I've had conversations with a couple people recently that got me worrying I may have gone too far

I've had conversations with a couple people recently that got me worrying I may have gone too far.

I believe in questioning everything. I'm constantly toying with new ideas, reshaping my world view, and getting rid of ideas I find untrue or illogical.

I believe in being truthful, despite its level of political correctness, or how uncomfortable the conversation makes me.

All that being said, I'm scared I may have said something that these people may view in a way that I hadn't intended.

So the topic of age of consent came up.

Closer friend said it was the one issue, we as a country should never discuss, and it should be 100% set in stone (taking the moral high ground).

I brought up the fact that age of consent in some states were 16. (instead of 18)

I asked him if he thought those states were supporting pedophilia.

I asked him: What is it, exactly, about pedophilia that we as a culture find so repulsive? (I agree that there SHOULD be an age of consent)

I brought up how we say pedophilia is "preying upon" people who essentially can't make sound decisions. I followed it up, by making the point that smart people manipulate dumb people and take advantage of them all the time in relationships. People of all ages are stupid and get taken advantage of. That can't be our go to reason for the law existing.

I brought up how there were child geniuses, who were smarter than 99% of the people on the planet by age 12. I brought up the fact that there were kids who were extremely emotionally and physically mature, despite being only 16. I brought up the fact that there are emotionally immature people in their 60s.

I was essentially playing devils advocate. Let me reiterate: I agree with age of consent. I'm really struggling with this issue in particular because there's a lot of inconsistency and hypocrisy floating around the issue. I'm afraid that when I point those issues out, I may come off as SUPPORTING pedophilia.

I guess where, I always get stuck on this issue is what SHOULD the age of consent be? I had the conversation with someone, and I agreed that there should be age of consent. But to come up with anything other than an arbitrary number, we have to pinpoint exactly why the law exists in the first place.

Physically humans are ready to have babies at around age 13.

A lot of kids are pretty much emotionally mature and smart enough to make their own decisions by age 16. (and by the way, they're already having tons of sex and relationships around that age anyway)

I can't come up with an exact number, because I feel like I don't understand the issue fully.

I also brought up the fact that throughout all of human history, adults were taking wives at an average of age 12. We are, right now in fact, outside the norm.

If you can't talk about it then there's no way to know if you're right. Some people prefer to believe what they are told and feel uncomfortable when they are challenged. The pedophilia witch-hunt has gone wayy too far. I think 16 is reasonable and that's the standard most places in the world. America is pretty weird. Your friend who says there should be issues you can't discuss is a fucking retard.

The age of consent should be the point where people are allowed to vote, take responisibility on taking drugs like alcohol etc.
This said, everyone below this age we can't "trust" for important descisions. Thats why it's 16 and 18 depending on the country.
It dont have anything to do with at what age one can have babies.

Your arguments were reasonable (though they can be refuted to some degrees), but yes, you came off as supporting pedophilia, and I promise they now think you are a pedophile. Sorry. There is no other outcome in this society when you try those arguments outside Sup Forums. At least they won't try to hit you up for babysitting.

But there are states in the US that allow 16 year olds to give consent. What about the inconsistency regarding age. Should a 25 year old fucking a 16 year old be treated the same as a 25 year old fucking a 6 year old legally?

Someone tl;dr this whole thread

Actually, Canada's laws make decent sense (and they're federal: the single worst thing about the U.S. is the fucking power states have).
Under 12, no sexual activity. Period.
There is a "close in age" exception for 12 and 13 year olds: a 12 or 13 year old can consent to sexual activity with someone less than two years older and with whom there is no relationship of trust, authority or dependency or other exploitation of the young person.
They raised the basic consent age from 14 to 16 in 2008, but there's another close-in-age clause, meaning 14- and 15-year-olds can have sex with someone who is less than five years older (so 18/19). However, the age of consent is 18 years where the sexual activity "exploits" the young person when it involves prostitution, pornography or occurs in a relationship of authority, trust or dependency (e.g., with a teacher, coach or babysitter). 16 and 17 year olds cannot consent to sexual activity that involves prostitution or pornography.
At 18, all bets are off. See? Reasonable. No putting teens away for doing stuff with their peers, but some protection against adult interference.

No. There should be a logical sliding scale. The closer the age gap, the lesser the law punishment.

I like this system.

How about we keep our arbitrarily assigned age limits, and give an exception to the law where any child needs permission from their legal guardian to do age restricted things.

Kids have parents (or guardians), they know their kids, they know what's up. The only thing you have to worry about then is kids suing their parents for doing what they wanted.

This is not a question you should bring to Sup Forums

Me too. It tries to protect inexperienced kids without criminalizing their sexuality too much. There are still obvious issues (under 18/send nudie pic to anyone=instant CP violation) that need to be worked out, but when around half of U.S. teens have already had sex by the time they turn 18, the laws are obviously silly.

yeah I also like this

If you are afraid that your friends begin to think bad thing about you, just because you are able to debate properly, then you need better friends.

Furthermore, you should not censor yourself just to comfort someone's ignorance.

In germany, parents (or guardians) can give their go to their kids from 14 on to have sex with an older person if they are in a real relationship (which is judged by the parents of the time).

ITT: OP Did to many psychedelics and can't be normal anymore.

If being normal means being an ignorant and prejudiced, if thinking outside of the box means he is not normal, then its a good thing that OP isnt "normal" anymore.

For dating: Your age, divided by 2 plus 7
For Pedos: Under 12
For sick fucks: 12 - 15
For being shady (jailbait): 16 - 18

But plz don't defend this shit

I don't know about your life experience, but I've known many, many parents who do not know what is best for their kids in terms of relationships, and I don't like the idea of putting that power in the hands of the controlling style of parent.

Lol what makes you say that? Because I'm challenging social convention and not blindly accepting everything I come into contact with as truth? For the record, yes I have done psychedelics, but if they have impacted my way of thinking, in such an extreme and identifiable way, I'm curious what my tell is.

Seconded. If a teen has rights, they should have fucking rights. Besides, all that would do is mean some poor teens broke the law because their GF's parents feel like it, or because one parent hates gays, etc.. Much of the time the first act happens unplanned, and then they have to go ask daddy if they broke the law?? Eww.

Well, speaking from my own experience (Im not the poster you are referring to):
Psychedelics make you question everything you know or believe to know. You question moral, societal norms, you question the foundation of society.
It is not usual for "normal" people, i.e. those who never did psychedelics, to think in such a way as you do. Their moral code has never been dissolved by psychedelics, thats why it so unthinkable to say what you said, to think what you think.

To be honest, I can't remember how I thought/what I was like before psychedelics. I remember that after LSD, I felt like i had been psychologically reborn, and had wiped all prior preconceived notion from my mind.

I guess I hadn't put 2 and 2 together to realize that these are the real world manifestations of that shift in consciousness. Kinda scary man. There are definitely downsides.

Well, depends on how you look at it.
I dont see it as a negative thing. Quite the opposite, I am happy that I was able to shake off preconceived shit.
It means I have less bullshit in my life.
Which in turn means, I have less/no shitty, close minded people in my life.

Do not fear, see it as an opportunity to improve yourself and your life.