In an article posted January 10th, 2022 by USA Today, the controversial argument is made by researchers that pedophilia is a greatly misunderstood subject, and that our society needs to be more accepting that pedophilic attractions are natural and unavoidable for individuals who feel such urges.
“There are child molesters and pedophiles. If you think of Venn diagrams, there’s a lot of overlap,” Anna Salter, a psychologist and sex offender expert, told USA Today. “There are the people who are sexually attracted to children … (and then) there are some people who molest kids who are not pedophiles.”
Researchers are trying to differentiate between individuals who feel these grotesque urges and those who act on them.
“The evidence suggests it is inborn. It’s neurological,” James Cantor, a clinical psychologist and sex researcher, told USA Today.
USA Today posted this article to Twitter Tuesday morning, but quickly deleted it claiming that the thread “did not include all information” on the debate.
This thread and its quick deletion has drawn outcry among prominent conservative social media figures.
Son of former President Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr. tweeted, “To me (and probably anyone who has been watching) this is nothing more than the first step of trying to normalize this kind of behavior.”
Curtis Houck, managing editor of NewsBusters, said, “Ah, yes. Here we go with the liberal media celebrating and trying to normalize pedophilia.”
As with the beginning of the gay rights movement, the slippery slope of accepting these morally wrong desires as “natural” could lead to disastrous consequences for society as a whole.