reply to post by _Phoenix_
You are exactly right. More people find beauty in "minors" than we as a society would like to believe. I think deep down, at some level, we all know
that is true, so to deal with that fact, we label anyone who reveals their attraction as "sick" or a "pedophile".
The issue of attraction to minors by adults is not a black and white issue. In fact, it has many factors and levels that deserve consideration, rather
than just broadly painting everyone with the same brush.
If we as a society could find the courage to discuss the issue in a mature manner without our emotions - whether they are fake or not - getting in the
way, I think it would go a long way to not only preventing the imprisonment of innocent people, but also cleansing many of us of our manufactured
paranoia about the dangers to our children.
Although there are many levels to this, I believe there are two main ones. One involves a private admiration for the beauty of a child, and the other
involves an open association with the child.
The first issue is, as _Phoenix_ pointed out: Where do we draw the line between natural attraction and a perverted obsession?
It's a difficult issue, and I don't have an answer to the question. But I think (or at least hope) we can all agree that a natural and innocent
attraction is not "wrong" and certainly not grounds for imprisonment. However, acting out that attraction on the child is wrong and must be
prosecuted if there is no consent and/or the child is too young. Which brings us to the next issue:
What age should be considered the line between a "child" (i.e. "too young") and an "adult"?
Again, this is a difficult issue. However, I believe there is nothing about 18 that makes someone any more physically or emotionally capable of
consenting to a relationship, sexual or not, with an adult than someone who is, say, 16.
So where do we draw the line? What is the solution? Should we broadly paint all adult-minor relationships as statutory rape for legal system
convenience and consistency? Or should we take the time to understand the situation, understand the personalities of the people involved, and make a
judgment on whether or not something truly 'illegal' is taking place?
I find it ridiculous that, technically, a 50 year old person having a sexual relationship with a 13 year old, and an 18 year old person having a
sexual relationship with a 17 year old can be charged with the same crime.
No matter what the laws say, most people do not make the transition in to what we define as an "adult" emotionally until at least 19 or 20, and
emotions are what fuel relationships. So should we really be so reckless with our assumptions and generalizations about what is going on simply
because one is an adult and the other is not?
I realize there is a limit; you cannot have people collecting Social Security having relationships with people just going in to middle school. But I
think if we are going to use the time and taxpayer dollars to prosecute someone, we can at least take the time to find out if something truly
"illegal" (i.e. someone is a "victim" of something) occurred.