Posted on 01/08/2020 8:21:35 AM PST by mikelets456
Margo Kaplan is not very popular today. In the Monday edition of the New York Times, the Rutgers-Camden law professor, an NYU and Harvard graduate, takes to the op-ed pages to argue that we’ve got it all wrong when it comes to pedophilia. She writes that pedophiles don’t necessarily turn out to be child molesters and that pedophilia is not a choice, i.e. a pedophile might be born that way. We reached her in her office in Camden to discuss.
pedophilia-not-a-crime-rutgers-margo-kaplanYou really lit up the comments section of the op-ed page today. Yes, but I have to be honest. I am getting more emails of support than I ever expected. I’m shocked. I expected to get maybe 95% negative emails, but I’ve gotten so many positive ones. The online comments, though, are pretty uniformly negative, and a lot of people haven’t even read the article.
(Excerpt) Read more at phillymag.com ...
THIS.
Who didn’t see this coming?
This is NO gray area.
Pedophiles are mentally-ill individuals that prey on children. Sick, twisted and demented. Period.
And, what’s the definition of “acting on it”? if a pedophile sends vile pictures of themselves to a 4 year old, but doesn’t physically come in contact with the child, is it a crime or not? I say it is. Anything of a sexual nature directed at a child-written,spoken or conveyed via electronic media-should be considered a crime.
Committing suicide..to prevent yourself from molesting children..is less sick.
“the state does punish thoughts. Hate crimes are an example.”
Interesting observation.
Could we also say that, for instance, premeditated murder is a classification that involves the perpetrator’s thoughts?
I didn’t read it and I don’t intend to read it, but if what you say is accurate, she is correct. The attraction is mental illness, but it can’t be a crime until it is acted upon. A bit of a catch 22 for society.
I do find it interesting that for liberals there are things that they consider a crime before they happen. Things like gun ownership and so-called hate crimes based on speech alone.
Pedophilia is not “genetic”, like “pre-wiring the brain for it”.
At the same time while saying it is a choice, it can be understood that the manner of reaching that choice took a long route in it’s formation, all the way back to the pedophile’s childhood. It involves such a long chain of tiny choices that were like building blocks to additional choices - actions, responses to actions, reactions to things seen, reactions to feelings - that it’s mental origin is not recognized by those who possess pedophilia - as far as they can see they have always possessed it. That is an outcome NOT of pedophilia having been predetermined from birth, but from the long route since childhood it took to get there. It was a process, not a single original thought, and we do not commit to memory a process the way we do individual events. To uncover the choice-chain the events in the process must be ferreted out. That can’t happen without an admission that such events and the process they were part of was possible.
An understanding of the role of nurture - life experiences and reactions to them - in the development of pedophilia can be produced, but only with a pedophile open to doing so, and a mental health professional who works with them, who is not only capable of helping but who also believes in how much they can help.
However, like any mental obsession that likely has its roots early in life, and with a holding power that has always increased over time - just like the power of addictions - overcoming pedophilia would require a full time 24/7/365 battle that cannot be let up.
I think discovering and accepting a belief in a higher moral cause against pedophilia, like accepting Christ, can provide the pedophile the strength for the battle against their obsession. Of course the secular world would hate to admit even the “therapeutic” value of that.
Exactly! Homosexuality may be genetic as is alcoholism.....
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Genetic? No. Homosexuality is a learned social disorder. Older men groom boys into the queer lifestyle.
Homosexuality and Pedophilia are not natural behaviors.
This is the kind of trash Harrrrvarrrrd is turning out! Ivy league degrees no longer have the prestige they used to have in our society!
News Flash! Pedophilia is FN perverted! Anyone who abuses a child in this way is uncivilized & should be punished. People & uncivilized religions that promote pedophilia should be ostracized and banned from America!
One of the problem in psychology is that a lot of those attracted to the profession are symptomatic with deviant behavior. No one likes to think that there behavior is wrong or sick, so a lot of times rather then identifying what they suffer as deviant they try to convince them selves and others that it is ok. They then try to convince the general population that it is those on the outside of the issue that are uneducated and just don’t understand...The writer of the article is right in what she said that having theses thoughts are not criminal but acting on them is but that is a truth about al thoughts including theft and murder. It was irresponsible of her to say this because like you said varies medical groups and psychology group will take this to suggest it is actualy healthy for children...the best thing for society is for pedophilia to be seen as the evil it is and not have professionals give people a false sence of understanding the behavior.
Predators in the wild seek out prey that is sick, wounded, or weak. As do predatory humans.
Salon magazine insists that you can be “virtuous” as a pedophile. So do their readers.
That is why in islam when you go to the great jihadi whorehouse..... which they equate to heaven, not only do you get the 72 “virgins”, but you get all the little boys , “strewn about like pearls”.
What God would make heaven a whore house????
What’s in it for the girls, boys and women there?
An eternity of being jarlickers? and homos?
It’s a poorly thought out proposition other than a way to con services of suicidal maniacs for future payment or was it non payment?
It’s an interesting viewpoint and she makes a compelling argument. People who only read the headline shouldn’t comment on any articles.
The psychiatric definition of pedophilia involves being exclusively attracted to kids.
It may be an unsavory issue, but if your goal is to actually reduce the number of victims, then she's got a point.
Interesting how the left thinks it’s a good thing to lower the age of sexual consent, and to vote, but the legal age to buy smokes and firearms has been raised to 21.
Start out with being gay is not a choice and end up molesting kids is not a choice either. We knew this was called coming.
Agreed. It is clearly a mental maladjustment to be sexually attracted to the pre-pubescent.
But there seems to be a lot of confusion and conflating on these subjects.
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