Dad-O-Lot said:
During a person's lifetime; especially in early adolescence, they may have fleeting attractions of many kinds. In the past, societal taboos discouraged some of these so those who may have had such fleeting attractions would have been pressured to avoid that.
As our society has moved to an "orientation" belief of sexuality, some of these fleeting attractions are identified as "normal" and the taboos have been removed. So, instead of an internal thought of "NOPE"; it becomes "maybe" and perhaps even, "Oh, I guess that is my sexual orientation". Support groups come around and encourage these feelings to become lifestyles.
taboos and shame served a purpose.
Compassion is positive, but it needs to be couched in terms of "you can overcome this" rather than "this is just who you are, let's figure out the best way to deal with it."
The data seems to make it pretty clear that the bolded things here are just wrong.
I think you are right in that not 100% of homosexuals or pedos are that way because of being orientated that way from the beginning, but I think the vast majority of them are.
The very fact that there are so many homosexuals today that grew up in a time and place where they were a "taboo" and publically shamed shows that it doesn't do any good to do those things, and that in most cases being homosexual is not a choice. The fact that a homosexual, growing up, would have had to constantly fight the fact that they would be seen as a freak and a bad person if anyone in their community knew what desires they had, and yet still turned out to be homosexual shows that no amount of social pressure can change what they are. In the most extreme cases, we see this in the middle east where they are in direct danger of being put to death and they still are found out.
I know many homosexuals who went through the whole denial thing growing up. From forcing themselves to only look at straight porn, to dating the opposite sex and even having sex with the opposite sex. They did everything they could to "force" themselves to be straight because they were afraid of the shame that would come with being gay in their family and community. The taboo and shame worked insofar as making them do everything they could to NOT be homosexual, but it still failed and only succeeded in making them feel like outcasts and pariahs. .
If pedophilia is an orientation, it would make sense that it would be no different.
The fact that homosexuality used to be a taboo and earned so much societal shame is the main reason that we have so much push from LGBT activist types today that want to push their agenda in schools and hollywood. The damage that it did to them growing up made them obsess over forcing society to no longer see it as a taboo and a bad thing and they are going to insane lengths to try to accomplish that.
And I completely get the fear that acknowledging that it could be a true sexual orientation would seem to give more encouragement to the NAMBLAs of the world that would take that and say "see, we told you" and embolden them to fight harder to make it socially acceptable.
Though, when you step back and stop looking at this from a tribalism, team vs team perspective where you don't want to give ANYTHING to the other side and start looking at this pragmatically for the sake of children and willing to accept any data that is proven to be factual and helpful in reducing the numbers of children abused, you start seeing more clearly.
For me, I do not see acknowledging that it can be a sexual orientation, that cannot be changed, giving any more power to the fringe groups that advocate adult/minor relationships. Those groups will always be there, but as I said in my previous post. I think society will always side with what they believe to be the best for the children.
7nine