I can't for a minute believe that 3%-9% of the population have pedophile issues. Wouldn't that put about as many pedophiles as there are homosexuals?

I think we have a serious case of confirmation bias going on here. If you don't like the TSA and their policies, let's discuss that. But coloring them as child molesters and predators is hysteria.

Agree with both of you. Eric's right about those percentages: Freaky-wrong numbers like that are one reason our kids aren't prepared for the real world.

Amy's right, too: Remember Tressider of Europeland? She couldn't understand why Americans were so pissy about routinely being rousted by government authorities.

("Fondled" would NOT be too strong a word.)

Also, someone (who understands how the Hell it works) should try it on Google +.

Timely posting.
I was just on my FB page to post the new book I'm reading (Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection)and FB wouldn't allow the post with a message saying the wording violates their policy. I'm guessing it was the word "Loneliness" that somehow got their undies in a knot.
By the way, awesome book, highly recommend you read it.

As a way to die, hypothermia aint that bad. of the 7 ways I almost died it was by far the most pleasant.

Ofcousre figuative snow burail might vary

1. Pedophiles only go after pre-pubescent children. That's the definition, something most people and the Government confuse (ignorance by the former, stupidity on the latter?). So 3 to 9% is such total hogwash. However,
2. If you add the other two groups: hebephiles (a disputed category) who like on the cusp; and ephebophiles who simply like young, the smell of spring rather than summer (I forget the novel), but not what the rest of us consider adult (roughly 14 to 18-19, but development after puberty is really important to this group). Then, yes, it could reach 3 to 9%, especially because of the latter group. Any 18 year olds in Playboy or porno?

Nail the pedophiles to the wall, hell, throw the hebephiles in with them (just please don't call them pedophiles). Use statutory rape on the ephebophiles, as applicable because some states allow consent at 16 (personally, if you're 30 and the girl or boy is 16 and legal, I'd vote to convict on just your asshattery. I'm not too impressed if she/he is 18 either, I'm for 21 if your 30).

I see too many people calling a perp who slept with a 14-15 year old of whatever sex a pedophile. Blur the distinctions, do violence to definitions, and you get stats like 3-9% of the population are pedophiles (just like 1 in 4 women are raped, or almost raped, or propositioned in the elevator).

Ariel-

The age of consent in Spain is 12. It is 13 in some countries, 16 in others.

My view? The less the law can stick its nose into, the better.

Who cares?

Not me.

Free speech and corporate profit are generally not compatible principles. Facebook is probably trying to avoid a world of hurt by not hosting conversation about pedophiles and TSA misdeeds.

BOTU,
I have 3 children, I care. The age of consent in Spain has gone up to 13, so you might be careful. Burkino Faso is 13 too, so what? Each society determines it. My major issue with "age of consent" is proximity of age, not the age per se.

Out of everything I wrote, you focused on the "age of consent"? Not the definitional and connotational aspects of pedophile versus other groups? With all the ramifications when distinctions are ignored?

I'm too scared to make the comments that I would like to, even on this webpage. It's for my own good.

"I can't for a minute believe that 3%-9% of the population have pedophile issues. Wouldn't that put about as many pedophiles as there are homosexuals?"

For obvious reasons, people keep things like this secret much more-so than homosexuality, but I recall looking at some of the studies many years ago - the rates are indeed higher than most people would imagine. But NB, the majority with such tendencies are not *predators*, just like the majority of adults sexually attracted to one another are not rapists.

PS I'm of course appalled at the censorship :/ I have been increasingly disgusted with Facebook for a number of other reasons already. I wonder if one can get around it by doing some selective text replacements, e.g. replace an "i" with a "1" or mispsell a few select 'trigger' wrods or phrases.

"Freaky-wrong numbers like that are one reason our kids aren't prepared for the real world."

Sorry Crid, but I think to prepare kids for the real world they should know how to confront reality, not popular delusions. Note though, again, these types of studies measure a tendency to have sexual response to images or thoughts of naked underage children, BUT there is a big difference between someone who merely has such thoughts, and a predator. Pedophile predators are of course a notably lower percentage. But that is of little comfort to me as a parent if I have to subject my own young daughter one of these days to the TSA. As far as the TSA is concerned, it should give you a good idea of what percentage of their employees will have secret internal sexual responses and feelings when doing patdowns of children.

"Pedophiles only go after pre-pubescent children. That's the definition, something most people and the Government confuse (ignorance by the former, stupidity on the latter?). So 3 to 9% is such total hogwash."

You are right, and I was well aware of that. The percentages given are for actual pedophilia (pre-pubescents). But in fact, that makes the percentage not lower but much higher - because if you were to include the (I forget the names now) people who have sexual feelings for post-pubescent early adolescents and then those who have sexual feelings for later-stage adolescents, the numbers become disturbing. What I wanted to indicate was a conservative lower-bound estimate, and demonstrate that a conservative lower-bound estimate is already pretty worrying.

> to prepare kids for the real world they
> should know how to confront reality, not
> popular delusions

The popular delusion is that adult masculinity is a sexually monstrous force which finds weak children alluring. Our society is going the extra mile to make children afraid of men, of even talking to them, and completely unprepared to deal with what men want from others in any context.

As if they won't have to deal with men in the future... Or even to become men.

It's hard to believe that Facebook is actually monitoring this. More likely, one of your Facebook "friends" is reporting these comments.

That said, we now have the burden of teaching children to not let strangers fondle them, unless they're TSA agents.

Now, they can lured into creepy old perverts' homes to "play TSA."

"Freaky-wrong numbers like that are one reason our kids aren't prepared for the real world."

Well, it might be that the government has decided to procecute parents for sex ed is contributing to the problem

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,311659,00.html

As for the hebephiles conotation, it is for the most part needless and usless except in seprating child preadetors from people who run afoul of an overly letegious and moralistic legl code.

I could show you a photo of a 16y old that looked 27 and one of a 25 yr old that looked 15.

If nudes one of the photos would be illegal, but it wouldnt be the one you thought

And the 'hebephile' would find the mid twenty year old more attractive then the teenager

Heres a story of a guy being prosecuted for child porn involving, according to expert govenment witnesses, a 13yr old girl

http://www.crimeandfederalism.com/2010/04/another-day-in-the-life-of-an-unethical-prosecutor-jenifer-yois-hernandezvega.html

Turns out she was 20 or so yrs old.

"if you were to include the (I forget the names now) people who have sexual feelings for post-pubescent early adolescents and then those who have sexual feelings for later-stage adolescents, the numbers become disturbing"

What's disturbing? The number is 100%, or as near as makes no difference. Show me the adult who does not find some degree of sexual attraction in a healthy, fit teenager of the appropriate gender, and I'll show you a corpse.

Why should this be disturbing? It is natural to enjoy looking at attractive people.

And yet somehow this is fine:
http://i.imgur.com/6ib5P.jpg

I looked a few of them up as well and found 2 easily enough. Although I can't see their actual profiles, I am inclined to think it is not a hoax. I found it on a tumblr that posts Facebook "over sharers" for particular topics. Usually the tumbler hides the names and faces of the entries though.

Censorship has no place in America. We as free people should be able to debate topics, any. Facebook should not be censoring. Well, it appears that they only are censoring certain things and ideas, and leaving others to spout what they will. Why would they have a problem with the word "loneliness"? Things are getting out of hand on so many levels, I am afraid one day we won't be allowed out of our houses without a full body search.

The simple fact is that facebooks lawyers probably make them do this as we have too many lawyers in this country trying to take everybody else's bag of nickels

Our children are PRECIOUS!!!!!!! Their precious CHILDISHNESS must be defended, so it can grow in —and grow into— meta-precious isolation!

{Damn! Another great blog comment! What is it about me? What makes me so perceptive?)

Also, Ronc's kinda right about the lawyers thing. Incredibly successful businessmen can be more isolated than movie stars, who at least have to endure bad reviews and gossip websites, no matter how loyal their entourage. When you're a business success of the Zuckerberg / Jobs league, you've got no one on the surface of the globe who will casually and convincingly argue that you have blind spots. In such a condition you must turn to attorneys for social savvy. Ironic!

See this excerpt.

Google has enjoyed the luck of the daring... A LOT of it. Ignoring lawyerly impulses has given them tremendous wealth and power. Someday that luck, or that audacious talent, will probably falter.

I'm not just being the-harder-they-fall. If it was as easy as Google has made it seem, there'd be more Googles. I remember when Microsoft was so deft that they trounced IBM. But nowadays, despite enormous profits....

I notice that a number of commenters on this blog were disturbed by the fact that when they shared on FB, their posting quickly disappeared. I may be able to shed some light on that...

It's really NOT a conspiracy, it's simply a FB glitch that happens when you copy/paste text or a URL into a comment box. You hit Enter, and it appears to post okay, but next time you look, the comment isn't there. Well, here is the FIX for that!.....

Copy/paste your text or URL into the comment box. Now hold down the Shift key and press Enter. This will put a line space after your text. Release the Shift key and press Enter again. Your comment will post and will NOT disappear.

Alternatively, you can type a few characters after the pasted text, then hit Enter. The point is, there needs to be something after the pasted text before hitting Enter.

via Diana Myers--Roxanne, I notice that a number of commenters on this blog were disturbed by the fact that when they shared on FB, their posting quickly disappeared. I may be able to shed some light on that...

It's really NOT a conspiracy, it's simply a FB... glitch that happens when you copy/paste text or a URL into a comment box. You hit Enter, and it appears to post okay, but next time you look, the comment isn't there. Well, here is the FIX for that!.....

Copy/paste your text or URL into the comment box. Now hold down the Shift key and press Enter. This will put a line space after your text. Release the Shift key and press Enter again. Your comment will post and will NOT disappear.

Alternatively, you can type a few characters after the pasted text, then hit Enter. The point is, there needs to be something after the pasted text before hitting Enter.