[almostbusto]

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I am American. I also beleive in the whole Good Vs Evil thing, which some of you probably do not. I believe that there are certain people that are just evil people, and I dont believe in moral relativism like some of you may, pedophiles are pedophiles, there is something like an 80% recidivism rate, and if you do it once, honestly enough, that is enough for me to think you should be neutered. Your idea that society is more "progressive" by not dolling out harsh punishments is something I think is ludicrous.

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I think you are presuming a lot about my beliefs. I don't believe in moral relativism, i don't associate myself with the "progressive" movement (at least the mainstream connotation of that word), and lastly i am not liberal (again, in the mainstream sense). I am a classical liberal.

I believe people have rights, even criminals, kind of like Thomas Jefferson did. I also recognize that no matter how deplorable people are they are still people and that there is no justifiable reason to strip them of their personhood and treat them like vermin. Even if they don't recognize the personhood of others. while I have a lot of problems with the American constitution and government, i think the cruel and unusual punishment clause is spot on. universally.

and more to the heart of the issue, i believe there are a lot of different reasons that motivate pedophilia and similar practices, also these offenses vary greatly in severity. as such they don't warrant a uniform punishment for all offenses.