January 1

Events

• Current events
• 1997 - One spiritual community reaches out ... a little bit. - On this date the Jehovah's Witness publication The Watchtower published an article entitled "Let Us Abhor What Is Wicked." In it the usual tripe about rejecting fornicators and homosexuals and AIDS being God's punishment for homosexuality was trotted out, but there was also a surprisingly open door for acceptance specifically aimed at pedos. It reads, "What if a baptized adult Christian sexually molests a child? Is the sinner so wicked that Jehovah will never forgive him? Not necessarily so. Jesus said that 'blasphemy against the holy spirit' was unforgivable.... But nowhere does the Bible say that an adult Christian who sexually abuses a child-whether incestuously or otherwise -cannot be forgiven. Indeed, his sins can be washed clean if he repents sincerely from the heart and turns his conduct around." The article even argues that former child molesters can rightfully seek leadership positions in the church. Needless to say, this caused some controversy in the church, but at least it opened a dialogue on the subject.

• 1998 - Oppression of pedos' rights in Illinois - On this date two new laws came into effect in Illinois. One (House Bill 232) made it retroactively required for all "sex offenders" to provide DNA samples to the State Police. This despite the fact that no such laws existed at the time of these offences. The other (Senate Bill 5) allowed prosecutors in sex crime trials to introduce prior criminal sex offenses to show a defendant's propensity to commit the charged offense. Crimes covered by the legislation included the "predatory criminal sexual assault of a child." In other words, the State decided that if you were ever found guilty of a crime in the past it could be used as evidence that you committed an entirely unrelated crime in the future. This made fabricating repeat offences much easier for the State, a great tool in persecuting people. But this applied only to sex criminals.

• 1999 - Following a grand tradition of persecution - On this date the Journal of Homosexuality published an article by Harris Mirkin entitled "The Pattern of Sexual Politics: Feminism, Homosexuality and Pedophilia." In short, he argues that the way pedos are viewed and treated today is very similar to how women, non-whites, and homosexuals were all treated in more sexist, racist, or homophobic pasts. He argues that attitudes today to pedos are little more than prejudices of the same order. He says, "Real discussions of pedophilia, as opposed to ritualistic condemnations, are almost non-existent. There are no commonly used neutral labels, and words like 'child molestation,' and 'child abuse' are used in the same way as 'fag' and 'queer' were: to preclude discussion." He further notes that "all sexual activity is equated with violent or coerced sexual activity. According to the dominant formulas the youths are always seduced. They are never considered partners or initiators or willing participants even if they are hustlers. It is only legitimate to coerce pubescents and teens not to have sex. It is argued that they cannot give consent, that they cannot enjoy sex even if they think that they do, and that they suffer physical and psychological harm even if they are not aware of it." He argues, "If this area is to be discussed, distinctions need to be made. Rape and other non- consensual sexual activities need to be separated out in this as in all other sexual categories, and acts involving young children need to be separated from those involving youths. Distinctions need to be made between incestuous relationships with parents and other types of relationships."

• 2001 - Interesting facts, same old hysterical opinions. - The Weekly Standard published an article by Mary Eberstadt on this date entitled " 'Pedophilia Chic' Reconsidered." She writes that the "social consensus against the sexual exploitation of children and adolescents... is apparently eroding, and this regardless of the fact that the vast majority of citizens do overwhelmingly abominate the thing. For elsewhere in the public square, the defense of adult-child sex -- more accurately, man-boy sex -- is now out in the open. Moreover, it is on parade in a number of places -- therapeutic, literary, and academic circles; mainstream publishing houses and journals and magazines and bookstores -- where the mere appearance of such ideas would until recently have been not only unthinkable, but in many cases, subject to prosecution." Interestingly, she goes on to make it clear that she sees this as a bad thing - just as she sees the making of distinctions that Mirkin advocated as a bad thing. It looks like despite the wishes of those who prefer prejudice to knowledge, progress does happen, even if it is slow.