Date: March 15, 2023
“Author Bethany Mandel elaborates on the theme of her new book with Karol Marcowicz, “Stolen Youth: How Radicals Are Erasing Innocence and Indoctrinating a Generation.”
I agree with one of the commentators…Bethanys message, is an empty and cruel message.
There should have been a lot more push back in this interview…It’s disappointing what all they let this person dictate, without substantiating.
Just because they claim to be “protecting the children”, does not mean you have to give them a free pass on the stage.
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Is it finally fair to say that the word “innocence” in this context, is a dog whistle for those high on manipulation and control?…
“Innocence” here, means inflicted domination…It means having ignorance artificially and aggressively imposed upon you…It means forced compliance…
It means being kept apart from your own natural cognition and agency…Or, in other words…someone is stealing your right to exist, experience and know things…They are intentionally stunting you.
This “innocence” has nothing to do with the quality of your nature, nor whether you have engaged in good or bad behaviors…It is about compliance to a rigidly structured life script, and making you feel guilty, dirty and damaged if you deviate.
It’s all about getting into your head, to make you behave how certain people want you to behave…and it has nothing to do with “innocence”, by the words actual definition.
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This woman is absolutely ignorant [at least about the following statement].
“Children do not have a sexuality.”
I have always had a recognizable sexuality, as far back as I can remember…
…Stop denying the existence of people like me!
It is likely most people are sexual as children…they just don’t have the vocabulary to articulate a conversation about it…This happens when facts about life are kept hidden from children…The sexuality and attractions are there…they just get ignored, denied and shamed into secrecy…They are left adrift, without any cultural or family validation.
It is damaging, not to acknowledge a childs normal, inborn sexuality.
I’m not saying you have to be sexually active with the child…I’m not saying you have to label their sexuality, or put it into some sort of restrictive box…
…I’m saying that it is wrong to treat children like freaks, over something biologically occurring within their own bodies, as the result of common nature.
It is monstrous to claim that “children have no sexuality”…Many of them do…For some, that sexuality is quite strong and pronounced.
You may have to tailor to a childs current level of comprehension…It may be more, or less, classy to use certain types of words…but there is no inappropriate conversation to have with a child.
To claim conversations with a child about reality are “inappropriate”, or “dangerous”, is among the most irresponsible and dangerous things to claim…to think…to put into practice.
The only thing we teach children in all of this…is that it is normal to obfuscate, to deny reality, to impoverish everybodies existence…and that internalizing or inflicting shame is some sort of virtue.
We should be a hell of a lot more open with children about sex, sexuality, biology, humans and their myriad of differences…
Any responsible culture will do just that…
…To not do it, is to cultivate bigotry.
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