Re: [MLUG - DISCUSSION] false charges of sexual abuse

[Stephen Montgomery-Smith <EMAIL:PROTECTED>]

Paul Slusarz wrote:
> Mike Miller wrote:

>>> Most sexual abuse is
>>>also fairly harmless, believe it or not.  There have been
> good
>>>studies of this, but the conclusion of harmlessness is
> unpopular.
>
> There have been good studies demonstrating that global warming
> is a myth. At least our Administration thinks so. Now show me
> the money (name the studies).

I have to say that I am with Paul here (in not believing studies, I have 
no idea about the global warming).

Despite that I am a mathematician, I place very little faith in studies. 
 I trust far more in anecdotal evidence.  The only time I even put a 
little bit of belief into a study is when I have good anecdotal evidence 
that the study was particularly well done.

Wasn't it some psychologist called Eysenck (spelling?) who invented the 
idea that you could quantify a lot of human behavior using studies?  My 
feeling is that it is way overrated.


> > > Let me guess "Hamaty" is an Arabic or Persian name, right?
> In some
> > > nations, women will masturbate infant sons to sooth them.
> This is
> > > not consindered a sexual act.  It is harmless.
>
>
> You bring up the fact that things are done differently in some
> cultures, but if you take the act out of its cultural context
> and you can no longer make the claim that it's a valid
> behavior. As to whether some things other cultures do are
> nevertheless objectively or subjectively harmful we needn't
> argue about that (free speech supression and human sacrifice
> come to mind as extreme examples).

Again I'm with Paul.  Hearing the description of what is done in these 
nations makes me extremely nausious and disgusted, and I find it 
impossible to think these acts are in any way OK.  (I might add that I 
asked a middle eastern friend of mine about this, and he said that he 
had never heard of this happening.)


> > > Most sexual abuse is
> > > also fairly harmless, believe it or not.


I know too many people who have suffered from this to think this way.  I 
think that a very large number of people who have been sexually abused 
do get over it, and are able to lead normal lives.  Perhaps for them it 
is like a broken arm, painful at the time, but they get over it - but if 
anyone deliberately breaks my kids arms, I will push as hard as possible 
to get them jailed.  Actually, my broken arm analogy is purely for the 
sake of argument, because I really do think that sexual abuse is more 
harmful than a broken arm.

Stephen

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