Semester3383

@Semester3383@lemmy.world

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨I'm doing my part⁩ ⁨⁨16⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago⁩:

  AFAIK, pedophilia refers specifically to the sexual attraction to children. When it’s used as a weapon per your scenario, it’s both a war crime and child rape.

  Like, if adult men as sexually assaulted as part of war crimes (and that’s distressingly common), the perpetrators are likely not gay or bi-; they’re ‘just’ committing atrocities.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨I'm doing my part⁩ ⁨⁨16⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago⁩:

  The system is currently 237 years old, which would make fucking the system the opposite of child molestation.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨I'm doing my part⁩ ⁨⁨16⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago⁩:

  AFAIK, child molestation victims are not more likely to become pedophiles or molest children; usually they’ve got a lot of PTSD.

  The only treatment that’s available is chemical castration (to largely eliminate sexual urges, although that creates a ton of health issues), and therapy that reduces the probability of criminal offenses against children. It’s not treating pedophilia per se, it’s helping people learn to avoid triggers and spaces where they’re likely to feel overwhelmed by sexual impulses. There’s no cure.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨I'm doing my part⁩ ⁨⁨16⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago⁩:

  Depends.

  Pedophilia is likely an inherent sexual attraction, much like being straight, or LGBTQ+. It appears that the sexual attraction is not something that the person has control over. There’s no good evidence that it can be changed. Some pedophiles are also sexually attracted to age-appropriate partners, some appear to be exclusively attracted to children. Moreover, it appears to split into nepophilia (infants, toddlers), pedophilia (pre-pubescent children older than toddlers), and ephebophilia (pubescent children and post-pubescent children younger than the legal age of consent).

  Epstein appears to have been attracted to post-pubescent girls younger below the age of consent, but he also seems to have had sexual relationships with adult women. E.g., he wasn’t exclusively a pedophile.

  Child molestation is a completely different matter. Child molesters can be pedophiles, but they can also be opportunistic sexual predators. A significant amount of child molestation is also incest, e.g., a parent or close relative (almost always male) using a child for sexual gratification because they can (proximity, opportunity), rather than preferring children. Either way, child molesters that sexually abuse children are very high risk offenders; they are often very, very likely to commit the same crime repeatedly.

  So, I’d draw the line a line between someone that’s sexually attracted to minors, and someone that acts. The child molester? Yeah, fuck 'em with a chainsaw. Pedophiles that haven’t yet done anything (including grooming!)? No.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Does anyone struggle with spending money foolishly on prostitutes?⁩ ⁨⁨16⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago⁩:

  you’re just a Christian who hates God.

  I’m a former Christian that’s been deeply disappointed by the followers of god, or gods; the hypocrisy and mental gymnastics of the purported followers was what eventually led me out of Plato’s Cave. If Jesus was real, and Christians truly followed the actual words of Christ in the four gospels (not Paul, Paul was a dick), then I’d likely never have started questioning my own faith. As it was, it still took me 25 years, four years in seminary, and working as a missionary before I started to question anything.

  The reaction is certainly part of it. But that’s definitely not all of it.

  Atheist says what I don’t believe: I don’t believe in any god, or anything supernatural. (Could there be one? Sure. But I haven’t seen any falsifiable evidence. So technically I’m agnostic, but I round up to atheist.)

  Satanism says what I do believe: I believe that men are free to do as they want, as long as the don’t infringe on the rights of others. I believe in bodily and personal autonomy (including abortion, drugs, and yes, suicide). I believe in being free from unjust and unwarranted authority. I choose to model my life as much as I reasonably can on the version of Lucifer presented in Paradise Lost and other Romantic-era books.

  Anton LaVay was an ass, a misogynist, a bit homophobic, and generally a bit of a douche-canoe, but he was very right in that the idea of a Satan, and of sin, was the best friend religion ever had; without the idea that men are inherently sinful, no one has any need for religion, because no one needs to be redeemed. You need to feel bad, because if you don’t, then there’s no reason to keep showing up at church every week to receive forgiveness.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Does anyone struggle with spending money foolishly on prostitutes?⁩ ⁨⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago⁩:

  Most of history from that time period is from books that don’t cite sources.

  Most of the history that’s accepted from that time comes from multiple sources–rather than just one–and has some kind of archaeological evidence backing it up. In contrast, there’s essentially zero writing about a Jesus of Nazareth aside from books written a minimum of 70 years after he supposedly lived. If you choose to treat a single book as proof of truth, why the bible? Why not the Torah, or Quran? There’s certainly better evidence that Muhammed is at least a historical figure, although even that is debated. For that matter, why not the Tao Te Ching (although, again, the actual existence of a Laozi is very debateable)?

  I do not condone that.

  You say that you’re a Christian; the vast majority of Christian sects condemn homosexuality and marriage equality. Christians are called to evangelize (Matt. 5:14-16), and likewise the bible says in multiple places that homosexuality is sinful (along with divorce, eating cheeseburgers, and, well, just about everything that’s enjoyable in life). But you don’t condone it?

  Never heard of this happening.

  Oh really? You’re not aware of laws being passed that prevent access to and criminalize reproductive care, or laws that ban gender affirming care? Really?

  Really?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Does anyone struggle with spending money foolishly on prostitutes?⁩ ⁨⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago⁩:

  Okay, what evidence convinces you? HOW do you “know”?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Does anyone struggle with spending money foolishly on prostitutes?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago⁩:

  And what is your belief based on? What falsifiable evidence do you have that it’s actually correct, factually true?

  In other words, how do you know?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Does anyone struggle with spending money foolishly on prostitutes?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago⁩:

  Because Jesus Christ rose from the dead. OP is a Christian and believes that.

  Any evidence for that, aside from a book that doesn’t cite sources? Look mate, I can believe that Harry Potter really defeated He Who Shall Not Be Named and saved the muggle world from his domination, but does that make it right? Would that be a positive thing to base all of my life on?

  This is the same as a Christian telling an atheist that their gay relationship is wrong.

  …And yet, they do that all the time, don’t they? Not only that, but they try to pass laws preventing them from happening. Or to prevent trans people from accessing appropriate healthcare. Or to ensure that women don’t have rights to their own bodies.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Does anyone struggle with spending money foolishly on prostitutes?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago⁩:

  No, it doesn’t matter to the universe. Morality can still matter to you. This is the idea that existentialism is built around: you have to make choices for yourself.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Does anyone struggle with spending money foolishly on prostitutes?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  There’s nothing particularly wrong with lust, sexual attraction, desire for connection, etc. It’s all part of simply being human. Why would you assume that the teachings of the Christian bible are correct, not in just this matter, but any other? Why not any other scripture? Buddhists, for instance, would say that any desire prevents you from progressing spiritually. Satanists (me!) would say that no desire is inherently wrong, and that it’s how the desire is expressed, and it’s whether it overrides someone else’s autonomy that makes a thing right or wrong.

  I don’t view paying a prostitute for sexual services as being inherently wrong. It’s wrong if you’ve agreed to sexual fidelity with another person (terms and conditions apply), and it’s wrong if you’re using a prostitute that has been forced into sexual labor. But if you haven’t promised a partner (or partners) that you will be sexually faithful to them, and the prostitute is in the field willingly–or, at least as willingly as anyone that works at any job–then it’s not really any more wrong than, say, paying someone to make a meal for you when you’re hungry. Labor is labor, regardless of the nature of the work.

  The first step to overcoming this ‘problem’ is therapy. You want a sexual and emotional connection, and you feel like you’re unable to find it otherwise. You should find a licensed psychotherapist–not a member of the clergy, not a life coach–and work on why you have problems finding that.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Does anyone struggle with spending money foolishly on prostitutes?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  Why do you believe that it does?

  Look mate, we’re a cosmic blip. On the scale of the universe, we don’t even register. We’re born, we live, we die, and on the scale of how long the universe has existed, it’s not even a blink. The universe is about 13,900,000,000 years old. The first single-cell organisms emerged about 3,500,000,000 years ago. Humans, in our current form, have only existed for a mere 300,000 years. Our sun will turn into a red giant in about 5,000,000,000 years, which will sterilize the surface of the earth, but it won’t matter to humans, because we will have evolved into an entirely different species and almost certainly have gone completely extinct billions of years before that happens.

  NOTHING we do matters to the universe. There is nothing we can do that will affect the course of the entire universe. Any belief to the contrary is simply terror management. So how could one moral code, in the grand scheme of the universe, matter more than any other?

  What makes you believe, aside from your attempts to manage your terror of non-existence, that any of your morality matters at all?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Does anyone struggle with spending money foolishly on prostitutes?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  Why do you assume that a god is necessary for morality? What led you to this conclusion? What falsifiable evidence do you have?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Spiritual Safety Tip!⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  Indeed. It runs smack into the problem of falsifiability.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Spiritual Safety Tip!⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  I had a ‘pastor’ try and witness to me yesterday, insisting that his spiritual experiences made him right, while the spiritual experiences of people that converted to Judaism or Islam meant they had been deceived by the devil.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Enjoying the outdoors⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  What, they’re enjoying the outdoors? And that’s somehow bad? If that offends you, maybe you should avert your eyes.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨is homophobia associated with homosexual arousal⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  IIRC, this hasn’t been debunked per se, but it was a very small, very limited study, and doesn’t really do a great job of explaining homophobia in a broader population. (I mean, you’re talking about 64 people in total; depending on your inclusion criteria, that could be a meaningless sample size.) Penile plethysmography is a proxy for sexual arousal; it’s useful in some instances–like predicting whether or not someone will commit more sexual offenses in the future–but isn’t even that great in those instances. If I remember correctly, there’s strong evidence that disgust is a trait strongly associated with conservatism, and homophobia is a an extreme disgust reaction.

  FWIW, I was casually–but quite virulently–homophobic when I was younger. I’d been raised in a very conservative, evangelical religious group, and I believed all the bullshit that I’d heard about gay people. That changed once I lost religion, and actually met people that were gay. That, of course, is only anecdotal evidence, and does assume that I’m neither gay nor bisexual (and I don’t believe that I am), but it fits with what I’ve seen from conservative thought.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨is homophobia associated with homosexual arousal⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  It depends on how you’re looking at homosexuality; are you looking at it as sexual attraction, or as behaviour? If you’re talking about behaviour, then a lot of that is certainly environmental, e.g., if you’re raise a non-permissive location, you’re much, much less likely to engage in homosexual behaviour. But if you’re talking about sexual attraction, then it seems very unlikely that it could be anything other than primarily genetic.

  I think that the fact that there’s a difference between how people act, versus how people feel, is what confuses so many people about being straight, gay, bisexual, transgender, etc., and why conservatives feel like there’s a ‘gay agenda’ to make kids gay (or trans) when a permissive society allows more people to act freely on the way that they feel.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨is homophobia associated with homosexual arousal⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  If you need to regularly scratch your anus, you probably have parasites. That’s one of the prime ways for some species of parasites (roundworms, I think?, probably tapeworms too?) to spread.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Maybe someday 😌⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  By that ‘logic’ everyone needs a taste of white supremacy, Christian nationalism, Nazis, and so on.

  Certain opinions aren’t worth giving any consideration to because they’re so stupidly, pig-headedly wrong. The street corner preacher frothing at the mouth over LGBTQ people is one, .ml and the former hexbear (world’s smallest violin plays a sad song for their passing) instances being prime examples.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Looking for work? Need a job with good pay and benefits? Have any sense of ethics? ICE is hiring and has low standards. Sign up for ICE and be the most incompetent agent in history.⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Arrive to raids […] out of uniform.

  …This is already happening.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨US Politicians praying inside the House of Representatives⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  I’ve read history books that aren’t full-blown propaganda. If you had read any, you would know that oppression and violence is the foundation of ALL western countries, and most non-western ones as well. The difference being that countries in the EU are more comfortable forgetting that their wealth was built on things like the exploitation of the Congo, the British East India Company, et al.

  The founding document of the US though, which is what I was clearly referring to, established certain civil rights that the gov’t isn’t supposed to infringe. Religious liberty is one of those. This is notably not a right in most non-US countries; many EU countries have state-funded religions, and citizens are often taxes by the gov’ts to pay for those religions.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨US Politicians praying inside the House of Representatives⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  I’m an atheist and a Satanist. I agree that these people are, by the measure of what the Jesus Christ of the Christian Bible is claimed to have said, hypocrites. At best. And yes, Jesus said that you should pray in private, and that people who pray in public so that they can be seen to pray have already received their reward. (Matthew 6:5 - “And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.”)

  But it’s still a foundational civil right.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨US Politicians praying inside the House of Representatives⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Yeah, no. That was never the intent of 1A. Individuals, or groups, are more than welcome to pray in government buildings, as long as they aren’t forcing that religious expression on unwilling people, using it as a religious test, or something similar that would amount to the establishment of a state-sponsored religion.

  Students can pray in schools; teachers can pray in schools. Teachers can not compel students to participate in prayers, nor are teachers supposed to lead students in prayer (as that’s implied compulsion).

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨US Politicians praying inside the House of Representatives⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Constitutional freedoms–including religion–are a foundation for our country. If that’s not what you want, feel free to repeal the constitution, or move to a country that has a state religion instead.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Even conservatives use to boast the virtue of achieving higher education. In MAGA times what is the pathway to success?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Cruelty and sociopathy.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨US Politicians praying inside the House of Representatives⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Uh. This is absolutely a constitutional freedom. Would y’all be incensed if it was a Muslim congressperson (say, Rashida Tlaib) that was praying? Yeah, they’re hypocrites, but get angry about the hypocrisy and the Christian nationalism, not the expressions of religion.