Donk: [quote author=mindseye link=board=99;num=1068262917;start=0#18 date=11/09/03 at 17:06:27]
How can I help but wonder -- why did so few of their victims say anything? Why didn't more children -- tattletales by nature -- come forward?
Vile as this topic is, maybe if it were a little less taboo, and people weren't so quick to suppress it the very moment it rears its ugly head, children might not feel such pressure themselves to not talk about it.
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Come now, mindseye, I give you enough credit to believe you are perfectly capable of distinguishing between an openness that encourages the victims of child abuse to come forward with the facts about their victimization and one that encourages the would-be victimizers to publicly indulge their fantasies.
Discussion of the topic and problem of pedophilia is not taboo--we're discussing it now in a rational manner, and I don't think anyone here is defending it as a practice. Graphic stories about pedophilia and actual solicitations attempting to lure minors into it are taboo for a good reason.
Let me suggest another example in addition to your racist snuff topic, which is a good one. We might have a discussion (and I think it has been discussed at times) relating to Hitler and the Nazis. There is almost universal agreement, with the exception of a small fringe of people, that the Nazi regime represented pure evil. Most likely, in a typical thread on the topic, no one would pipe up defending the Nazis. Maybe some isolated nut would, and would probably be quickly shouted down and the board would go on about its business.
But suppose a handful of Neo-Nazis hijacked this board and essentially turned it into a forum for Nazi propaganda. Would it be appropriate to ban such material?
I'd encourage you to give the matter some reflection before reaching a conclusion. Please note, I'm not talking about jumping on an isolated post about any particular topic. I'm talking about people effectively taking over the board for their own purposes--purposes that would (justifiably, IMHO) alienate large numbers of other participatns. The point I'm trying to make is that it's not about whether Nazis or pedophiles have a right to express themselves, it's about whether they should be allowed to exercise that right here or if this board will remain a forum where people are free to express just about everything else.
Again, my hope is that these hypotheticals stay just hypothetical and the board goes on as a fun community where we can share thoughts.
How can I help but wonder -- why did so few of their victims say anything? Why didn't more children -- tattletales by nature -- come forward?
Vile as this topic is, maybe if it were a little less taboo, and people weren't so quick to suppress it the very moment it rears its ugly head, children might not feel such pressure themselves to not talk about it.
[/quote]
Come now, mindseye, I give you enough credit to believe you are perfectly capable of distinguishing between an openness that encourages the victims of child abuse to come forward with the facts about their victimization and one that encourages the would-be victimizers to publicly indulge their fantasies.
Discussion of the topic and problem of pedophilia is not taboo--we're discussing it now in a rational manner, and I don't think anyone here is defending it as a practice. Graphic stories about pedophilia and actual solicitations attempting to lure minors into it are taboo for a good reason.
Let me suggest another example in addition to your racist snuff topic, which is a good one. We might have a discussion (and I think it has been discussed at times) relating to Hitler and the Nazis. There is almost universal agreement, with the exception of a small fringe of people, that the Nazi regime represented pure evil. Most likely, in a typical thread on the topic, no one would pipe up defending the Nazis. Maybe some isolated nut would, and would probably be quickly shouted down and the board would go on about its business.
But suppose a handful of Neo-Nazis hijacked this board and essentially turned it into a forum for Nazi propaganda. Would it be appropriate to ban such material?
I'd encourage you to give the matter some reflection before reaching a conclusion. Please note, I'm not talking about jumping on an isolated post about any particular topic. I'm talking about people effectively taking over the board for their own purposes--purposes that would (justifiably, IMHO) alienate large numbers of other participatns. The point I'm trying to make is that it's not about whether Nazis or pedophiles have a right to express themselves, it's about whether they should be allowed to exercise that right here or if this board will remain a forum where people are free to express just about everything else.
Again, my hope is that these hypotheticals stay just hypothetical and the board goes on as a fun community where we can share thoughts.
"You know that Father is God's special friend. You can't tell anyone what we do here today because God wants it to be as secret, and if you tell anybody He will punish you and make bad things happen to your Mommy and Daddy. God won't love you any more."
