Yes, the old “hebephilia is not pedophilia, and is normal” shtick.
Obviously yes, there is a very big (biological) difference between sexual attraction to pubescent vs pre-pubescent persons.
That has nothing to do with the Age of Consent, which is a legal standard set in order to account for social dynamics (power dynamics, mental maturity, etc) that also factor into consent, which is most of the situations he’s talking about, e.g. Roy Moore.
If Stallman wants to do the whole, “there’s no difference between being attracted to a 17-and-364-days year-old and an 18 year-old” bit, I don’t think anyone would care outside of the fact that being hung up on that when you’re not yourself in that dating range just makes you seem creepy. When you’re 18, that discussion is much more relevant. Not so much at Stallman’s age.
But him clearly talking more about the 13-14 year old range, where even someone going through puberty is much closer to pre-pubescent than post-pubescent, just makes him seem like he’s actually a pedophile who wants a loophole.
I remember reading a comment somewhere that said it’s hard to explain the difference between children and teenagers (in this context) without sounding like a creep. Him being very adamant in pointing out the distinction is a prime example of that.
You might have heard that in a comedy routine: https://youtu.be/nu6C2KL_S9o?si=Wwa-D1QFciB5sb78
This is btw not new at all
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I totally disagree with Stallman’s views and personally I do find them pretty worrying.
But I also disagree with the concept that employers should be the executive of the court of public opinion.
We have real courts and real police, we don’t need to invent a secondary one where people lose their jobs due to shitstorms.
If you think he did something illegal, report him to the police or sue him. If not, then this is freedom of speech. Even though he uses the freedom to voice a pretty crappy opinion.
I mean, if everyone who said something that lots of people disagree with, I guess we would all be unemployed now.
If you think he did something illegal, report him to the police or sue him. If not, then this is freedom of speech.
…and? People also have freedom of association, and people can choose not to associate with an organization that employs someone with morally awful beliefs - especially when they make those beliefs very public.
Apparently, Stallman is a net positive for them, so they keep him.
Doesn’t mean that they in any way endorse pedophilia.
And the freedom of association also doesn’t mean that a bunch of enraged people online have the freedom to decide whom they associate with.
And apparently, in the USA there is a whole party devoted to child marriage and other ways to have sex with minors. That might be the better point to start, because they actually have a say regarding laws on that matter.
