Today's guest blog is written by Mu Forum moderator Rooster. It discusses how the concept of 'the innocent child' is more or less a modern religion.

You hear it all the time nowadays, "Protect the children!". But despite what they want you to think, all this hysteria about child safety has nothing to do with protecting any actual children. That's just the language used to make it socially acceptable, much like the ICE agents are "securing America's future". No, the true goal of all this is to preserve the STEREOTYPE of the innocent child. And that's because it's such an easy and effective political tool.

You can get away with pretty much anything if you can frame it as protecting children. In the olden days, religion filled this role. You could get away with anything as long as you did it in the name of God. I always like to use the crusades as a shining example. Byzantine emperor Alexius Comnenus had lost a lot of territory to the Turks pressuring him from the east, so he thought to request help from European powers in the west. But he couldn't just say "Hey guys! Go fight and die so that I can have my glorious empire!" No one would go for that. Instead, he teamed up with a pope and got him to say "Hey guys! Go fight and die because God wills it!" If you've ever heard the phase "Deus Vult", often associated with the crusades, it literally translates to "God wills it".

With this, people were falling over each other to join the cause. Bankrupting their families and upending their communities all just to throw themselves to their deaths. So many deaths. And no one could question this because to do so would be to question God. And no one could question God. Non-believers were burned at the stake. But in modern times, The church had lost it's all-encompassing influence, and people couldn't get away saying "because God" anymore. It took some trial and error but they finally found something that works just as well: The Innocent Child. I said it was a stereotype, and it is, but upon further thought, it truly has become a religious icon at this point.

Both God and The Innocent Child are seen as infallible beacons of righteousness, but for some reason, cannot speak to us directly. Therefore, they both need a conveniently placed figurehead to "interpret their will". Thus, both God and The Innocent Child have been used to justify all manner of atrocities. Both can easily transform any selfish act of conquest into a selfless act of service. And neither can ever be questioned, for just as only heretics would dare to question God, only pedophiles would dare to question the best interests of The Innocent Child, and all pedophiles deserve the woodchipper.

People are offended when you challenge their belief in the The Innocent Child for the same reason they're offended when you challenge their belief in God.

This is why they see no problem with condemning actual children who commit crimes. They're challenging belief in The Innocent Child and must be punished for it. This would also happen for sexuality, (and it used to, particularly with masturbation) but people soon realized that with sex, there's always someone else conveniently there to dump all the blame onto, thus keeping their precious religious icon/political tool squeaky clean. This is why it's important to convince the actual child that they had no control over themselves. Thus, they can once more be analogous with The Innocent Child, who would never do such things willingly. And with that, no one's beliefs will ever have to be challenged. However, if the actual child refuses to believe, they too can be punished, or at least put through the wringer until they convert.

All that research that said children are not harmed by sex. All those children that had positive sexual experiences and dearly wish to talk about them. And even those cultures that raised their children in sexual liberty and saw them grow into strong, confident adults who frequently formed lasting relationships. All these things are great for actual children, but terrible for The Innocent Child. That's why these things must be condemned, censored, and eliminated.

This is why they cannot tolerate child pornography, even when (and probably especially when) the children involved are smiling, giggling, and having a great time. This is why they abhor child sex dolls, which have barely any resemblance to actual children, but can be seen as a depiction of The Innocent Child. This is why they cannot stand when some random guy, in the privacy of his own home, would dare create such blasphemous (i. e. pornographic) depictions of The Innocent Child, either through drawing, writing, AI, or whatever else. All of these things pose no threat to any actual children, but they are major threats to belief in The Innocent Child. People really hate it when you challenge their long-held beliefs, especially ones that bring them so much comfort. And all the big organizations that profit off these people NEED them to keep believing. It is the source of their power and influence, and they have staked their livelihoods on it. As such, they will go to great lengths to ensure this belief persists, and even greater lengths to spread this belief as far as possible. And they have no concern for those who are crushed under the weight of their ambition.

Incidentally, at various points in history, it was also considered heretical and blasphemous to draw or otherwise depict God. Of course the church had all the power in this relationship, so they could pick and choose exceptions if they wanted. This is why the Michelangelo paintings survived, while who knows how many others got the axe. Sometimes literally, I suspect.

Caught in the middle of all these political games and religious tomfoolery is all the people that genuinely care for the actual children and, of course, the children themselves. They just want to live their lives in peace. But they can't do that alone. The have to interact with other people eventually. But with so much misinformation flying around, they don't know what to believe. They have no idea who is actually threatening them. All they can do is echo what they've been told. And unfortunately, the loudest voice in the room is the covenant of The Innocent Child.

Lo and behold The Innocent Child. Our ray of hope that shall deliver us all unto paradise. So long as we shield it from the corrupting touch of THE PREDATOR. We must remain ever vigilant in this duty, my brothers and sisters. For if we are lax for even a moment, if we allow even the slightest brush from his fiendish hand, then that light shall be forever extinguished. That hope drained until not a sliver remains. And in its place shall be born The Devil Child who will drag us all into the depths of damnation.

-Book of Some Shit I just Made Up