We were there, conversing as friends do. Because we believe in the importance of the family, our topic naturally turned to our children. Children, we are convinced, remain to be one of the most vulnerable victims of the modern day. We were pondering the phenomenon of homosexuality and the preponderance of evidence that suggest sexual abuse done to children causes this. Not only homosexuality, but also a plethora of other deviancy. I have recently read Dobson’s important book “Bringing Up Boys”. There, Dobson strongly advises against leaving boys and girls to the care of any adult who is not the child’s parents if only to remove the possibility however remote of a sexual abuse. The stakes are simply too high. A singular act done to a child can change the course of that child’s life and his perception of himself.
As we lamented this fact, she started speaking manifestations of the magic I speak of. She suddenly said the reason why there are too many children being sexually abused recently is because of – you guessed it – drugs. Her remark startled me. It came out of nowhere, and the connection seemed to me rather forced. I did not respond and simply stared back at her. She went on how drugs has been a total menace, and how children now are paying the price because drug addicts are sexually molesting them. Again, I did not respond. That thread of the conversation having properly left hanging, we went on to talk about other things.
First, the facts. There is absolutely no evidence I can find that can support her assertion. There is of course a link between drug addiction and criminality, evidence supports this. But to draw a straight line from drug addiction and being predisposed to sexually abuse children is irresponsible.
To begin with, to draw a straight line between drug addiction and crime, we need to understand what we mean by crime.
There are three categories of drug-related crime that we know of:
- Drug behavior – crimes that resulted from drug users’ mental state and behavior have been altered by the chemical effects of drugs. Examples of this are rape, murder, etc.
- Economic – crimes that resulted from drug users’ need to acquire drugs. Examples of this are theft, robbery, holdup, etc.
- Structural – crimes that resulted from actors to maintain the structure and hierarchy of the drug trade. Examples of this are drug smuggling, turf wars, etc.
Out of the three categories, my friend is obviously alluding to drug behavior. I am yet to see evidence that drug addiction causes one to sexually abuse children. To establish this link, one must make the case that child molesters are – for the most part – drug addicts. Again, there is no evidence of this.
However, this is the second fact that is troubling: The converse is true. There is strong evidence that the reason why many are drug addicts is because they have been sexually molested as children. Studies confirm that children who experienced being sexually molested go through changes in the chemistry and neurology of their brains that predisposes them to drug dependency. This is fact.
To those who subscribe to the magic that posits drugs as the source of all evil, this is a most inconvenient fact. For this magic to work, it must first assume that drug addiction is a choice. And since it is such, drug addicts must be held accountable for their choice. This magic is reinforced by juxtaposing their cruelty and the horrible sorrow and calamity they bring to their victims. Their victims must be avenged. An eye for an eye ad infinitum.
What of the fact that these drug addicts we so quickly vilify are themselves victims? The dark magic will have none of that. For indeed that will break the magic down. The government policies, like magic spells, must be rewritten. The Dark Lord himself must apologize. The Dark Lord does no such thing.
Until then, we can only hope our own children will not suffer his wrath.
