Some other topic here made me think a bit about law and such. Especially about what law should do with pedophiles. Well actually, that is reasonably clear: Get them off the streets for as long as you have to.

However, I am not quite sure whether Pedophilia is something you are born with.. much a homosexuality. Of course what makes homosexuality fine and pedophilia not, is that homosexuality is an act between two consenting adults, and pedophilia is always something between an adult and a child that certainly can not make their own (sexual) choices.

However, can you really blame pedophiles for being pedophiles, assuming they were born that way?

Then again, while I was typing something like this in the other topic, it shot to mind that often pedophiles are people that are extremely cruel and are blind or uncaring to the devastating mental damage they bring to their victims. Maybe that is because the pedophiles-from-birth With some sort of self-control or good ethics can all control themselves, and we do not know they are pedophiles... I personally think there are a lot of non-active pedophiles by the way, but that is an other story.

But it really lies at the basis of a larger problem: If someone does a criminal act, like kills or steals, can you always blame him/her? What part of his/her actions are caused by the genes they 'just have'? And what part is in the hand of their parents, or environment?

Yes, that is also a reason why I do not believe in putting people in jails or putting them to death for vengeance, for retribution, but simply to make society better. In a way, criminals are victims of their genes and upbringing, since apparently that doesn't get along with society, otherwise they wouldn't be criminals.

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Anyone any thoughts? Does anyone know pedophilia is something you can have from birth, like homosexuality?