I have met a lot of people who tell me about their experiences of having been molested when they were children, and their molesters have been doctors/psychiatrist, priests/ministers/preachers, cops, parole officers, and, most commonly, family members. But in all of the story I have heard (from person accounts that someone has told me) about child molestation, I have never heard of a teacher (except for a priest in an all boys' Catholic school) being the molester.

I did a lot of research on the school that my kids go to, and I could not find any report of so much as an accusation of sexual misconduct happening at their school in as far back as 50 years ago. I have asked all of my neighbors if any teachers, that they know of, have been accused of sexual misconduct, and they all say "no." But they do tell me a story about a physician 20 years ago that was run out of town because several children, that had no connection to each other, told stories that were too similar to be ruled out as fabricated. What happen to that physician? No one here knows.

Actually I have heard a lot of stories about coaches, but none of them involved molestation or statutory rape (one story I did hear was about a coach that was sleeping with one of the track runners, but she was over 18, so the incident was swept underneath the rug). Most of the stories about coaches involved peaking and harassment that in most case could have been considered sexual harassment (making fun of fat girls and effeminate boys). Most of the coaches I knew were under high stress, and I think a lot of the problems that stemmed from them was due to their proximity to the showers, their insistence on de-pussifying the boys, and the one of one talks they insisted on giving in the privacy of their locked offices.

The prevailing opinion is that pedophilia cannot be cured, but pedophiles can get help and can learn copping skills to deal with their problem.

I do know of one man, who was sending his children to my mother's Montessori School, who acknowledged that he had a problem. He went to groups, went to therapy, got counseling, notified all of his neighbors of his problem, and for the past 15 years has remained married, and he has done quite well for himself. And to the best of everyone's knowledge his kids are fine. But if you ever talk to him, he'll tell you not to leave your kids alone with him. And yes, he was sexually abused by a family member as a child.

Narcissitic Personality Disorder is the catch phrase I keep running across when I do research of pedophilia, and I think it explains why pedophiles don't want help.

The only way to even begin treating a personality disorder, is for the person with the personality disorder to admit that they have a problem, and pedophile are loath to admit that they have a problem. In fact they usually spend ever second of their lives justifying their love for kids, and how righteous they are for loving children, as AKA Smith pointed out earlier.

The only pedophile I know, who went more than 15 years without acting upon his problem (though he claims that he never acted upon his pedophilia, and there is no evidence or accusations to suggest that he ever has), described his condition as being like alcoholism, in that it was a condition that he developed (he believes when he was 10). But that once he had developed it, he become unable to control his impulses around young girls, unless he went cold turkey by completely extracting himself from a scene where he found himself leering at young girls.

He also explained that his group sessions with released convicted child molesters were horrifying experiences, because the group members did not want to acknowledge that they had problems. And the rate of recidivism among them within the first year was in the high 90%.

In a lot of cases it might not be such a bad idea to throw away the key on these guys.

Whether or not pedophilia is a sexual orientation should remain irrelevant to law, and the only difference pedophilia as a sexual orientation makes, is how the problem is to be treated, and how copping skills to deal with it are to be developed by pedophiles themselves. But no way in hell should sex with children ever be made legal or acceptable, and no way in hell should molesting children ever be made legal or acceptable.

Homosexuality and straight sex are different from pedophilia, in that consensual sodomy and heterosexual sex, in the privacy of a bedroom, is not harmful to the consenting adults.

No way in hell should society ever consider a child capable of giving sexual consent, or approval to be inappropriately touched, to an adult. Because an adult having sex with a child, and/or inappropriately touching a child, is always harmful to that child.

"Which is not to say that no sexual crime ever happens because the perpetrator gets off on pain and fear. Some do. But to say that this dynamic is always present is, I think, off the mark."

Anonymous, an adult having sex with a child, and/or inappropriately touching a child, is always harmful to that child, without exception!!!!

He is/was still guilty of causing terror and pain, even if that was not his intent. And he was consciously aware of what he was doing, which caused terror and pain, even he did not believe he was causing terror and pain.

Does Southwest's low rates for mini-skirts apply to male travelers as well?

How able kilts?

How about kilts?