To the editor:
Although I am not surprised by Cal Thomas’ conflation of pedophilia and homosexuality, it is appalling to read his take on the events at Penn State in the column by him published in your newspaper (“Penn State’s shame — and America’s too,” Nov. 15). Shame on you, Mr. Thomas, for suggesting that lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender citizens are somehow part of a larger conspiracy to debase the moral standards in this country and for linking an episode of the television show “Glee” to what you regard as the decline of decent behavior in the United States.
Jerry Sandusky did cross “a line,” and he crossed it because he is a pedophile, who like many other secular and nonsecular pedophiles may engage in same-sex and opposite-sex rape of children. Pedophiles will not be stopped by banning abortion, prohibiting football games on the Sabbath, persecuting gays or condemning television shows. Pedophilia is a psychiatric disorder whose etiology is complex and nonpolitical. Of course, the allegations against Sandusky must be pursued, but not by throwing everyone else in jail with him.
Comments
its_just_math 5 years, 10 months ago
Just because a compilation of late 20th century leftist, and very likely government funded psychologists decided to mutually agree and decree that homosexuality was not a form of a psychological disorder, does not make it true. Your'e telling me they nailed that but still really can't explain away schizophrenia in any detail that makes sense? It no more convinces me than does Al Gore's global warming hoax.
Why don't the left and athiest work at disproving there is a god since they are so sure there isn't one vs. making caustic and derogatory remarks toward Christians and about Christianity? So far as I know, they haven't been able to prove there is not a god nor was there ever a son of god.
Gandalf 5 years, 10 months ago
Once again the right demonstrates their ignorance. Unable to distinguish between psychological and physical.
As far as disproving there is a god. That's like asking someone disprove what is in an empty can in a vacumn...nothing.
Vaildini 5 years, 10 months ago
How about we don't take one persons comment and apply it to all on the right. I know a lot of democrats who believe in Jesus Christ. It isn't a left or right thing. Now that's ignorant.
SnakeFist 5 years, 10 months ago
Why don't the right and theists work at proving there is a god since they are so sure there is one? I'm certain they haven't been able to prove there is a god and there was a son of god.
See how easy that was?
Ron Holzwarth 5 years, 10 months ago
"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." -Albert Einstein
"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and consciencious stupidity." -Martin Luther King, Jr.
"The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt." -Bertrand Russell
"It is dangerous to be sincere unless you are also stupid." -George Bernard Shaw
rtwngr 5 years, 10 months ago
"Stupid is as stupid does." -Mrs. Gump
See how easy that was.
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus 5 years, 10 months ago
Ah, yes, another know-nothing claiming this his own ignorance is all the justification he needs to make up whatever factoids he likes to justify being petty and bigoted.
weeslicket 5 years, 10 months ago
from the article: "Pedophilia is a psychiatric disorder whose etiology is complex and nonpolitical." from its_just_math: "Just because ..... psychologists decided to mutually agree and decree that homosexuality was not a form of a psychological disorder, does not make it true." and again from the article: "Although I am not surprised by Cal Thomas’ conflation of pedophilia and homosexuality ... "
zowee, its_just_math. sometimes it just really is the words.
weeslicket 5 years, 10 months ago
see if you can figure out which word is the funniest in your response.
beatrice 5 years, 10 months ago
BAA is hot on hitting the "suggest removal" button these days, and now for name-calling! That is beyond rich. That may be the most blatantly hypocritical thing I've ever read on these boards.
rtwngr 5 years, 10 months ago
You could call them the American Psychiatric Association, prior to gay/lesbian political activism of the 1970's that threatened members of the Board of Directors with violence if homosexuality was not removed from the directory of psychological disorders.
pace 5 years, 10 months ago
justmath tempts me to turn into a homosexual atheist. He makes the modern right christian appear so ignorant and mean. I will stay just the same, even though he is pushing the mean intolerant christian agenda down our throats. I have vague memories, oh, last week, of spending some time with nice people, who care with love about people that are different. They must be the old time left Christians, who think they don't need to prove there is a god or not, don't need to prove their faith by how much they attack the worth of others. they live in their faith, love and hand being part of their prayer. World to be said about courtesy to others, being a tool of civilization and brotherhood. Maybe if Justmath had a true faith, he wouldn't be afraid and full of hate of people who don't share the same tenets.
Jimo 5 years, 10 months ago
Shame on LJW publishing the scandalous contention that homosexuality has anything to do with pedophilia.
What's in tomorrow's newspaper? An "opinion" piece claiming the only thing wrong with Hitler is that he didn't "finish the job"!?! May we look forward to posted snuff videos? Child porn?
Perhaps the editor will grace us with an explanation of the "journalistic ethics" that allow Mr. Thomas and his hate propaganda to be rebroadcast weekly by the LJW but al-Qaeda missives kept from gracing the newspaper's pages? Of all the choices to publish on the limited pages of the LJW, just what is the thinking among LJW management behind publishing Mr. Thomas? Jerry Sandusky seems talkative - why not let him pen a weekly column on youth issues?
mr_right_wing 5 years, 10 months ago
I'm neither defending or condemning Mr. Thomas; but if the editor has to be sensitive to what might offend someone, or some group, we wouldn't have a newspaper.
Freedom of speech and freedom of the press can be perfectly balanced with your right to ignore any 'speech' that offends you "Jimo". If, as a rule you don't agree with Mr. Thomas.....(this is radical I know)...don't read his column.
Isn't it also wonderful that you have a free forum here to disagree with anyone over anything "Jimo"? You can even do it hiding in anonymity (a option not available to Cal.)
Yet another thing to be grateful for this week of Thanksgiving.
Jimo 5 years, 10 months ago
You seem to ignore the concept of editorial judgment.
Again, why does the LJW choose to allow itself to be a forum for the rebroadcasting of hate speech? What criteria does it use to choose which hate speech to publish and which not to publish?
You confuse a constitutional right to speak, free from governmental sanction and punishment, with the moral responsibility inherent in associating oneself with another's speech.
Newspaper space is not unlimited. Therefore, the editor must make selections as to what will be published and what will not be.
Again, I ask the editor for transparency on exactly what its policy is and what speech is too extreme even for the LJW. The issue here isn't anonymity but of moral cowardice.
bszemere 5 years, 10 months ago
Idiots..again you characterize conservatives wrong again. He wasn't excusing the PennState issues,he is saying that the gay community doesn't help the situation. And he's right. The Man/Boy Love stuff is an example of exactly what he's pointing at. Say what you want about a few (very, very few) straight men being sick and being idiots doing these things to boys, but the liberals defend the Man/Boy Love stuff as being OK. It's not and it has to do with being gay. Man...Boy...both male...sounds like gay to me. Man...boy....sounds like pedophile, too. And these folks have a site and are defended by the gay and liberal community. Look up NAMBLA.org and tell me what you see?
funkdog1 5 years, 10 months ago
Pedophilia and homosexuality are two entirely different things. Sex with children, regardless of thier gender, is pedophilia, period. It is illegal, immoral and disgusting, and I don't know a single liberal who endorses or condones it. Only pedophiles do.
jonas_opines 5 years, 10 months ago
"liberals defend the Man/Boy Love stuff as being OK"
No, sorry. You fail.
windex 5 years, 10 months ago
You would probably call me a liberal. I know lots of people, liberal and conservative. Here's what we ALL agree on: adults engaging in any sort of sexual activity with children is wrong, period. Woman and girl, man and girl, woman and boy, man and boy - all illegal, wrong and utterly indefensible.
pizzapete 5 years, 10 months ago
I would bet money Jerry Sandusky is a conservative and probably shares a lot of Cal's views. It's people like Cal that I would be most worried to have looking after my kids.
bszemere 5 years, 10 months ago
Pizzapete, get you head out of the gas oven.....I don't care if he's conservative or not. That's not the issue. Did you look at the NAMBLA site or not? Doesn't that describe the issue we have here? Again another ignorant person's mischaracterisation of conservatives.
pizzapete 5 years, 10 months ago
Well at least NAMBLA is up front with how they believe. It's been my experience that those who preach the loadest against homosexuality are often the biggest queers, they just aren't up front about it.
weeslicket 5 years, 10 months ago
well, i didn't look at the site you linked to. why were you there? why are you passing this link on to others? feels a little bit shady.
jafs 5 years, 10 months ago
Just a little research on NAMBLA is interesting.
For all practical purposes, the organization appears not to exist in any meaningful fashion any more.
And, when they did, they argued that consensual sex between men and boys shouldn't be illegal, and that it wasn't child abuse.
One could certainly find fault with this position, but it's far from advocating abuse of children - it's more akin to people who think that consensual sex between a girl of 15 and an older guy isn't a terrible thing, and shouldn't be called "rape".
Many heterosexual men have argued exactly that numerous times.
jonas_opines 5 years, 10 months ago
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
bszemere 5 years, 10 months ago
Jafs,
If NAMBLA didn't exist, why at the bottom of their entry screen does it say Copyright 2011? They are alive and well. Appearently, your President (not mine) Obama thought in 2009 a NAMBLA supporter was perfect for his cabinate. Remember Kevin Jenkins?
You did a little research all right...very little.
jafs 5 years, 10 months ago
From the little (which I acknowledged) research I did, apparently there are a few people maintaining a website, but that's about it.
No response to the substantive comments in my post?
bszemere 5 years, 10 months ago
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
jafs 5 years, 10 months ago
I can only assume that the comments about Kevin Jenkins refer actually to Kevin Jennings.
According to Smearbusters, the claim that Jennings praised nambla is false - he praised a man named Hay who had started the first gay rights organization - Hay was never a member of nambla nor did he advocate for them.
Next?
bszemere 5 years, 10 months ago
Really? Smearbusters, is that your source?...you can do better than that...basically the same as obamasmearbusters and democratic underground, both fronts for the demorats.......
And the fact that a man (i.e. over 18) and a boy (i.e. under 18) is an improper relationship doesn't bother you? Please...you are really are a lost soul. Even if its consentual its wrong, by any moral or ethical compass...
Even your sick one......
jafs 5 years, 10 months ago
I will respond to this comment, against my better judgement, but in the future will not respond to any of your posts if they include insulting language towards me.
It is incumbent on those making a claim to prove it, not on others to disprove it. I spent about 30 seconds looking up "Kevin Jenkins (sic)" and nambla and found that link. Since in my experience those on the right commonly make false accusations and don't support them, it was my immediate conclusion that this is another case of that. If you seriously believe that your claim is correct, please supply some evidence of it.
Now, on to your next comment - the question of the correct age of consent is a difficult one, for either straight or gay people, in my view. There is undoubtedly something correct about it, in that young children are not capable of informed consent, and are vulnerable to coercion of various sorts from adults, who have power over them in some sense.
However, it is also obviously true that a person isn't magically endowed with good judgement at the age of 18, having been unable to use that the day before that birthday. So, there's something arbitrary about "age of consent" laws.
Finally, whether I agree or disagree with the content of their speech, I support NAMBLA's right to exist, to speak, assemble and petition the government, based on their 1st amendment rights to do just that.
The same is true of many other organizations I might disagree with.
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