Killing time without injuring eternity

 Another old essay...

North American Man/Boy Love Association: Child Molesters and the Abuse of the First Amendment

The first amendment right to free speech is necessary for freedom in the United States to remain but is often abused. The North American Man/Boy Love Association, also referred to as NAMBLA, is a group of men that openly admit to having romantic and sexual relationships with young boys. The members are opposed to age of consent laws and supports and practice what most people consider pedophilia. The propaganda from the NAMBLA website articles, online community blogs, and magazines support and commend men for having illegal sexual relationships with these minors and should be banned from being published.

At first glance the NAMBLA website, www.nambla.org, appears like any other organization for a cause; It is professional looking, has a frequently asked questions section, and even a link to donate money. What separates this website from other charitable causes and organizations is that it contains articles promoting child molestation. NAMBLA members believe that the United States government is practicing age based discrimination, also known as ageism. They feel that minors are capable of making the decision to have consensual sex with adults. Most children cannot handle such decisions emotionally and physically and lack the experience and knowledge to do so.

It is very important to remember that sex with children is illegal, and it is obvious that the majority of Americans feel that child molestation is a punishable crime. If found guilty, offenders can spend many years in prison and upon leaving prison must register as sex offenders which puts a permanent mark on their name. Registering as a sex offender will prevent them from living within certain miles of schools, make it difficult when applying for jobs, and become an outcast in the community. If child molestation is illegal, wouldn’t it be illegal to be a member of a group that’s main theory is that it is ok for adults to have sex with kids? But because of the first amendment right to free speech, NAMBLA is able to run their website.

Typing “Man/Boy love” into a search engine can bring some surprising and disturbing results. There are many online communities full of these self professed boy lovers. Most of the men blog about their strong emotional and sexual feelings toward these young boys, creating a visual that is not so pleasant. These men are using these forums to feed off of each other’s stories and fantasies, creating a disturbing web of pedophilia that can be accessed on any home computer. The psychology term “rationalization” refers to the defense mechanism that people often use to justify their actions by saying “It’s ok that I did it, other people are doing it too”. Many of these people in the forums are using rationalization to justify the abuse they are doing to young boys.

In 2003, there was a controversy with the online book store Amazon.com about its sales of the NAMBLA Bulletin, a monthly subscription magazine for man/boy lovers. Many people posted comments of their outrage for the company allowing such material to be sold on their site. Amazon stated that they weren’t sure how the magazine made it on the site and that they would have it removed immediately. This caused uproar in the NAMBLA community, once again claiming their right to free speech. But there was much more than just free speech in this periodical. Almost every glossy page had suggestive pictures of boys that appeared to be in their pre-teens. Man/boy lovers are claiming their right to the first amendment to continue to look at their version of child pornography legally.

The thought of child molesters using the rights our founding fathers gave this country to justify their unspeakable acts is extremely disturbing and disgusting. Because free speech is a sensitive subject, people are sometimes scared to protest their outrage of such propaganda. If we say nothing we are really saying “It’s ok if you talk about molesting a child, but It’s not ok to actually do it”. Americans cannot let these men destroy our younger generations’ minds, bodies, and hearts. There are several websites with petitions to stop the North American Man/Boy Love Association from posting their beliefs online. If more people stood up to what they believed was right, they might be able to prevent the destruction of a child’s life.

Americans value the quality of the foods that are brought to their kitchen tables. They expect their produce to be clean, fresh, and most importantly healthy. Most people inspect their produce carefully looking at its general color, shape, and texture, but do not consider how it was grown. Although there are many types of fertilizers, the two most widely used are biosolids and manure. The similarities and differences between biosolids and manure include chemical ingredients, possible harboring of bacteria, and cost. These similarities and differences may not be well known by the general public but should be considered when making the decision to buy organic or inorganic produce.

Many inorganic crop producing farms fertilize their products using biosolids, which is a stew of human waste and chemicals. Human feces start as a solid then breaks down to a sludge by the mixing of chemicals and natural bacteria. This sludge is then used to fertilize the soil to promote growth in crops. Because biosolids contain chemicals and toxins, any produce that was grown from it is considered inorganic. On the other hand, manure does not contain chemicals or toxins and crops grown from it is therefore considered to be organic. Manure is the fecal matter of plant eating mammals and poultry, but not all manure is made of feces. Some manure, called “green” manure, is crops that were grown for the purpose to be plowed under and return their nutrients to the soil.

Both biosolids and manure have the potential for harboring harmful bacteria. The most common bacteria found in animal or human feces being Escherichia coli (E. coli). E. coli can be harmful and even deadly when consumed, but most of the bacteria are destroyed when it is exposed to the environment in which the crops are grown, making it only a small threat to the consumer. While bacterial contamination is a possibility in both fertilizers, only biosolids used for inorganic produce has the threat of chemical and toxic contamination. Small amounts of chemicals left over from the production of the solid waste into sludge can be found as a residue on the crops. These chemicals include dioxin, which is considered an environmental pollutant, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB’s), and flame retardants. The health risks from these contaminations are debatable and have not been widely researched.

There is an increasing demand for organic products due to the belief that there is less of a health risk in its consumption. Because of the high demand, consumers may notice that the price of organic produce is higher than the price of inorganic produce. One of the reasons for this is the high price for the use of organic manure and fertilizer. Farmers must follow strict regulations and guidelines to have their produce labeled “certified organic” and following those guidelines can be expensive. The use of biosolids is less expensive therefore does not raise prices at the supermarkets.

Choosing to buy organic or inorganic is a personal decision that warrants much consideration. Other considerations may include price, availability, contamination risk, and even handling. Consider how the food was grown, where it was grown, and what it was grown with. With all types of fertilizers there are risks and benefits to their use. Consider them all and choose wisely.