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naraburns  nihil supernum  2yr ago (text post)   36582 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of October 24, 2022

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Whether the end product of that abuse is sexual or physical or psychological, the grooming approach is the same. And, IMO, a groomer doesn't even need to acknowledge to themselves that they are harming the child. A lot of abusers trick themselves into thinking that their abuse is utilitarian.

That would suggest that if you believe religious indoctrination is psychologically harmful to the kids, that pretty much all religious figures are groomers. They build up a relationship, assert authority, define what is good or bad, have specific places where they instruct kids. They of course don't see it as harm but your definition means that is irrelevant, and many ex-Catholics do feel that the level of guilt they were subject to was harmful.

At which point I think the definition is too broad to be useful.

I mean, yes? A key difference is parental involvement, and those indoctrinations being time-tested for not being wildly destructive for most people. But I would be similarly dismayed if there were some small but visible on social media movement of conservative youth pastors to infiltrate the school system and use their position to convince teen girls to immediately marry an older man and birth a quiverful of babies. This happened an ocean away, and it was still considered worthy of the news bringing it to my attention a few months ago; I am comfortable suggesting that girl was groomed.

A key difference is parental involvement, and those indoctrinations being time-tested for not being wildly destructive for most people.

But if they groomed the parents first into their beliefs....

See this is the issue with expanding the definitions that much. It becomes way too broad. It also favors first movers as to who can groom 1 generation into some kind of belief.

And we do see people here criticizing parents who push their kids into trans behaviors even. So that again would also transfer that complaint to religious parents. If everyone is a groomer then no-one is basically.

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