CMV: Pedophiles are overly hated

Most sexualities are fine and legal. All of them, in fact. They are not considered mental illnesses.

You consider paedophilia a sexuality. You consider it a mental illness because it is abnormal. Homosexuality is abnormal - it is many standard deviations outside of 'average' human behaviour. However, it is not a mental disorder, and is accepted.

Either: Paedophilia is not a sexuality, and therefore has much more of an element of either mental disorder or choice, in which case revulsion, pity, or similar is at least somewhat reasonable, as would be institutionalisation or imprisonment.

or

Paedophilia is a sexuality, like homosexuality or any other sexuality. These are not mental disorders, and it is not appropriate to institutionalise, imprison, or even be biased against people based on them.

For your current position to make sense at all, there has to be some kind of differentia between pedophilia and homosexuality. If the only differentia is 'we don't like one of them,' then the basis of decriminalisation and tolerance of homosexuality and similar alternative lifestyles is called into question - many people still don't like them, and if bias against one sexuality is acceptable, we can't reasonably say that bias against others is unacceptable.

I don't see how it possibly doesn't matter that your stated view is incongruent with itself.

/r/changemyview Thread Parent