There is more to say on this topic, but as I'm busy writing a manifesto to be hosted on NewgonWiki, I'm keeping this article brief.

For the past 18 months, I have been endorsing the acknowledgement of a concept known as The Push. It is the suggestion - not to condone but to warn - that a lot of MAPs are pushed into problematic behavior in which they would otherwise never engage. One of the most stark warnings, with which The Push has been largely associated, is that MAPs who are demonized and silenced may become violent. I believe that to be true, and I recently wrote an article talking about how the crushing of free speech can lead to violence generally. However, that will not be the point of this short post.

Yesterday, I came across a BL12.com thread in which a poster asked if violent child rapists and child murderers deserve human rights. Of course, most people, including MAPs, hate those who do such awful things. Some members supported the argument that people who commit really extreme acts do not deserve human rights. On the other hand, some supported the retort that the public don't differentiate between the most virtuous of MAPs and those few who commit brutal rapes and murders, and that the 'execution' of even non-offending MAPs would have widespread support. I agree with the latter assertion, fundamentally believing that 'protecting children' is just an excuse used to justify a witch hunt. The majority of the public probably would support a MAP genocide if proposed, and I would not be surprised to see it carried out, non-offenders included, at some point in my lifetime. You gain no love by proclaiming that you're "not like the others".

It's not only the far right that act this way toward MAPs. When MAP-supportive charity Beyond The Plus joined Bluesky, they were attacked for hosting a picnic on Alice Day, a holiday for girllovers. The prolific rapist Thaily accused Beyond The Plus of supporting child abusers (note: I call her a rapist because she equates attraction with automatic abuse, so presumably that must be how she behaves?). Bluesky, naturally, suspended the BTP account. Again... MAPs, or even those who support them, cast out. MAPs and their allies aren't allowed to be normal members of society, and are even shunned from supposedly 'tolerant' spaces.

As for the actual 'monsters'? The real ones? I have previously written:

if you hound any group of people, isolate them, push them to the brink, and leave them with nothing to lose, you can expect some of these people to become a serious danger to society. This is what is being done right now to MAPs; even those who have not yet been outed may live in abject misery, fear, and terror.

In most cases, MAPs who have not been incarcerated just live a shitty and miserable life, possibly being somewhat anti-social and not realizing their true potential, nor contributing as fully to society as they could. Personally, having witnessed some pretty terrible things happen to MAP friends, I now despise the world and frankly would like to see humanity become extinct. I still work a full-time teaching job, and I'm super nice to my students, but there's a feeling of detachment that is seemingly apparent to myself only. I no longer feel any sense of connection to humanity outside of the MAP community and my little work bubble; the idea of resuscitating someone, even leaving my bag behind in a smoke-filled plane cabin to prevent 'tragedies' behind me... that caring about other humans in general? It has been thoroughly erased by the vile discourse about MAPs that is everywhere, and by the things that happened to friends who really didn't deserve the literal and metaphorical ending of their lives.

As I wrote in my response on BL12:

when MAPs are so thoroughly dehumanized, don't be surprised when some don't 'act human'. You can't simultaneously cast someone out, yet demand they act as part of the group.

In my case, I can still play pretend, and I do actually appreciate my students and the work I do. But that's me, someone who rejects social norms and thinks outside of predefined bubbles. Unfortunately, there will inevitably be some people who take on board the accusations hurled against them, assuming 'child rapist' as their identity. Others will simply feel so alienated by society that they make no attempt to function as part of it. And these comments that smear MAPs with the most extreme of vitriol - regardless of what they have or haven't done - are everywhere, completely unavoidable, even on supposedly respectable websites and publications. There is no escape from it, just a constant bombardment of hateful messaging.

Child rapists and murderers deserve human rights, not because what they did is in any way acceptable, but because of the vile humans who told them that was their identity, their destiny. I firmly believe that, at least in some cases, these 'monsters' have been manufactured by an utterly monstrous public masquerading as child savers. Now tell me, who deserves the chair?