XXX wrote:
>> Yes, but look at it this way: If a child has sex with someone,
>> especially an adult, there's a chance that the child would be harmed
>> by the experience. In good-to-ideal circumstances, that chance is
>> probably pretty low. (And the likelihood of the circumstances being
>> good-to-ideal is also pretty low).
>
> Isn't that true with children having sex with children, as well? Maybe
> chastity belts are the answer. A child having a sexual relationship with
> an adult who knows what that child can handle is MUCH safer than some kids
> going at it in the back of a car when they don't know what they are doing.
This is true.
>
>> However, should anyone in authority find out (which is quite
>> possible), the chance of harm occurring rapidly becomes very high. Can
>> you allow that harm to occur just because it's someone else's fault?
>
> I'm saying that we need to change things so that it is no longer a taboo,
> so that people don't need to worry about the "authorities finding out"
> because there are no consequences from the authorities.
I agree, but are we to risk people getting hurt until then? The only
person who can make that decision is the child involved, and it's not
a burden I would put on him/her. Remember, there are other people
involved: not only the young person him/herself, but his/her friend,
other friends and family, parents, and so on. Risking everything just
to prove a point is, IMO, going a bit far and frankly probably not
worth martyrdom.
>> For me, I simply could not risk the chance that someone I feel for
>> could be harmed by things largely out of his (or her) control. While
>> sex is nice, safety is nicer, and much more valuable.
>
> But things don't change by keeping "safe". If the younger person wants the
> activity, knows that society believes that it is wrong, but still is
> willing, then this is one way to change things. Civil disobedience.
See above. It's fine in theory, but in practice it will solve nothing.
Look at what will probably really happen. Let's say I have an underage
boyfriend and our relationship, with his full consent, becomes
intimate. So far, so good, and everything's fine.
But then, somehow it comes to the attention of the authorities. This
could be in lots of ways - he tells an untrustworthy friend, or
someone overhears a chance remark, or some busybody knows knowthing
but puts two and two together and makes five, or a host of other
things. What happens then?
First, I'll be prosecuted and end up inside. That would benefit
nobody, and the boy would have lost his friend and know (or at least,
believe) that he was responsible.
Second, he will be interrogated by the police and social workers. He
can (a) deny anything happened, (b) claim I forced myself on him, or
(c) insist that any sex was fully consensual and desired and
instigated by him.
If, as you say he should, he goes for (c), he will be declared to have
been "groomed", that he is "infatuated" for some reason or other and
incapable of making his own decisions, or simply lying, which would go
to support either or both of the other two. In short, his claims will
be ignored. The result of that may well be that he is given over to a
psychiatrist who will try to "cure" him of his "trauma" - which may
well do him considerable damage itself.
There is no way I could do anything that might cause that to happen to
someone I loved.
>
>> Have sex with a kid, and it might result in his/her life being screwed
>> up; even if the sex itself isn't the primary cause, it's still the
>> underlying factor.
>>
>> Much better not to, just in case.
>
> Do you believe that kids shouldn't play sports, learn to drive, or go to
> school? Those things also all have risk. A sports injury, a car accident,
> or learning that live was created via evolutionary processes ALSO can
> "screw up" a child's life. Isn't is better not to, just in case???
Hardly the same. While those things can cause injury, it is extremely
rare for such injury to be life-threatening or long-lasting. HAveing
one's life controlled by the authorities under the conditions I
described above will last longer and feel considerably worse.
--
rgds
LAurence
..."I'd prefer the non-smoking lifeboat, please."
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