You may not understand...

...how far that stigma reaches. Many of these professionals believe that pedophiles will only lie to benefit themselves in the single goal of gaining a better position in society for the purpose of abusing children more easily. They are often unable or unwilling to entertain the notion that otherwise "normal" and stable and logical and intelligent and reasonable people, with no illusions about some of their own kind, could have a purpose of tending only to factually incorrect, missing or little understood data in the unbending belief that truth alone can help their plight.

It would seem that they feel little incentive to accommodate this assistance, and indeed, apparently feel the consequences will be negligible. In fact, what you are unintentionally documenting for dozens of outspoken and many hundreds of silent pedophiles with activist leanings, equates to a potential source of proof that the APA willfully intends to maintain its current level of factual ignorance regarding the vast majority of pedophiles, who are not incarcerated, and who have never been incarcerated or convicted for a sexually related crime.

In our view, such an intentional act would surely and rightly be viewed as an act of hostility to a group of people who have suffered in silence for decades. The current level of ignorance for which it is the duty of the APA to dispel is actually capitalized upon for sensationalized media stories and tv crime dramas, which strike misguided fear into the general population, and with consequences to the collective public psyche which are themselves recklessly ignored. In recent years, there have been serious attempts to introduce capital punishment for cases of rape involving a child. As a loosely-knit community which is nevertheless widespread and present in nearly every profession, including psychiatry, we have begun to fear a future in which we become targets of violence as well as indefinite incarceration by merely admitting that we have the attraction, regardless of our intent or willingness to act on those feelings. Such fears are real, they are demonstrably justified, and they persist in each of us, in a nagging and neverending, low-level, day to day fear and/or depression, which takes an undeniable total on our long-term physical health, and in many cases, our mental or emotional health as well. It is indefensible that in the face of ever-increasing levels of public hostility since at least the 1970's, and especially with the infinitely greater level of child-adult interconnectivity provided by the internet, that the APA has already previously chosen to ignore seeking out a more accurate demographic for understanding pedophiles.

To many pedophiles who take an enormous interest in this highly politicized topic, it is the APA itself which, by its own definitions unforgivably based on inadequate and shoddy research, has willfully assisted in what amounts to daily mental and emotional torment, in the form of significant levels of justified fears: fear of vigilante violence, as well as fear of heightened legalized persecution, in the form of execution or castration or indefinite incarceration, current legalized discrimination in employment not involving children, current registries which are used not only for public safety but for further "scarlet letter" persecution, the ostracization from family, friends, and society at large, and even self-alienation from that society; isolation as an extremely unhealthy means of coping with the belief that everyone hates them for an identity which they never consciously chose. These hardships lead to further manifestations, such as alcoholism, drug abuse, obesity problems, and exacerbation of any social difficulties or pre and co-existing mental health problems. The stresses of these consequences are more likely to encourage unwanted activity than to discourage it, sometimes with truly tragic results.

I do not believe the APA understand the level of anger, and indeed, the desperate rage which some individuals hold against it for its striking lack of accurate scientific data. Nearly all discussions about what conditions allow for the extreme treatments and extreme stigmatization of pedophiles that we see today inevitably bring us back to the same organization charged with advising how professionals, politicians and law enforcement are able to view them and categorize them. The treatment has worsened year by year since at least 1977, and all trails lead us back to the APA and its mental health bible, the DSM.

We are many, yet we are nevertheless far too few to simply organize in great numbers in the attempt to be heard. Indeed, to even attempt to assemble peaceably as pedophiles would lead either to our arrest, our identification for purposes of harassment and watch lists, or outright physical violence against us. As a result, the minds of our activist-inclined individuals tend to be geared toward more subversive and anonymous acts as answers to our perceived persecution. Let it be known that they are highly creative. I truly hope the APA understands that any perceived "tightening of screws" against those who are attracted to children are not likely to go unanswered.

On a personal note, I am pleased at the level of honesty your group appears to have shown in your attempt to promote dialogue between the APA and pedophiles at large, those who are not incarcerated. I am sure you understand that we are as varied in our identities beyond our pedophilia as the general population is varied, with certain tendencies being more common among those who spend lots of time on the internet. This is as important to note for your own understanding as it is to recognize that those who are incarcerated tend to share similarities not shared by pedophiles who have no criminal record relating to their attraction. Despite your attempts to reach out to a largly hidden demographic, you are still only getting a partial picture, albeit a much more accurate one than you would with only prisoners.

Nevertheless, I tend to have a more cynical outlook than the one we refer to here as Dissident, or Kevin Brown. In my mind, even if you do seek greater accuracy in research data, even if you do meet with some initial success in doing so, you will eventually be marginalized in such a way as to allow your superiors to dismiss the validity of your work, and question the purpose of your intent. For now, it seems you are simply being humored by people who consider your undertakings as quaint and naive. They are also the source of an ever-rising frustration level among those you wish to understand more. I am trying to convey these things to you as best I can, with the hope that someone at the APA will have the foresight to take it to heart. I suffer. We all suffer. We could suffer less, without an increase in abuse. That is the ultimate point.

I do wish you success in obtaining a greater overall understanding of those who are attracted to children, Michael, and I thank you for reading another one of my shamelessly self-important posts here at GirlChat. There are many torches to be carried, and like others who pick them up, I do my best to sound clear and reasonable and professional. Good luck in your research:)

~Eeyore~