This speaks for me...

...so rather than reinerate what's already been said, I'll just say I can agree with just about everything written by Mesmerized here.

Let me just add that the people who mistreated you as a child may have had physical attractions to children, but are not emotionally or spirtually (a term I use unreligiously) attracted to children. They see children as objects for their sexual desires rather than human beings. This is what seperates them from us. Additionally, they are people who act on those desires, thoughts alone, no matter how depraved, are never crime. I would suggest though, that pedophiles who don't like children other than finding them physically attracted, should probably not be around children... I mean, why else would they want to?

And never let your personal experiences with certain people define how you think about everyone who falls into a selective category. If I did that, I would think pretty badly of lesbians. The few I've known anyway have had issues.