The Jeff Bezos-owned Washington Post has been called out in recent days for using language that critics say is “normalizing” and “minimizing” the concept of pedophilia, trying to pass off the crime as acceptable in the name of diversity.
According to Fox News, some of the examples of the Post supporting pedophilia include the paper’s printed support for a book being used in schools that includes scenes of gay oral sex between two 10-year-old boys, as well as giving a positive review of a play that normalizes sexual predators.
The Post’s senior drama critic Peter Marks praised the play “Downstate,” noting in the title of his review that the play “is a play about pedophiles,” and that “it’s also brilliant.”
“Take a deep breath and try to ruminate calmly on the position playwright Bruce Norris takes in his scintillating new play, ‘Downstate’: that the punishments inflicted on some pedophiles are so harsh and unrelenting as to be inhumane,” said Marks in his review. “It’s almost impossible to broad-brush the perspective at the heart of this impeccably acted drama without sounding as if one is advocating some extraordinary level of consideration for individuals who have committed unspeakable crimes.”
“The predators who’ve completed their prison terms are depicted not as monsters but rather as complicated, troubled souls,” Marks continued as he described the play’s main characters.
“The Washington Post has become a part of the pipeline. We’re bringing these transformational changes to our culture so that they have become part of the depravity,” said Julie Quist, chairwoman of the Child Protection League. “They’re minimizing, they’re normalizing the concept of… adults having sex with children. It’s a deliberate attempt to shift sympathy, sympathy from the victim of violence against children to the perpetrator. So that’s very intentional.”
Addressing the controversial review of the pro-pedophile play. Quist said that “it’s a primary tenet of the culture war to break through taboos, especially sexual taboos. The whole idea is to break down the culture that we have and the boundaries that have been established, especially to protect children.”
“What we saw in this play, and also the write up from The Washington Post on the play, is showing sympathy, not to those who are just attracted to minors, which is concerning on its on its face value, but actually showing sympathy to those who are convicted of committing heinous crimes against children,” said Beverly Halberg, senior fellow at the Independent Women’s Forum.
The Post also wrote articles back in December defending the book Lawn Boy, a pro-LGBTQ book that depicts a scene of oral sex between two prepubescent boys. Even though the book’s author, Jonathan Evison, admits that he never wanted his book to be featured in school libraries, the Post published criticism of parents who protested the book’s inclusion, accusing them of spreading “misinformation.”
“A mom wrongly said the book showed pedophilia,” said the piece by Post reporter Hannah Natanson. “School libraries banned it.” Natanson went on to highlight the claims of two parents in particular, whose speeches at school board meetings regarding the book went viral, but who incorrectly claimed that the book depicted a sex scene between a grown man and an underaged boy.
“The thrill of it, is to take what we consider boundaries, normal boundaries of our culture that have existed to protect children and to keep their innocence, and just shove it in people’s faces,” said Quist on the subject of the Post defending the pornographic book. “This is a campaign to desensitize the public horror against violating the innocence of children. And The Washington Post has become a player in that campaign, a very aggressive player, and it’s dangerous to children.”