The choice MAPs must do.

[HumanBeing]

This is a truth that many MAPs try to escape with all kind of excuses, so I will be as straightforward and annoying as needed.

To have an real life (and achieving the freedom we seek) you must come out (even if partially) and meet your local/national MAP community, there's no way around this, you can't expect an Godsend activist group to appear out from thin air, it will just not happen until you organize as a REAL community, Stonewall happend not because of an small clique of activists but because a real local community defended themselves from opression and the rest followed suit.

If you aren't out you will remain opressed

If you aren't out you will be alone

Sidenote: Being out doesn't mean screaming "I'm a Pedophile!" on your townhall but just being willing to meet other MAPs in real life, to put your country in your online bio and that sort of things.

And NO it's not as dangerous as you think, Ally Kotetsu, Norbert and other activists have been fully out (being public figures who are MAPs) and they are alive and safe, Antis aren't usually violent IRL and online death threats most times mean nothing.

[BLueRibbon]

This is difficult for those who wish to be regularly employed or interact with children in any way.

[ReArm!]

This is difficult for those who wish to be regularly employed or interact with children in any way.

I agree with HumanBeing in almost everything, but yes, I must say that it depends on your personal situation and your personality. I would not come out if I think it'll really fuck me over, will make me lose a lot of relationships I may have or will hurt my professional opportunities.

It also depends on the culture you're inmersed in. I don't think it's the same to come out in the US than in Europe, for example. The former will get you in far more trouble. And it's also not the same to come out in a libertarian community inside the US than an evangelical one, for example.

Anyways, I think a lot of MAPs would benefit of being much more straight-forward and unapologetic. I have and know a lot of people who have nazi friends, why would it be different with MAPs? Personally, I've come out to almost everyone I know, even if I have lost some friendships tbh, the vast majority of my relationships have kept being the same. There are situations and contexts where it's definitely not a big deal to come out, and even less if you do it with conviction.

[Kierkegaard]

This is difficult for those who wish to be regularly employed or interact with children in any way.

These are really the only two things holding me back from going public with some kind of MAP organizing attempt currently. I could handle the threats, loss of (fake)friends, and general stigmatization, but I need a source of income to not be homeless and I would be crushed inside if I were never allowed to interact with kids again, which would likely be the de facto consequence of coming out publicly.

I do pretty much agree with OP though. There are simply no pro-MAP narratives available in the public consciousness, no accessible MAP communities for people to join, no major platforms where activists are allowed to openly advocate for pro-map/pro-contact ideals, etc. If we're ever going to make any real progress we need to find a way for pro-MAP messaging to get mainstream visibility and present an alternative narrative to the current dogma. This requires organizing and creating our own subcultures and communities in mainstream spaces, outside of extremely niche internet forums like this one.

I'm not really sure what the solution is. Right now I feel like all I have the power to do is wait and hope the tides somehow shift eventually somewhere out there. That's pretty defeatist though. It's hard to be optimistic when things have only ever gotten worse and worse for MAPs over the past several decades and we're actually making negative progress. I don't know. My current plan is to move to a country where the hysteria isn't as bad as it is in the US/Europe and try to just fly under the radar and stay closeted and celibate for the foreseeable future. It hurts to imagine myself becoming an old man without ever happening the opportunity to pursue romantic relationships or experience love with a boy though. I get really bitter and restless thinking about it. If we get MAP acceptance in 2070 or something that's great for future generations and all but it'll fucking suck for me. I'm so exclusive I have a hard time even forming platonic friendships with adults, not being able to hang out with boys or befriend them at all is like living in a world without color. The impossibility of deep friendships and romances is much worse than the sexlessness. I feel very lonely. Every day when I wake up I feel this moment of grief and sadness for the life I'm not allowed to live, where I'm allowed to be myself openly and to love and mentor the boys I care about. I have very little desire to connect with other adults knowing 99% of them would hate me and want me killed if they knew the real me.

I know there are careers where some degree of platonic closeness is possible like coaching and teaching, but the professional distance required for those sorts of relationships is suffocating. You can never actually get too close or form any real lasting bonds, you always have to keep your distance. It's almost worse than no contact at all, going in and out of the lives of boys without ever getting truly close.

I do feel like the amount of concern I have about being outed has decreased as I've gotten older though. If I'm going to be forced to grow old and die in a society that demonizes me without ever having the freedom to live authentically I might as well just say fuck it and be loud and start instigating and flipping tables. There's not really much to lose. I haven't quite gotten to that point yet, though.

[MAPallmylife66]

This is a truth that many MAPs try to escape with all kind of excuses, so I will be as straightforward and annoying as needed.

To have an real life (and achieving the freedom we seek) you must come out (even if partially) and meet your local/national MAP community, there's no way around this, you can't expect an Godsend activist group to appear out from thin air, it will just not happen until you organize as a REAL community, Stonewall happend not because of an small clique of activists but because a real local community defended themselves from opression and the rest followed suit.

If you aren't out you will remain opressed

If you aren't out you will be alone

Sidenote: Being out doesn't mean screaming "I'm a Pedophile!" on your townhall but just being willing to meet other MAPs in real life, to put your country in your online bio and that sort of things.

And NO it's not as dangerous as you think, Ally Kotetsu, Norbert and other activists have been fully out (being public figures who are MAPs) and they are alive and safe, Antis aren't usually violent IRL and online death threats most times mean nothing.

I disagree. Through circumstances, I won't go into, I came out to my wife, and my kids. They accept now what I am, because I've shown them through my actions, over time, that I am a danger to no one. Has this made me feel free? No. I don't feel any more free now, then I did before. Why? Because, I know that no one else would accept me, if they knew. I'm glad, in a sense that my family knows, but I know that that's as far as it will ever go. True freedom is not being accepted by only 4 people in the whole world, even though those 4 people are the most important people in my life, it's just not enough. True freedom is being accepted by the world, and i know that won't happen. Not in my lifetime.

[weird.organisms]

I'm fortunate there's at least 1 member of my family who accepts me. The fear of internet censorship and states legalizing the murder of MAPs and punishments of youth just for their sexuality keeps me up at night though. So many lives will be ruined if this becomes mainstream and no one bothers to fight it. Censorship leads to some nasty things because people are so desperate for what comes naturally.

Oppression has lead to this but if we just choose to stay silent and ignore what's going on and wait around for things to change on their own it will only get worse. Oppressors will get away with it and continue to make things worse if we just stay dormant and hope for a miracle.

[HumanBeing]

This is a truth that many MAPs try to escape with all kind of excuses, so I will be as straightforward and annoying as needed.

To have an real life (and achieving the freedom we seek) you must come out (even if partially) and meet your local/national MAP community, there's no way around this, you can't expect an Godsend activist group to appear out from thin air, it will just not happen until you organize as a REAL community, Stonewall happend not because of an small clique of activists but because a real local community defended themselves from opression and the rest followed suit.

If you aren't out you will remain opressed

If you aren't out you will be alone

Sidenote: Being out doesn't mean screaming "I'm a Pedophile!" on your townhall but just being willing to meet other MAPs in real life, to put your country in your online bio and that sort of things.

And NO it's not as dangerous as you think, Ally Kotetsu, Norbert and other activists have been fully out (being public figures who are MAPs) and they are alive and safe, Antis aren't usually violent IRL and online death threats most times mean nothing.

I disagree. Through circumstances, I won't go into, I came out to my wife, and my kids. They accept now what I am, because I've shown them through my actions, over time, that I am a danger to no one. Has this made me feel free? No. I don't feel any more free now, then I did before. Why? Because, I know that no one else would accept me, if they knew. I'm glad, in a sense that my family knows, but I know that that's as far as it will ever go. True freedom is not being accepted by only 4 people in the whole world, even though those 4 people are the most important people in my life, it's just not enough. True freedom is being accepted by the world, and i know that won't happen. Not in my lifetime.

"True freedom is being accepted by the world, and i know that won't happen. Not in my lifetime."
It's not happening because of that kind of mindset, if MAPs really put effort on their activism (whether online petitions, anonymous donations to activists, doing activism yourself, etc) it could happend way sooner than most of you think, but that weak mindset is the reason we are opressed.

I did already give up on this, not because "Antis are too powerful" but because most MAPs are fucking unbearable, you all just complain and do nothing to change your situation, life requires effort and sacrifices, if you can't do that then you have no right to complain about your situation.

[MAPallmylife66]

This is a truth that many MAPs try to escape with all kind of excuses, so I will be as straightforward and annoying as needed.

To have an real life (and achieving the freedom we seek) you must come out (even if partially) and meet your local/national MAP community, there's no way around this, you can't expect an Godsend activist group to appear out from thin air, it will just not happen until you organize as a REAL community, Stonewall happend not because of an small clique of activists but because a real local community defended themselves from opression and the rest followed suit.

If you aren't out you will remain opressed

If you aren't out you will be alone

Sidenote: Being out doesn't mean screaming "I'm a Pedophile!" on your townhall but just being willing to meet other MAPs in real life, to put your country in your online bio and that sort of things.

And NO it's not as dangerous as you think, Ally Kotetsu, Norbert and other activists have been fully out (being public figures who are MAPs) and they are alive and safe, Antis aren't usually violent IRL and online death threats most times mean nothing.

I disagree. Through circumstances, I won't go into, I came out to my wife, and my kids. They accept now what I am, because I've shown them through my actions, over time, that I am a danger to no one. Has this made me feel free? No. I don't feel any more free now, then I did before. Why? Because, I know that no one else would accept me, if they knew. I'm glad, in a sense that my family knows, but I know that that's as far as it will ever go. True freedom is not being accepted by only 4 people in the whole world, even though those 4 people are the most important people in my life, it's just not enough. True freedom is being accepted by the world, and i know that won't happen. Not in my lifetime.

"True freedom is being accepted by the world, and i know that won't happen. Not in my lifetime."
It's not happening because of that kind of mindset, if MAPs really put effort on their activism (whether online petitions, anonymous donations to activists, doing activism yourself, etc) it could happend way sooner than most of you think, but that weak mindset is the reason we are opressed.

I did already give up on this, not because "Antis are too powerful" but because most MAPs are fucking unbearable, you all just complain and do nothing to change your situation, life requires effort and sacrifices, if you can't do that then you have no right to complain about your situation.

I hear what you're saying, however I need to protect my family. That's my duty, and I will not do anything that is going to make their lives more difficult. My needs are secondary to theirs. I'm happy to support activist however I can without compromising their safety, but that's all I can do. I'm not going to leave the relationship, for selfish reasons. I made the decision to get married a long time ago, and have kids. Their lives are more important to me than my desire to have relationships with kids.

[OnionPetal]

This reminds me of the old 'Parable of the Broom Closet':

'Fellow witches,' the new initiate purred, adjusting his pointy hat just right. 'It’s time we stop hiding from the burning torches. Visibility is power! Let’s come out of the broom closet, together!'

The coven, desperate for acceptance, nodded. 'Yes! The world must know our names!'

And so they did.

The bonfires were glorious.

The witch hunter clapped his colleagues on the back. 'Another successful visibility campaign!'

And so the witches learned too late, the timeless lesson of the ages: Privacy is power. Exposure is bare skin in the fire.

[The above parable was largely AI-generated ]

[weird.organisms]

Guys! There's now an attempt to go after antis occurring. I'll be taking part in it. This could give us some ammo, at least for now.