Calling Spades Spades, Duly

TRUMP IS A PEDOPHILE, is a refrain oft repeated among his enemies, of whom I am one. I seek the destruction of Trump. It aint the latest thang, as Mick Jagger once said, referring to looking at women. And it may be that the best way to faciliate Trump's destruction is to merely let Trump be Trump, as we like to say. Hating on folks and calling them names is richly fulfilling, but, alas, is worth only what it brings: emotional expression and momentary fulfillment.. But, I digress. Fact: whether Trump is a pedophile remains to be seen, as we say when uncertain. The fly in the ointment is this: It remains to be seen whether Trump is a pedophile for the simple but obvious and compellingly just reason that he has not yet been convicted of pedophilia by due procees in a court of law. And yes, its that simple. I for one have no doubts that he is indeed what millions say he is. But that, as we say, don't feed the bulldog. Due process, equal justice under law still matters, despite recent Supreme Court rulings to the evident contrary. Donald Trump was convicted last year, by due process in a duly authorized court of law, of rape. Remember E. Jean Carrol? Therefore, he is a rapist, tried and convicted, completely fairly. Now, in all factual fairness, years ago Trump paid a total of eighteen million dollars to the families of five very young children, for improper sexual contact. Trump, cornered, plea bargained. That, seemingly, is proof of pedaphilia. But wait. No, it is not. It is strong evidence, but not proof. There was no conviction. There was a plea bargain. In that agreement, Trump admitted no wrongdoing, nor was he duly convicted of any. One can call and accurately identify Trump as a rapist, but not a pedophile, at least not yet. That, as we say, is for another day. Is that not sufficient unto itself? If not, it should be. Pedophilia is scientifically medically defined as an ongoing sexual attraction to childern who have not yet reached puberty, generally kids thirteen years old or younger. Either or both sexes can be the object of sexual fantasies. You need to be a pedo for at least six months to be formally diagonsed as having this, what is described as a mental illness, a psychiactric disorder. Who knew? I always thought pedophilia was attraction to anyone under the age of eighteen by anyone over the age of eighteen. Attraction by an adult to any underage person. Alas, not so. Also, one needn't actually act on the urge to be so defined and diagnosed. The mere urge is sufficient. If you teach high schol, for instance, and you are sixty five years old, and you think one of your seventeen year old students is attractive, you are not a pedophile. It is probably not even fair to call you a pervert, or anything like that. What you are in that case is a perfectly normal human being, attracted to somebody much younger than you. Most if not all of us are probably "guilty" of that, of being attracted to people younger than we. When I taught high school, female students often walked up to me in the hall way between classes, and began converstaions with their noses about two inches from mine. I kept backing up, into the lockers, to keep my job. It cuts both ways. I can recall being attracted to a couple of female teachers when I was in hgih school. Hell, I was attracted to my lady music teacher when I was in sixth grade. As they say, no harm, no foul, "Pedophilia" is a term used far too often nowadays. it is too widely, indiscriminantly applied, especially now. Trump indeed may be a pedophile. But let's wait a bit. His underage victims probably had reached puberty. Like he himself said, he likes to grab pussy, and can (so he bragged) do it at will, because he is rich and famous. That is brazen, weird, perverted and criminal, but not pedophilic. Give credit where due. At least he, occasonally, is honest. Whether he is a pedophile remains to be seen, whether we like it or not. A we say, the proof is in the pudding.