yummyfish #fundie reddit.com

I... actually agree with this. I personally do not stigmatize pedophilic feelings granted that these feelings are kept to oneself and never acted upon. It's not far fetched to conceive of a situation in which someone who sees children sexually would work a job in which they interacted with them regularly and yet was otherwise a perfectly normal person and upstanding worker. I see it no differently from a nurse taking care of a patient they find attractive. So long as no one is diddling kids then let people work where they want to work, are we the god damn thought police now?

If you know that you are a pedophile, the responsible thing to do is not to deliberately put yourself into a position where you are required to be in close contact with children. That's just common sense.
I'm sure there are people who do it, who have these feelings and work with kids. And I am sure that there are plenty of them that never act on their feelings. Fine. I don't like it, but neither can I really prevent it.
But if you go on to the internet and announce that you are a pedophile AND that you believe you should be working with children, people are going to think you are an irresponsible creep. That's not thought policing. That's reality.
If my alcoholic cousin came to me and said they thought it would be a grand idea to start working as a bartender, I'd suggest they reconsider. That's not thought policing. It's saying, "Hey, you have a temptation that most people don't and that could cause some real damage to the people around you if you give in to, so maybe you should try a job where you aren't constantly surrounded by the one thing that you want but cannot have."
Just because you CAN do something doesn't mean you should.


As I've said before, I'm arguing from the position that the pedophile in question is otherwise a perfect teacher who has had their heart set on being one forever. Of course, if you knew them and you knew their temptation you'd talk to them about it, but if they were dead set on it would you truly tell them to just give up on their dream? Also, your analogy isn't too good, drinking alcohol is not illegal, and an alcoholic has already indulged in their temptation enough for it to be a legitimate problem, the pedophile in question has never acted on their lust and in all likelihood never will.


the (adult) patient can tell the nurse to fuck off / press charges / get a restrainin gorder / clock him/her in the face, your choice. children are defenceless.

But they are both exposed to similar temptation, and in the case of both being professionals who are serious about their job, neither would give in.

it doesn't matter: the other party is too vulnerable, the risk is unjustifiable.
it's like saying "I am a very careful smoker, I will make sure my sigarette doesn't drop and make your gas station blow up." You are not allowed to light up, period.
just NO.

Your analogy fails, a smoker already smokes and does so regularly, the pedophile I am discussing has never acted on their lust and likely will never act upon it. It's a thought, not an action.
So you believe we should be policing thoughts? Telling people what they can and cannot do based upon their feelings? Should other professions start doing this too? Should a Nurse in a Convalescent Home be fired for thinking about how much they hate their job?

the disbalance of power (lack of ability to protect him/herself) for a child is so great, you are practically placing him/her totally at mercy of the person who may or may not act upon their feelings. Nope, nope, nope.

ays me, this is the point I am arguing from, if you don't like it then you can stop responding. I described the pedophile in question from the very beginning as someone who has never acted upon their feelings and in all likelihood never would.
You didn't answer my question. Do we start thought-policing people?

When it comes to the vulnerability of a child over an adult's desire to have a specific job, yes.

If you really believe that anyone has the right to control the mind of others for any reason then we've nothing to talk about.

Believe me, I don't condone pedophilia and I'm not trying to protect molesters who would take advantage of children. I just see a group of people who may have legitimate psychological problems they may need help to get over being stigmatized so heavily that they can't find that help and it makes me sympathize with their situation.

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