Disclaimer: Whenever I use the words “romance,” “attracted,”
“crush,” and “infatuation,” as well as their variations, I am
using them in a platonic sense. References to sex are platonic,
unless specifically stated otherwise. When I say “pedophile,” I
am referring to an adult with a platonic attraction to children.
“Child molester” is exactly what it sounds like.



Summary: Chapter 4 of a 5-part essay discusses past discriminated
groups and the likely results of accepting pedophiles.



  Of course, the pedo-molester confusion is not the only reason
pedophiles are so hated. There's also the “me, me, me” people.
People who use such brilliant logic as “I don't see how a man
could love a child in that way,” or “If I was a kid and knew an
adult was attracted to me, I'd be scared,” and expect the whole
world to live by their morals, and those who disagree are evil.
People who answer questions with “that's the way it is” and
“because I don't like it,” then turn around and expect huge,
overly-detailed reasons for disagreements.

  Something I cannot and probably will never accept in any
situation is people who use “social norms” as an excuse to
dictate other people's lives when they aren't hurting anyone. In
addition to the obvious problem I have with that, there's another
problem. The person saying it isn't thinking for himself/herself.
They are just blindly following along with opinions that other
people spoon-feed them because they're too stupid and/or scared
to do their own homework.

  Many of society's rules—or “the way it is”-- were made by
ignorant humans who think their perspectives are so important
that they deserve to play God and punish anyone just for being
different. People are branded criminals just for being born,
which <i>should</i> be enough to show how stupid those rules are.
If not, then the fact that the enforcers rarely have reasons
other than those in the above paragraphs should prove their
foolishness. If humans were meant to follow the social norm (the
public's opinions and attempts to dictate human nature), we'd all
be prejudiced, law-abiding neanderthals.

  History repeats itself. There have been countless times where
society would label and hate a specific type of people. They'd
shun them, make up reasons for why they are what they are, and
accuse them of things that make little sense. Only for that group
to eventually have their chance to speak for themselves, disprove
stereotypes, and prove that the masses are just ignorant bigots
who never learn. In this case, I'm talking about “normal” people
who hate pedophiles for little to no reason other than the fact
that we're not “normal.”

  Homosexuality is a perfect example. Look at how large the
homosexual population is now. Years ago, when "The Gay" was a
disease and "The Gays" were agents of the devil, an open
homosexual was a rare sight. Those who were outed were hated by
almost everyone and even killed just for who they love. Why does
this sound so familiar?

  We can do much better, but homosexuals are now accepted by
many. So much that people get fired and have their shows canceled
just for talking down to them. We see people of all races,
professions, creeds, ages, etc. coming out. People who seemed to
be straight decades ago are coming out, confirming that it was a
secret they kept all along to be safe. Even people who harshly
speak out against it turn out to be gay.

  Now they have parades, marriages, and even civil rights groups.
No contagions, no plot to take over the world, no gay cult trying
to convert everyone. Who they love turned out to be a relatively
minuscule aspect of their personality. Otherwise, most of them
act exactly like straight people. What a coincidence.

  Not too long ago, AIDS victims were outcasts. People were fired
for having it. Kids were kicked out of school. Eventually, people
learned to see AIDS victims as merely ill humans who need help,
not discrimination. Now, they have charities, medication, and
precautions for the disease. My, what a civil turn of events.
It's almost as if letting the outcasts talk diminished the
assumptions about how to catch it—which were made by people who
don't have the disease—and made ways to prevent it, all the while
showing that AIDS victims are safe, after all.

  Pedophiles are today's biggest “fad.” I do believe that someday
– way after my time – pedophiles will also be accepted, just like
women, blacks, Jews, homosexuals, and many others who were
misunderstood and oppressed in the past. When pedophiles are
encouraged to come out to welcome arms, the world will be shocked
at how many people who previously showed no signs of pedophilia
would step forth. Those people wouldn't suddenly start openly
molesting kids. If anything, some of them would simply be
relieved of a lot of stress by no longer being generally labeled
as evil and confused with psychos. And otherwise, go back to
their lives, because they are not that different than "normal"
people.

  There are pedophiles who like children, but not adults. I don't
mean to leave them out, but I honestly don't know how society can
adjust to fit their needs and wants. In a perfect world where
pedophiles are accepted and kids are educated about pedophilia
and not ridiculed for infatuation, adults and kids would be able
to date. However, if those rules were bent in our society of
idiots, many irresponsible parents would let their kids date
anyone without considering whether the child is ready or whether
the boyfriend/girlfriend is safe for them to be around.

  If the public were to become more aware of adults who are
simply attracted to kids and know better than to act on their
fantasies, maybe the world can have a series of classes, books,
medication, etc. to fix them, only to figure out years and
millions in taxes later that it's not a disease. Then they can
finally get enough sense to discuss it with real pedophiles who
have inner peace, instead of playing guessing games. Then those
pedos can help the many who are ashamed of who they are. Maybe
the ones who are at risk of hurting a child can get help before
they go out and actually do it. And like I said, those real
pedophiles be happy to get rid of child molesters.

  Since we're on the subject of pedos helping pedos, remember
when I said that I would never act out my softcore fantasies of
children? Well, I didn't always think that way. I used to think
“If she wanted to, and I was absolutely, positively sure she'd
never tell that I kissed and licked her...” Someone taught me
that those actions wouldn't be as harmless as I thought. They
said that keeping a secret for life would mentally hurt her. He
also told me that the adult would have no repercussions, but the
child might have some in the future. Especially with the mass
hysteria over pedophilia being shoved into everyone's ears. Those
were good points that I never considered.

  Here's yet another a plot twist for you: I learned that on a
pedophile message board. From a <i>pedophile</i>, of all people.
A person who supposedly wants nothing more than to have sex with
a child actually convinced me that I was wrong about a
hypothetical situation that I believed was harmless. It's pretty
sad that an anonymous pedophile can come up with a legit reason
for why an adult should not indulge in softcore and kissing
fantasies of children, and yet the anti-pedo masses can only use
the “me, me, me” logic or confuse it with rape. I rarely hear
them say anything about the child's side of the equation without
insulting their intelligence.

  A conversation between pedophiles doesn't have to solely
revolve around our orientation. I'd love to meet and make friends
with pedophiles in real life. I'd ask questions like, if he/she
has no interest in adults, how do they cope with it? I'd discuss
crushes with them. I'd shoot pool, go out to dinner, and a bunch
of other things that normal friends do. Eventually, the novelty
will wear off and we'll just be friends without bringing up our
“orientation” all the time. Just befriending someone I can
discuss my secret with and has the same interests, and doesn't
want to harm kids is enough for me.

  Now is a good time to mention that I don't believe that the
debated legalization and mainstream distribution of virtual child
porn is a good idea. It's obvious that children get the
magazines, videos, websites, etc. we have now with ease. It's bad
enough that some parents teach and encourage their kids to dance
like strippers. The last thing the world needs is for kids to
imitate models in CGI child porn.

  Accepting pedophiles for who they are does not mean letting the
stupid ones run wild. It doesn't mean that children should be
allowed to date adults. It doesn't mean excusing the dangerous
pedophiles for doing what they do. It is simply being more open
to the fact that pedophiles are human and not all are bad, and
treating them as equals.