Theendoftheline wrote: Sun Aug 30, 2026 7:56 pm
Yessss I know dadddd, its to "oppress and imprison" .....
I always ask that stuff even though I know what the real reason is. I just can't wrap my head around, people caring so much about shit that don't affect their lives in the slightest.
It is difficult to understand. But I found one way to summarize it that works for me. All this hysteria has nothing to do with protecting any actual children. That's just the language used to make it socially acceptable, much like the ICE agents are "securing America's future". No, the true goal is to preserve the STEREOTYPE of the innocent child. And that's because it's such an easy and effective political tool. So effective in fact, that people are willing to stake billion dollar industries on it, such as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
You can get away with pretty much anything if you can frame it as protecting children. In the olden days, religion filled this role. You could get away with anything as long as you did it in the name of
God. I always like to use the crusades as a shining example. Byzantine emperor Alexius Comnenus had lost a lot of territory to the Turks pressuring him from the east, so he thought to request help from European powers in the west. But he couldn't just say "Hey guys! Go fight and die so that I can have my glorious empire!" No one would go for that. But as the land he coveted happened to include Jerusalem, he got a brilliant idea. He teamed up with a Pope and got him to say "Hey guys! Go fight and die because
God wills it!" If you've ever heard the phase "Deus Vult", often associated with the crusades, it literally translates to "
God wills it".
With this, people were falling over each other to join the cause. Bankrupting their families and upending their communities all just to throw themselves to their deaths. So many deaths. And no one could question this because to do so would be to question
God. And no one could question
God. Non-believers were burned at the stake. But in modern times, The church had lost influence, and people couldn't get away saying "because
God" anymore. It took some trial and error but they finally found something that works just as well:
The Innocent Child. I said it was a stereotype, but upon further thought, it really is a religious icon at this point.
Both
God and
The Innocent Child are seen as infallible beacons of righteousness, but for some reason, cannot speak to us directly. Therefore, they both need a conveniently placed figurehead to "interpret their will". Thus, both
God and
The Innocent Child have been used to justify all manner of atrocities. Both can easily transform any selfish act of conquest into a selfless act of service. And neither can ever be questioned, for just as only heretics would dare to question
God, only pedophiles would dare to question the best interests of
The Innocent Child, and all pedophiles deserve the woodchipper.
People are offended when you challenge their belief in the
The Innocent Child for the same reason they're offended when you challenge their belief in
God.
This is why they see no problem with condemning actual children who commit crimes. They're challenging belief in
The Innocent Child and must be punished for it. Incidentally, this would also happen for sex, and it used to to an extent. About 50 or so years ago, it was seen as completely appropriate to toss your children into mental institutions if they proved too unruly. This still happens, but it's less openly advertised nowadays. Still, back then, promiscuity was seen as a completely legitimate reason to lock your children away for who knows how long. And these institutions would welcome them with open arms because that's how they made their profits.
But anyway, as I was saying, sexual children would be punished as well, but people realized that with sex, there's always someone else conveniently there to dump all the blame onto, thus keeping their precious religious icon/political tool squeaky clean. This is why it's important to convince the actual child that they had no control over themselves. Thus, they can once more be analogous with
The Innocent Child, who would never do such things willingly. And with that, no one's beliefs will ever have to be challenged. However, if the actual child refuses to believe, or in cases where there's not another person to blame, they too can be punished, or at least put through the wringer until they convert.
All that research that said children are not harmed by sex. All those children that had positive experiences and dearly wish to talk about them. And even those cultures that raised their children in sexual liberty and saw them grow into strong, confident adults who almost always formed lasting relationships. All these things are great for actual children, but terrible for
The Innocent Child. That's why these things must be condemned, censored, and eliminated.
This is why they cannot tolerate child pornography, even when (and probably especially when) the children involved are smiling, giggling, and having a great time. This is why they abhor child sex dolls, which have barely any resemblance to actual children, but can be seen as a depiction of
The Innocent Child. And yes, this is why they cannot stand when you, in the privacy of your own room, would dare to generate such blasphemous depictions of
The Innocent Child, no matter what form it takes. All of these things pose no threat to any actual children, but they are major threats to belief in
The Innocent Child. People really hate it when you challenge their long-held beliefs, especially ones that bring them so much comfort. And all the big organizations that profit off these people NEED them to keep believing. It is the source of their power and influence, and they have staked their livelihoods on it. As such, they will go to great lengths to ensure this belief persists, and even greater lengths to spread this belief as far as possible. And they have no concern for those who are trampled underneath the mighty beast that is their ambition.
Incidentally, at various points in history, it was also considered heretical and blasphemous to draw or otherwise depict
God. Of course the church had all the power in this relationship, so they could pick and choose exceptions if they wanted. This is why the Michelangelo paintings survived, while who knows how many others got the axe. Sometimes literally, I suspect.
Caught in the middle of all these political games and religious tomfoolery is all the people that genuinely care for the actual children and, of course, the children themselves. They just want to live their lives in peace. But they can't do that alone. The have to interact with other people eventually. But with so much misinformation flying around, they don't know what to believe. They have no idea who is actually threatening them. All they can do is echo what they've been told. And unfortunately, the loudest voice in the room is the covenant of
The Innocent Child.
Lo and behold The Innocent Child. Our ray of hope that shall deliver us all unto paradise. So long as we shield it from the corrupting touch of THE PREDATOR. We must remain ever vigilant in this duty, my brothers and sisters. For if we are lax for even a moment, if we allow even the slightest brush from his fiendish hand. Then that light shall be forever extinguished. That hope drained until not a sliver remains. And in its place shall be born The Devil Child who will drag us all into the depths of damnation.
-Book of Some Shit I just Made Up, 8/30