The demonization of pedophiles.

[Sheilbh]

I'm not trolling.

It sure smelled like: Marty bait.

I really hope everyone's rationality hasn't ruled out the chance of a Martyexplosion. Hopefully he'll only read the OP

[Viking]

I'm not trolling.

It sure smelled like: Marty bait.

I really hope everyone's rationality hasn't ruled out the chance of a Martyexplosion. Hopefully he'll only read the OP

...and he'll be annoyed that it was Grallon rather than himself that got to suck the little boy's cock.

[Martinus]

 

[Martinus]

Raz's trolling aside (yeah it's so blatant I don't even go for it), I think it is a more interesting question why pedophiles (and sex offenders, in general) are so vilified, compared even to murderers, for example.

For example, why there is a public interest in me knowing that someone living next door was once arrested for indecent exposure, than knowing he killed 5 people.

[Razgovory]

Pedophiles are demonized because we consider minors unable to give meaningful consent.  I don't know that there's all that much more to it.

Yea, one is consensual, the other is not. Now you can argue about what the age of consent should be. Most people would set it above 10 though.

Yep.  Non-consensual sex is demonized for every flavor of sexuality.

Yes, but it's non-consensual because of an arbitrary line in the sand.  Other cultures, like the ancient Greeks didn't have such a problem with this.  As I pointed out in my example, the law plays with that line.  The same person can be simultaneously an adult as a perpetrator and a minor as a victim.

[DGuller]

Raz's trolling aside (yeah it's so blatant I don't even go for it), I think it is a more interesting question why pedophiles (and sex offenders, in general) are so vilified, compared even to murderers, for example.

For example, why there is a public interest in me knowing that someone living next door was once arrested for indecent exposure, than knowing he killed 5 people.

It's very easy to demand ever stronger punishments for sex offenders.  Even if people don't agree with you, the vast majority won't hold you in contempt for that position.  It's very hard to demand roll-back of sex offender laws, for obvious reasons.  Therefore, there is an assymetry of intensity, and lack of open debate. 

Sex offender laws are the kind of laws that Supreme Courts were made to strike down, because they're nearly impossible to strike down by political process.  Unfortunately, the shortcomings of the US Supreme Court are also very obvious, and lately the trend hasn't been one of supporting the rights of individuals (unless the individuals are just legal fictions).

[Razgovory]

Okay, maybe I should step back.  What do board members think of the claims that a pedophile is predisposed toward his sexual peculiarity?  That the pedophile lusts for small children because that's the way his head is wired.  He was born that way.  Is this a legitimate statement?

[Valmy]

Okay, maybe I should step back.  What do board members think of the claims that a pedophile is predisposed toward his sexual peculiarity?  That the pedophile lusts for small children because that's the way his head is wired.  He was born that way.  Is this a legitimate statement?

Tricky given the large percentage of them that were victims of sexual predators when they were kids.

[The Brain]

Okay, maybe I should step back.  What do board members think of the claims that a pedophile is predisposed toward his sexual peculiarity?  That the pedophile lusts for small children because that's the way his head is wired.  He was born that way.  Is this a legitimate statement?

Born that way? Maybe in some cases.

[Valmy]

Yes, but it's non-consensual because of an arbitrary line in the sand.  Other cultures, like the ancient Greeks didn't have such a problem with this.  As I pointed out in my example, the law plays with that line.  The same person can be simultaneously an adult as a perpetrator and a minor as a victim.

It is a question I have wondered about.  Today we can point to, convincingly I think, the large amount of social damage sexual abuse of kids causes.  But were the ancient greeks somehow insulated from  it?  Is it our cultural taboo that creates the damage in someway?  Or, conversley, did it cause large amounts of social damage in ancient Greece?

I think on these lines with regards to child physical abuse, once so common, as well.  Was it this tendency that created the violent societies in the past or was the very fact those societies were so violent somehow made the physical abuse less damaging?

Not sure.

[Malthus]

Raz's trolling aside (yeah it's so blatant I don't even go for it), I think it is a more interesting question why pedophiles (and sex offenders, in general) are so vilified, compared even to murderers, for example.

For example, why there is a public interest in me knowing that someone living next door was once arrested for indecent exposure, than knowing he killed 5 people.

A person who murdered another many years ago may, depending on his reasons, never murder again, but a guy whose only way of getting off is to have sex with kids strikes me as more of a problem, because he will always be tempted to go for kids.

[Valmy]

Besides I am pretty sure serial killers and sadists are more vilified than sexual predators.  I mean organizations like the Catholic Church and Penn State would never have covered for murders and somebody who kidnapped and tortured people.

[crazy canuck]

Okay, maybe I should step back.  What do board members think of the claims that a pedophile is predisposed toward his sexual peculiarity?  That the pedophile lusts for small children because that's the way his head is wired.  He was born that way.  Is this a legitimate statement?

It is a relevant question only to the extent of whether they should ever be released from prison (or in capital punishment land simply executed).  If they are just born that way and nothing can help them then the answer is pretty straight forward imo.

[Malthus]

It is a question I have wondered about.  Today we can point to, convincingly I think, the large amount of social damage sexual abuse of kids causes.  But were the ancient greeks somehow insulated from  it?  Is it our cultural taboo that creates the damage in someway?  Or, conversley, did it cause large amounts of social damage in ancient Greece?

I think on these lines with regards to child physical abuse, once so common, as well.  Was it this tendency that created the violent societies in the past or was the very fact those societies were so violent somehow made the physical abuse less damaging?

Not sure.

The Spartans deliberately abused their children to make them effective warriors. The Spartans valued being a psychopath as a worthy trait (kids were trained to do stuff to helots which these days would qualify as psycopathic).

[The Brain]

I mean organizations like the Catholic Church and Penn State would never have covered for murders and somebody who kidnapped and tortured people.

Ouch.