Continuing where I left off: In short, it's important for the dark myth makers to present us in as bad a light as possible. Destroyers of innocence are utterly demonic, and those of a secular inclination find ways of creating secular-friendly myths and fake epidemics to place on us. Hence, the acolyte of Satan who sacrifices the innocence and blood of kids in ritual to some dark power becomes the sex trafficker who sacrifices the innocence and overall health of youths for profit to the dark psychotic lusts of "pedos".

So, MAPs remain mostly in hiding, and those basically open about who we are talk about less than we did a decade ago. We ignore the constant deluge of attacks on "pedos" that we hear constantly, and struggle with the fact that so many people we love, respect, admire, and look up to will consider us to be the worst type of abomination ever to appear in this universe, irrespective of how we behave. We're considered to be capable of anything horrific. Never mind the fact that the thought a young girl being hurt or tortured makes me feel sick to my stomach. Never mind the thought that instead of seeking contact with them I instead find it nerve-wracking beyond belief to be walking on the same street as one of them because I know any young girl has the power to destroy my life if I so much as look at her the "wrong" way.

And on top of that, we live in a political climate that over the past 10 years has become even more polarizing than ever before. Everyone believes whatever political party or affiliation they hate the most to be "friendly to" or run by "pedos". On top of everything else, we have to endure previously hated minorities like the LGBTQ community hating on us and otherwise doing everything they can to forget about us and forget how they once largely once stood united with us decades ago.

My advice? There is no telling how long this political climate will last. I do not want to engage in either unrealistic optimism or defeatist negativity, so I am not going to make a prediction, because I honestly do not know. What I will say is to prepare to deal with it the rest of your life. No matter what you hear said about you and the community, or how nasty the mythology becomes, keep your nose up and remember your inherent humanity. Keep in mind every kind thing you have done and will do for other people simply because it was the right thing to do. Keep in mind every time you take joy in helping others or smile when looking at a beautiful sunrise. Always do the best you can for others. Prove this ignorant society wrong as one example among many.

And keep in mind that the MAP community are the most emotionally resilient mo' fo's to ever appear on this world. We have survived decades of irrational hatred, and we have more to look forward to. Yet we keep on truckin', keep on surviving, keep on offering each other support, and continue doing what we can to make the world a better place despite having to live a life in perpetual denial of what nature has made us.