Before I get to the meat of this blog entry, I want it to be clear that pedophilia is wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. In no way should it EVER be excusable, acceptable or in any form ok. Have I made this clear enough? Bad, bad, bad pedophiles. Be reviled and ostracized oh practicers of the pedophilia for you shall never be accepted anywhere and rightfully so. Even prison inmates hate the kiddie porn pushers - how's that for a final say on the matter?
Which brings me to the blog seed that was sowed in my brain by a news item I heard on the way home from work the other day. They were reporting that a group of prison inmates had beaten a fellow inmate to death (said fellow inmate was a convicted pedophile). It's common knowledge that if you're into kiddie porn or are an active pedophile in any way and you are sent to prison, you're going to know a world of hurt. In true old testament fashion, I'm actually glad of this. If there is one thing that I find more reprehensible than any other crime in the universe, it's preying upon those who are unable to defend themselves. This is what pedophiles do. However, as I was ruminating upon this, my thoughts went down a different path.
What if pedophilia is a sexual orientation? As far as sexual orientation goes, I believe that this is something that is innate from birth. Either you're attracted to men, women or both. That's it. You don't really have a choice in the matter, it just is what it is. There's nothing wrong with any of the aforementioned options. Love/sex between consenting adults is wonderful no matter what the formation. However, what if pedophiles don't have a choice in who they're attracted to? Maybe they just can't help themselves - they are only sexually excited by children.
Now before anyone gets all upset, hear me out. I'm not positing this so as to engender sympathy for pedophiles. Quite the opposite. If they can't help themselves in being attracted to children and then acting upon those impulses, then perhaps there isn't any way to "fix" them or make it so they don't harm children. Perhaps their sexual interest in children is an innate behavior for a pedophile, something that is not within their control. In that case, I think prison inmates are nature's way of getting rid of a horrible, vile, unacceptable force of nature.
It's like in the awful remake of Godzilla (the one starring Matthew Broderick). Godzilla isn't a bad creature, it is merely unable to function within the real world. It is just too damn big and thus doesn't have a way to lead its radioactively huge lizard life without causing harm to millions of tiny humans. In the same way, pedophiles can't exist within the confines of normal society without inflicting significant harm upon those who are unable to protect themselves. However, unlike our friend Godzilla, they are bad guys. Maybe the only way to handle pedophiles is to get rid of them. I'm a firm believer in capital punishment. I think the only reason it doesn't work is that it isn't enforced sufficiently. I'm of the opinion that there are just some people who can't function in the world without hurting others and there is truly no hope for them. I think perhaps pedophiles fall into this category. However, let us not be diverted onto the death penalty and who is fit to decide who dies and who doesn't discussion. That's a whole other can of infected, writhing, pustule-riddled worms.
Disclaimer: This isn't a call for the death penalty for the crime of pedophilia nor is it suggesting vigilante justice is the way to go. I'm merely thinking out loud and possibly providing an impetus for discussion. I am fully aware that such hot button topics like pedophilia are never black and white - there are many, many layers of gray. As such, these opinions are just that - opinions, to be agreed or disagreed with according to your own ideas...which I'd love to hear, by the way.
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