In war against sexual terrorists, don't underestimate the enemy

THERE HAS BEEN a lot of debate this past week about sensitivity toward the mobs who attacked our embassies and our people in Egypt and Libya. I would label these mobs clearly as terrorists.

They are on my mind because even in this post-Sandusky era there are a growing number of groups and individuals who are talking about the need for sensitivity and understanding toward pedophiles. I think it's time to use the term "sexual terrorism" to clearly define what Sandusky and lesser-known pedophiles do.

Just in the past few days, the West Coast editor of entertainment website Gawker, Cord Jefferson, put up a piece titled "Born This Way: Sympathy and Science for Those Who Want to Have Sex with Children." In this obnoxious piece, he tells us of his interview with Terry, a 38-year-old man who "began a sexual relationship" with his 7-year-old niece, who he had custody of.

Jefferson uses Terry's story to caution us against the universal hatred displayed by Americans toward pedophiles in the Sandusky case. You have to admit this is a very unusual takeaway from the fact that Sandusky was able to attack over so many years.

Jefferson goes outside the country to find a couple of Canadian doctors to pump up the idea that pedophilia is really a sickness that should generate a good amount of public sympathy.

In fact, he closes by saying, "The old adage is that the true mark of a society is how it treats the weakest in its ranks. Blacks, women, Latinos, gays and lesbians and others are still in no way on wholly equal footing in America. But they're also not nearly as lowly and cursed as men attracted to children. One imagines that if Jesus ever came to Earth, he'd embrace the poor, the blind, the lepers and, yes, the pedophile."

This sympathy for sexual terrorists is shared by B4U-ACT, a group of mental-health professionals who call pedophiles by the more pleasant term "minor-attracted." In response to a column of mine, they sent me their scathing criticism of the American Psychological Association, whose "bible," the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, they feel is not humane to pedophiles and does allow mental-health professionals to see minor-attraction as a sexual orientation.

The Gawker jerk and these mental-health pedophile-enablers are, of course, joined by NAMBLA, the Northern American Man/Boy Love Association, a group that consists of sexual terrorists who are protected by the First Amendment and are clearly dangerous to the welfare of kids. Their focus is to play a game of attrition, continually wearing down our society's moral norms so they can numb public outrage at these crimes. Over time, they hope, their strategy is to "normalize" pedophilia.

They are joined by any number of college professors who teach courses that push the idea that America is in a panic against pederasty due to guys like me and others in the media. They contribute to books that proclaim the glories of ancient Greece and Rome due to the sexual relationships of men and boys.

I've interviewed Cornell professor Ellis Hanson, who told me that kids might enjoy sex with adults except for their parents overreaction. He was happy to tell me about superior present-day cultures who have no problem with sex between adults and kids.

Of course, former Temple professor Bruce Rind made national news when I exposed his study that claimed that sex between adults and kids did not cause significant damage to the kids. This "study" was condemned by Congress and the Pennsylvania and New Jersey legislatures. He claimed in his so-called study that in many cases pedophiles could play a positive role in the child's life.

Hasn't the Sandusky trial reminded us of the physical and emotional damage these predators inflict on young and impressionable children? Isn't it about time that we confront and challenge these sexual terrorists among us?

This would include colleges being forced to challenge the science behind the writings of professors like Hanson, Rind and others. It would include trying to get inside groups like NAMBLA to see if it breaks any laws in its advocacy of "if you wait until 8, it's too late."

It means that we must continue to strengthen and enforce Megan's Law to give parents and communities another tool to protect themselves against these predators. It's disturbing to periodically read news reports of some area prosecutors not wanting to be burdened with the demands of notifying parents. If protecting children is too much trouble for those law-enforcement officials, tell them to send me their resumes and I will use my radio show to personally assist them in finding another line of work.

Finally, I think it's helpful to label these people as sexual terrorists. They are every parent's worst nightmare, whether they be priests using their authority to attack kids, Jerry Sandusky attacking boys in Penn State's showers, or the other kids attacked every year.

We invite you to comment on this story by clicking here. Comments will be moderated.