The difference with something like paedophilia - as opposed to vegetarianism, interracial marriage, etc - is that it harms other people, people who aren’t deemed by society (or basic common sense) of being capable of understanding the harm it would do them even if they did consent.
If these people want to fuck vegetables, then fine. I’m sure the marrows aren’t going to take legal action.
But when the object of their fetish is a defenceless fellow human-being, it’s sick and yes, crazy for them to even advocate it.
OldGeezer, I want you to know that I sympathize with you when you note how our constitutional freedoms sometimes makes it seem that the bad guys are winning and society is turning as mushy as an old banana. Those are natural feelings, and I feel that way too when I see what passes for entertainment these days–especially that which seems to me exploitative of young people and their naivete.
But America, friend, is an experiment; we have to wait and see what comes out of it all. This is Tuesday, and I’m optimistic.
You’re right of course, Scott. I confess I get a little emotional about some things. Still, I don’t equate advocating a crime against children with advocating, say, the cultivation of marijuana. Both are illegal, but advocating the legalization of marijuana (as in the medical marijuana law passed in California and ignored by the feds, who arrest growers anyway) is a far cry from advocating the abuse of persons incapable of protecting themselves.
We are a nation of laws. I get that. Though I don’t know that after more than two centuries it’s still just an experiment. But it is flexible, and perhaps it could use some changes. Until it is changed, however, I’m glad there’s a place like the SDMB where some of the more viscerally oriented among us can vent a little spleen without really doing any harm.