living out in the hallway, and gunshots at all hours of the night. The place where we live right now seems pretty bleak to me, but to her it is practically paradise. It is such a big step up from where she came from that she can't get over it. Nonetheless, she still doesn't trust anyone.
Her newest practice is to look up state criminal records of everyone on our block. I didn't even know that you could look up a state criminal record until she started doing it. She was as surprised by the fact that I was unaware that those records were available as I was by the fact that she wanted them. I couldn't figure out why she would want to look at state sex offender records, felony conviction records, and all of the rest of them. It can only make you depressed, paranoid, and unhappy. Nonetheless, I couldn't quite look away. Knowing the state criminal records of everyone on the block was pretty tantalizing. There was some pretty juicy stuff in them.
Nonetheless, I don't think knowing the state of New Jersey criminal records was doing her any good. Even without the state criminal records, she was wary of practically anyone she met. I am her roommate, and have known her for six months, and I still don't think she trusts me. I swear that I saw my state criminal records sitting in her room one time, although she denies it.
Nonetheless, even when she knows someone's state criminal records and knows that they are clean, she still doesn't trust them. What good does it they do for her to know that one of her neighbors was charged with theft and another was convicted of assault? It certainly doesn't help her make friends, and it doesn't even help her stay safe. She wouldn't trust them anyway!
I suppose that it is a good thing that you can get anyones state police criminal record without too much trouble. I believe that that should be public information, and that people shouldn't be able to hide it from each other. Nonetheless, I don't see the point in actually knowing it. Aren't there some things that we are better off not knowing?
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