Are there any gay-hating kooks out there who read this site? Are any of you also pedophiles? If so, please, let me know so I can respond. My mother is very concerned that my visibility on the web may be making me a target. This wave of paranoia was prompted by an e-mail she received from my uncle, who found this site while searching for his last name and was very alarmed that there are pictures of my nieces and nephews to be found here. (Witness, if you will, the speed with which any presence of children on a site with gay content becomes associated with the threat of pedophilia.) Apparently, by acknowledging that I have a family who I love and choosing to share some of my expereriences with them with my small cadre of readers, any display of the children will send the many pedophiles who frequent my site into a stalking frenzy. And apparently when pedophiles are prowling the internet for children to abuse, their searches will bring them right here, from which they will be able to play detective and track down my nieces and nephews, despite the complete lack of information about them besides who their parents might be. Parents, I should mention, who have been pleased to see family pictures presented on the web in a loving context. Their parents also, presumably, are doing a damn good job of monitoring their children’s online activites, which are where the real risks would arise.
I have no sympathy or patience for anyone who would cause any harm to a child, particularly a child who I know and love. There are reasons I don’t include addresses for e-mail address for my nieces and nephews, or any other child who makes an appearance here. I think it’s a hysterical, knee-jerk reaction to assume that an image of a child immediately puts that child at risk. Where can the line be drawn? Should children be shrouded in public like Muslim women? Should they be banned from appearing in magazines, television, movies, sports? When does fear and concern require withdrawal from society?
On a final note, I’m pleased to say that after five years or so of publishing on the web, I have never been a focus for the attention of gay-hating kooks. I suppose there’s plenty of better fodder for their narrow agenda. I have, however, grown as a writer and a person and made countless wonderful friends. I have encouraged a few people to accept themselves and come out to their own family and friends, with great results. I have inspired a few people to indulge their own creative instincts. I’ve gotten an unflattering e-mail or two, but usually because someone disagreed with my opinion or didn’t get a joke. I haven’t seen any risks online that don’t exist for any person who engages in real-world society, but I have seen advantages that I would not have experienced otherwise.