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My question is as follows. Why do I hear things like "Pedophilia naturally follows if you allow homosexuality," or "homosexuality causes pedophilia"? Full disclosure. I am bisexual but am living in a homosexual relationship. I grew up in a Catholic household and did missionary work of my own volition in the Philippines. I have since realized that the threat of endless rape and torture inflicted upon those who disagree with an invisible and all powerful being doesn't really allow you to have free will. It is a psychological gun held to my head. So in the most recent video, The Catholic Church Built Western Civilization | Duke Pesta and Stefan Molyneux, at 26:00 Duke Pesta talks about determinism and how our genes determine who we are. He goes on to say that there is a movement to declassify pedophilia as a mental disorder just as homo.... (sexuality) (yes he didn't finish the word but it seems to follow.) This made me recall several discussions I have had with friends and family a long time ago. Homosexuality between two consenting adults requires no initiation of force. Pedophilia must initiate force in order to have a "relationship" in the same way that rape is a relationship. No matter how much people will try and manipulate their "arguments;" a child has a severely limited concept of what sex, relationships, commitment, love, and reproduction fully entails. They also lack the ability to effectively decline an advance and have agency. Therefore they cannot fully consent. Please let me know if I am off-base but this seems like the most simple explanation. I feel physically ill and angry when I hear these things talked about side by side as if they are interchangeable or similar. Pedophilia is evil and violates the non-aggression principle. Frankly, nothing pisses me off more than the idea of a child being abused. Why do people make the argument that pedophilia and homosexuality are somehow similar? That is basically saying rape and love making are similar. Moreover why do people make the case that Homosexuality encourages the destruction of children's innocence and well being? I have heard people try to use pedophilia in order to demonize homosexuality and use homosexuality to try and legitimize pedophilia. I despise both threads of sophistry. How do I fit this into my brain? Is there something I am not getting? Am I mistaking the world for myself? What do I do with these feelings of disgust and rage? How can I make them productive? Are my arguments sounds? What am I not considering? Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated.

Hi I just wanted to share some experiences I've had and see if anyone can relate, or has some thoughts about it.I just had a chat on Facebook with someone who I've only met twice in real life, in which he confessed to me that his adopted parents were pedophiles. I didn't have the stomach to ask further details, but it was pretty obvious what was going on. The conversation started out with him telling me he has paranoia to talk on the internet about bad things the government does out of fear of being targeted. He went on to list reporters, politicians, and so on, that have been killed or died mysteriously after challenging the ruling elite. Then he asked if I thought it would change the world to create a class where children could talk about these issues openly. I started to get the picture of what he was really talking about. I tried giving little hints, like "my feeling is that the way people see the world or human nature is really how they see themselves or the environment in which they grew up". Then when it became clear to me, I put it back to him, saying something like "you think children need to be taught that there are bad people in the world who will hurt them, and you are worried about someone hurting you for telling the truth. what happened to YOU when you told the truth as a child?" Then it came out. I suggested that he talk to his adopted parents about the spanking, yelling, etc., and he said "My adopted parents are pedophiles." I immediately covered my face with my hands in horror and my heart rate went up, I felt a profound pain in my heart, and took a deep breath, and continued to chat for a few minutes, of course extending a deep sympathy and trying to find ways he can get help. I learned that he has cut contact with them, but hasn't told the extended family, he said maybe he would "when they were dead". I told him that I think he should seriously consider trying to tell the rest of the family. I think he has tried to tell the sister, not sure if she is also adopted, but said she considers him a demon for not speaking with the parents. Obviously he is still afraid of the violent consequences of telling the truth about horrible things. He was trying to project on to the problems of the world, but a few minutes of thoughtful questioning got right to the truth. I really have to thank Stef and this community for helping me to see these kinds of things, that when people talk about politics, 99% of the time they are really not talking about politics. I remember on a Sunday show, he once said something like "The truth about people is only ever a 15 minute conversation away". Part of the reason I share this, and that it is bewildering to me, is that this is not the first time this has happened - that someone I don't know so well feels safe enough to tell me about horrible things that have happened to them as children. Even before I got into FDR this happened a few times, though I feel somewhat ashamed that I was not capable of handling it very well. I am not sure what it is about my personality, that makes people feel comfortable with telling me stuff like this. But I don't consider it a burden, I am very happy to give people an opportunity to share their pain, I can't imagine the weight of carrying such a secret amongs a society primarily concerned with sports and celebrities and political theater and the newest gadgets. I will say, that I used to be somewhat hardened and cynical as a teenager, I suppose as a defense mechanism, and to some extent as an imitation of my brother who is still like this in some ways. But in my early twenties I developed a softer side, a lot to do with experiencing intimacy with girls, and now I have a strong sense of empathy which I consider a strength, whereas when I was younger I think I became cynical because I thought of emotionalism as a weakness. I get a feeling in my heart and in my gut, that seems to mirror the joy or sadness or anger in others, I can get very moved my art and music and movies, and before I became more aware, by propaganda as well (I am ashamed to admit that in 2008 I was almost moved to tears by Obama's "Yes we can" speech). So despite the fact that I seem pretty calm and intelligent, and am not outwardly emotional, I think people can sense this about me, and share these things which they are desperate to talk to someone about. I wonder if I should become a therapist. Anyway if you've made it this far, I appreciate the time and patience listening to my experiences with this. Has anyone else experienced this kind of emotional transformation, or this kind of forthcoming from traumatized people? Thanks in advance for your thoughts.