In article <89amgv44po9r1e3c3kq7352abvjro3iptb@no-spam>, alimhaq@no-spam says...
>On Tue, 08 Jul 2003 16:24:16 -0400, Rich Loether <rjl@no-spam> wrote:
>>In article <7o7mgvo8jobtagdk3dm1pl2neqprh9pif4@no-spam>, alimhaq@no-spam says...
>>>Think of the words related to violence-- i.e. to violate someone is a
>>>violant act......
>>I'll certainly go along with your description in cases where
>>there is coersion involved. But not in cases where the
>>youngster was a willing participant, or even the instigator.
>>Ever read the book _Lolita_?
>Oh dude! You don't understand the dynamics of childhood sexuality!
>BY DEFINITION.... children cannot give "consent" because they do not
>know-- can NOT know-- what it is they are consenting to.
Apples and oranges, my friend. Even if a given young person
does not know the full effects down the road of sex may be,
he/she can still want and desire it, can still feel perfectly
happy/satisfied with the experience and be anxious to do it
again. In a case like that there is no violation of his/her
person, desires, will, etc.
Secondly, you're not applying the definition correctly. Your
definition is correct, but leave out a process for determining
whether it fits any particular individual.
We all know that different people mature at different rates. We
also know, whether we want to admit it or not, that there is no
biological "switch" that gets thrown on some arbitrary birthday.
Remember that in years gone by people who were still in their
teens raised families, earned a living, and did all the other
things that adults do today. Have we, as a species, become less
capable in the span of a hundred years or so?
>Yes, physically they may be capable of sex and childbearing, but
>psycho-socially they are not capable of child *raising*, nor capable
>of actually knowing what that is. For instance, you can find a young
>teen who wants a baby, but is almost delusional in her expectations of
>what that means and entails..... developmentally she simply *can't*
>grasp it, its too abstract and abstract thinking ability doesn't even
>start to turn on until mid to late teens.
Hogwash. Read some history. Check out the ages of the people
who settled this country and the hardships they lived with. Then
check out the ages of people a hundred years before that. Then
come back, if you dare, and tell me about the things that
young people are incapable of doing.
>Don't read Lolita, read some studies of it....
Give me a break. How can you expect someone to evaluate a
study if he hasn't read the thing being studied?
>Jeremiah McAuliffe alimhaq@no-spam
--
In Liberty,
Rich
Guns save lives - maybe yours.
--------------------
Rich Loether Snail Mail: University of Pittsburgh
EMail: rjl@no-spam Network Services
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FAX: (412) 624-6436 Pittsburgh, PA 15238
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