Quote Originally Posted by ShlupQuack
So what are you saying, Optium? All I see is reasons why we should pity child molesters as victims of themselves, in spite of the fact that it takes a lot of thought and effort to get into a situation where you're sexually abusing someone;
Right, but a sexual urge can last a very long time, and without any
release it'll stay there. You guys keep saying that we're basically
babying child molesters and treating them like innocent people. That's
not the case, but it's understandable that it would seem that way. It's
sort of playing the devil's advocate because you are making them out
to be sub human and in fact sub organism, so the other extreme must
be taken by those debating the point or else there won't be much of a
debate.

that people who say sexual abuse is worse than death, including Ashley, are lying because otherwise they would've killed themselves;
Yes, that's what I'm saying. However I didn't say anything about
Ashley because I didn't want it to be personal. You're the one who
played that card. I was saying it on a broad and vague level because
each individual person is...their own individual person.

that, contrary to what probably anyone touched by this crime will tell you that stealing the innocence of a child is worse than killing someone.
I think you've worded it backwards...do you mean that I'm saying that
stealing the innocence of a child is not as bad as murder? If so, then
yes, that's what I'm saying.

The punishment isn't harsher because those who enforce the laws are like you.
It has nothing to do with those who enforce the laws, it has to do with
those who make the laws. Those who are representatives of the people.
Those who make the laws depending on what the majority of the people
want.

They don't understand. They have no comprehension of what it takes for someone to molest a child, and no comprehension of what damage it does. You're trusting some general notions and a societal ignorance rather than those who know what damage it does, knows the mind of a child molester, and even those who have experienced it.
Here we are back to the point of my first post in this thread. If society
is ignorant, do something about it. Debating on a forum is a good step,
but not nearly enough if it's as grave a problem as those who have
replied make it out to be.

You're pretty plainly saying "Those who are ignorant to this issue understand it better than those who are very aware of it and those who have been a victim of it."
When did I say this? No, what I'm saying is that those who have been
victimized by it are incredibly biased. Whereas those who haven't had
any personal experience with it are biased in the other direction. What
I'm trying to find is some sort of middle ground. Is letting a child
molester go free without anything to fix the problem a good thing? Of
course not. But is torturing and killing a child molester for a crime which
society has deemed far less heinous than murder the way to go
instead? Hell no.

.opt