Does being gay in High School still have a negative stigma? I would have said for sure back when I was in school but 20 years later?? Seems like society doesn't really care about being gay anymore.

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Well this would have been in the 80s so stigma was still huge.


It's getting better, but Im sure the stigma still exists.

No. I'd go so far to say acceptance and celebration is encouraged at the middle school level.

I believe there is an age where someone is still too young to consent and/or make qualified decisions such as these. I think you do too unless you think a 4 year old has the same type of decision making as a 29 year old. So, I am going to assume you agree on that.

It is then up to society to set an appropriate age for such decisions to be legal by both parties. Admittedly, there is no magic number with almost any age related law. In general, 18 has been that age, with some leeway for those who are within a few years of age of an 18 year old. We could make it 25 and we could make it 14 and it would have just as many if not many more flaws than 18(or whatever close to 18 age we have chosen.

It's then up to the adults to behave to those societal norms even if they are imperfect. If they don't like them, then work towards changing them or be willing to accept the consequences for going against them. I know that people don't like slippery slope arguments, but you are making an argument where ANY age of consent would be impossible to judge and that opens up a massive slippery slope where we basically treat all humans, from birth to death, as the exact same.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Of course it still exists. A lot of people don't think gay people should be allowed to adopt. Do you really think 15 year olds raised by those types of parents are going to be accepting of gay kids unless they are one of the few who realizes that early on that the previous generation has some bad social ideas?

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Our laws are largely based on an ancient text as well.

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Are you ok with that?

Celebration of our differences seems like a good thing.

Obviously there is a general age where what you say is true. We're not talking about four year olds here. Certainly a fifty year old is generally more mature than a thirty year old. I'm sure good dolphin has spun some young lawyers in circles, but we don't stop the young guy from practicing. You have to learn some where and at some age. I'm not advocating for the age of consent to be ten or making an argument in that regard at all. I'm just pointing out that these social mores are based in religious belief far more than most people want to admit. I'm as militant an atheist as anyone this side of leash, but if I'm being honest I have to admit that our morals are steeped in religious influences. These beliefs aren't just inside us. We're just animals. We haven't "evolved" beyond being animals. We've simply set limits for ourselves. That's called civilization. Some of us may draw the line at wearing pajamas on an airplane. I'm sure you've noticed, I'm not a cultural relativist.

It reminds me of a video I saw yesterday wherein some protest leader on some campus was being asked about shutting down free speech. He said that some speech needs to be shut down and the interviewer asked him about the Constitution. This punk said that it was an "irrelevant document". What he doesn't seem to realize is that the Constitution is the only thing stopping me (an animal) from stomping the living shit out of him.

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Communists are just people who are terrible at capitalism.

What you say isn't wrong but it also doesn't really change the fact that the line has to be drawn somewhere, and there are many reasons that 18 has been chosen in our society. Adults should act like adults then about it. You could argue that it should be lower or higher but the fact remains you even admit it has to be somewhere and I don't think even you would argue the number should be anywhere below 16 and even 16 provides some very real challenges that 18 does not.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

i wonder if it will catch on, but it's actually incorrect to call someone a pedophile if they're into pubescent/adolescent kids. apparently that's considered a ephebophile, or hebephile. pedophilia is attraction to prepubscent kids.

just doesn't have the same ring to say "yeah whatever, ephebo!" or "hebo!".

Technically you are correct, but pedophile has sort of been adopted as the term (even if it isn't the correct definition). I guess we can blame Dateline for that.

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“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson

It's not pedophilia. It's predatory behavior pure and simple.

Pedophilia or paedophilia is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children.

And if coming on to a minor sexually is a common occurrence for any person, please explain to us how that is a healthy behavior.

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I don't know if it's healthy or not, but I do know the concept of a "minor" is arbitrary and in fact has changed over time in the United States. We would be appalled at the mere idea of a twelve year old working a 16 hour shift in a factory. That wasn't the case for our ancestors.

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Communists are just people who are terrible at capitalism.

Well apparently even the gay community is disgusted with Spacey using them as a shield so I'm not so certain this type of relationship is a norm for them.

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“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson

Well, of course. His "coming out" as if that's the answer makes it look like predatory behavior is the norm among homosexuals. I'm not suggesting that and I don't know the details about this particular incident or even if Rapp is gay at all. I'm just stating the fact that relationships between gay teens and older men are not uncommon.

And hey, I'm not claiming to be an expert on homosexual culture. I just know what I see from my gay friends. For example, I don't know any gay couples that don't have an "open" relationship when it comes to sex, at least to some degree. What would be considered a betrayal in most heterosexual relationships is considered far less significant among most gays I know.

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Communists are just people who are terrible at capitalism.

Not that they would condone the December-Feb relationship, but I think their angst is more about using the big coming out as a shield.


They have enough problems having to point out that gay does not = pedophile.

Pretty scary that you don't find coming on to minors and an issue no matter what your preferences are.

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Let's not make this personal. I've never messed with a minor in my life, nor would I. I live in the same society and follow the same rules as you do. That isn't the point. Declaring some behavior "healthy" or "sick" independent of societal context is meaningless. There are societies- as Ogie pointed out- where child marriage is perfectly normal.

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Communists are just people who are terrible at capitalism.

Can Mods ban each other?

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Per the full account, Spacey lifted him up, carried him to bed, and got on top of him. Rapp had to squirm away and lock himself in a bathroom. This isn't just making advances.

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“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson

There have been Reddit threads with rapey-ish Spacey stories in them. Like at his favorite hotel in Vegas he is only allowed female masseuses because he is way too aggressive with the men.

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problem is who is The Good one?

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

Clearly Seth MacFarlane knew these stories in 2005

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4dHf6jnwaU

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“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson

The funny thing is, quite a few of my posts in this thread are actually in support of Seacrest's viewpoints. Even atheists have morals that are informed by religion. Laws are informed by religion. I'd like to think that at least some of man's morality is intrinsic, but I'm not sure that's the case. The reason Caller Bob isn't killing Frank and driving off with his big screen and golf clubs is likely only because of religion and law which is often derived from religion.

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Communists are just people who are terrible at capitalism.

It requires both me and IMU to push a button.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

If you aren't comfortable with your personal viewpoints, then change them.

Minors shouldn't be preyed upon by others for sexual pleasure. Period.

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I'm perfectly comfortable with my personal viewpoints. I don't think anyone should be preyed upon by anyone for sexual pleasure or anything else.

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Communists are just people who are terrible at capitalism.

It's probably a little hypocritical, but at the end of the day it is on the older person to not engage or attempt to engage in sexual activity with a minor. That's where we draw the line, and I'm fine with it.

Now if you want to talk about whether a judge or jury should be able to decide whether actions with a minor were inherently criminal given the personality of the minor and the circumstances, sure absolutely let's have that discussion, but it also better apply to that hot teacher banging a 16-17 year old, or even the inverse.

Like we have discussed, societal morality is based upon religion, even in an atheistic society.

There is a reason so many people still hate the Jews. They will always be the people that introduced the dignity of the individual person.

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