Profile of a 'Phile

First of all... introductions are in order.
"Hi. My name is AFSister, and I'm a Pedophile Hater".
Phew... that wasn't hard at all! Many thanks to Drunken Samurai for the invite to post here. My "normal" blog is My Side Of The Puddle. It's more of a diarist blog- I write about things that are on my mind. Sometimes it's political, sometimes it's personal. But everything I care about ends up on that site somehow. I guess that's why I write about my boys so much. I've always been afraid of someone snatching them and using them to fulfill some sort of sick fantasy about children. That's why when DS told me about this site, I knew I had to be involved.

When my first son was born, he was such a beautiful baby that people used to stop me and ask when I was going to put him in modeling. Some mistook him for a girl, and would say "she's going to have boys knocking down your doors every night." I know he's my child, so I'm biased... but he really is beautiful. My second son is extremely cute too, and the most outgoing person I've ever been around. I swear, that kid's never met a stranger. The combination of beautiful children and no fear of strangers has always put me on alert when I'm out with them, or when they're outside alone.

I'm not paranoid, but I am alert. The problem is... Who do you look out for? What do pedophiles look like? That's the scariest thing of all, because they look pretty damn normal. I came across an article today, entitled "Profile of a Pedophile", which was extremely enlightening, and frightening, all at the same time. According to Tammy Ruggles' article, pedophiles "aren't confined to our Catholic churches. They are in Protestant churches, synagogues, and mosques. Some of them are teachers, counselors, scout leaders, truck drivers, factory workers, and youth ministers. In fact, they are wherever children can be found, irrespective of age, race, education, occupation, class, social standing, or income."

She goes on to profile common pedophile characteristics we should all be aware of, including:
1. Being popular with both children and adults.
2. Appearing trustworthy and respectable, with a good standing in the community.
3. Singling out children who seem troubled and in need of attention or affection.
4. Rarely forces or coerces a child into sexual contact. Usually through trust and friendship. Physical contact is gradual, from touching, to picking up, to holding on lap, to kissing, etc.
5. Are primarily (but not always) male, masculine, better-educated, more religious than average, in their thirties, and choose jobs allowing them greater access to children.
6. Are usually family men, have no criminal record, and deny that they abuse children, even after caught, convicted, incarcerated, and court-ordered into a sex offender program. The marriage is often troubled by sexual dysfunction, and serves as a smokescreen for the pedophile's true preferences and practices.
7. Are often, but not always, themselves victims of some form of childhood sexual abuse.
8. A female pedophile usually abuses a child when partnered with an adult male pedophile, and is often herself a victim of chronic sexual abuse.
9. Some pedophiles recognize that their behavior is criminal, immoral, and unacceptable by society, and operate in secrecy.
10. Some are quite open and militant about their practices and advocate the normalization of pedophilia under the guise of freedom of speech and press, and uses innocuous language like "intergenerational intimacy."

I'm not putting this out there to scare anyone, or make you paranoid. I'm posting this to make sure we are all more aware of our surroundings and who is interacting with our children. Be aware. Keep our children safe.