Moralising feelings and desires is pointless, it does not make them go away. They are simply 'there', driven by the mechanisms in the unconscious that we do not have direct access to. The only thing you *can* do, at least in the cases of things like pedophilia is to exercise the common arms of 'justice' that have some degree of effectiveness (deterrence, isolation, and rehabilitation (rehabilitation by treatment))
However, the fact that crimes exist in the first place shows that deterrence fails. Even in societies where the punishment for committing crimes is death itself, deterrence can fail. It goes just to show how irrational the human mind can be. And I don't think that attaching feelings and morals to crime and punishment is the right way to go about it either. Sure it may feel good to watch vengeance being exacted upon someone who you feel to be a terrible person, but that's your lizard brain at play -- it doesnt fix societal problems. It's more the equivalent of how people in medieval times enjoyed watching others getting tortured and executed. People can say that society is more cultured and beyond that kind of thing -- but the desire to harm others who have done no harm to you goes to show you that no matter how much we advance in law and understanding -- that aspect of our humanity will always exist.
Red Spot wrote:You're taking my statement the wrong way. What I mean to say with it is that hetero's homo's and even pedofile's do not choose for their own sexual orientation. The fact that someone feels something isnt something you should refer to as sick or whatever. Even when acted upon it doesnt have to be wrong, I've known plenty of couples where one was over 18 and one was under 18, which makes the one over 18 a pedofile. Yet at the same time an 80year old who dates a 20year old is called a smart man ...
I believe the 'legal age' thing was created for a few reasons
1) Non-adults are more vulnerable to coercion/duress than adults are
2) People who are considered adults are expected (by society and the legal system) to exercise maturity and discretion in choosing sexual partners and are held to be legally responsible for their choices (except in the case of sexual assault)
The legality of an adult who is only a couple of years older than a minor performing sexual acts with that minor is considered to be a 'grey' area because they tend to have a similar level of sexual maturity and thusly it's not seen so much as a person exercising undue power over another person (e.g. like it would be with a 30-year old and a 16-year old)
