The whole idea was that we are going to protect children. But because most abuse of children happens inside the family, the registry doesn’t affect that. It just creates more “stranger danger” fear. The research for twenty-five years shows it doesn’t make anyone safer. Instead, it does a great deal of harm, not only to individuals and their families but to communities, because it makes us all suspicious.
The journalist and activist Judith Levine and scholar and activist Erica Meiners have thought long and hard about these issues, drawing on both scholarship and practice in their new book The Feminist and the Sex Offender. They recently spoke with Laura Tanenbaum, who has written for Jacobin on numerous topics related to feminism and sexual politics.
I believe this interview by the Los Angeles Review of Books is different from the one post here.
https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/better-world-not-place-practice-conversation-judith-levine-erica-r-meiners
I see that Iowa Governor issued order to restore felon voting rights. According to CNN, only convicted murderers will still have to petition for voting rights. Does this mean registrants are now able to vote?
The “stranger danger” fallacy permeates out culture. It’s a mindset implanted via indoctrination as children.
There are these “Karen” videos on YouTube, and one is a perfect example: an older teen put new wheels on his skateboard at a park he has skated at daily for his entire childhood. He knows everyone there. He decided to give the old wheels and some other miscellaneous skateboard parts to the younger kids, whom he knows, and some crazy woman called the cops on him and repeatedly called him a pedophile. This behavior has to stop.
Many of you here may have come to realize from my previous comments that I am no fan of the liberal left. But that doesn’t mean I support the conservative right 100%. I was just talking to my fiance the other day about this very topic: Pedophilia. That’s the new trending buzz word among the conservative party thanks to Jeffery Epstein. Now, we all know that Epstein had a thing for young girls. But I think they were all teenagers as far as I know about the story, so he does not qualify as a “pedophile”. But you cannot say this to the Jesus loving, bible thumping, forgiveness for everyone in Christ conservative right. If you dare to give them the definition of “pedophile” they will accuse you of being one.
On my Instagram I started following some conservative speakers and average Janes and Joes. All I see when I scroll through posts is “Pedophile this, pedophile that. Hollywood are all pedophiles. Everyone’s a pedophile (but not the person posting that everyone’s a pedophile- of course). It’s like the left constantly calling EVERYTHING “racist” until the word has lost it’s meaning and it begins to actually offend people because they’re called “racist” just for not having a taste in rap music (for example). Black people make more than just rap music. But if you don’t like rap you’re racist. I guess maybe I should burn all my Earth, Wind and Fire and Barry White CDs because I can’t possibly like THEIR black music unless I like ALL black music. I don’t even like every Styx song and that’s my favorite band since age 7.
But pedophile/pedophilia is the new trending thing to call people. No one can be nice to kids anymore. Stay away from kids. In fact, maybe give kids a dirty look and let an adult or their parent ask you why you’re giving their kids a dirty look and reply by saying “Because the days of being able to SMILE at children are long gone with our great-grandparents. Now-a-days you’re a PEDOPHILE if you dare to smile at a child who’s being playful or doing something cute”. Let that be the reply these asshat parents get and let them deal with it.
@ Maestro:
The sad thing is that people screaming about pedophiles the loudest don’t have the foggiest idea what pedophilia really is. Most people don’t. I raised that in my stupid group a while back. I asked anyone to define “pedophilia” or “pedophile” and the response was “someone sexually attracted to children.” By show of hands, everyone there, including the “treatment” provider, agreed.
But that definition is incorrect in that it is missing a very important element – prepubescence. The law and most of society has redefined “children” to anyone under 18, but nature has not and never will. Post-pubescent teenagers are and will always be horny as hell, despite society’s tendency to believe them too stupid to decide sexual matters for themselves (yet fully capable of deciding whether or not to steal or do drugs).
Non-consensual sex is rape, of course. But consensual sex shouldn’t be considered rape solely due to the state’s arbitrary age determination. I’m not saying sex between adults and teenagers should be legal, or not punished when discovered. Only that the penalties are far too excessive, and in many cases, any trauma experienced by the so-called victims in such cases was imposed by their so-called advocates.
Ben, unfortunately I don’t see this improving. Americans, specifically, Americans, seem to abide by the “Hate/Fear Thy Neighbor” ideology. There is no community in this country, that’s why you constantly hear stories about people snitching on each other and egging on someone who was caught doing something that they shouldn’t be doing. He’s 22 and had sex with a 15-16 year old? HANG HIM!
Best advice I could give is to consider moving out to just about any other country, especially based on where things are headed in the US…
Food For Thought