I grew up in an area where a very proliific serial killer was preying on the community.
And though he did prey on children he preyed specifically on young women who worked in the sex industry. It did not stop the legions of parents lining our walk home from school with flashlights, turning out like a mob because someone spotted a homeless man in the woods. I am not saying that some caution or discussion was not called for- but the hysteria s something I remember very clearly despite my young age at the time.
I've really strugged with the Church's manner of dealing with the issue of abuse but my mother keeps reminding me that not too long ago it was as you described...it was considered a "condition" that could be cured not an actualy sexual orientation. It is hard for me to conceive of this but I keep thinking of "M" and Peter Lorre in front of all the crooks and petty theives, shouting about his crimes and theirs and the parallel being drawn and I think that a history of such a thing would be very helpful in the muddle of understanding exactly what we're dealing with. (not that we can ever achieve that precision but we can certainly come closer than we have in recent years to an understanding of it.)
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branchandroot
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Date: 2007-02-20 02:37 pm (UTC)I grew up in an area where a very proliific serial killer was preying on the community.
And though he did prey on children he preyed specifically on young women who worked in the sex industry. It did not stop the legions of parents lining our walk home from school with flashlights, turning out like a mob because someone spotted a homeless man in the woods. I am not saying that some caution or discussion was not called for- but the hysteria s something I remember very clearly despite my young age at the time.
I've really strugged with the Church's manner of dealing with the issue of abuse but my mother keeps reminding me that not too long ago it was as you described...it was considered a "condition" that could be cured not an actualy sexual orientation. It is hard for me to conceive of this but I keep thinking of "M" and Peter Lorre in front of all the crooks and petty theives, shouting about his crimes and theirs and the parallel being drawn and I think that a history of such a thing would be very helpful in the muddle of understanding exactly what we're dealing with. (not that we can ever achieve that precision but we can certainly come closer than we have in recent years to an understanding of it.)