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The German Experiment That Placed Foster Children with Pedophiles

73 points by amadeuspagel 5y ago

fouc 5y ago
Appalling. I think we need to examine the types of social structures that can be exploited to allow situations like this to happen. For example it seems to me that it's too easy for people near the top of hierarchical structures to enable and abet all sorts of abuses. In a way, this sexologist created his own hierarchy within a larger structure, which enabled him to avoid oversight.
- pstuart 5y ago
  > I think we need to examine the types of social structures that can be exploited to allow situations like this to happen. "Trust but verify" should be baked into every public power structure; with an emphasis on the "verify" part being game-able and constantly evolving.
- KwisatzHaderack 5y ago
  > I think we need to examine the types of social structures that can be exploited to allow situations like this to happen. The article attributed this type of thing happening under the guise of "preventing fascism", which is very understandable for post-WW2 Germans. Kentler claimed that fascism was caused by repressed sexual desires. Therefore, de-stigmatizing all forms of sexual desires, even pedophilia, would prevent another Holocaust. In that sense, this wasn't the result of social structures per se, but unique to that period of German history.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
jeff3dx 5y ago
Not sure how this is a hacker story or tech.
- DoctorOW 5y ago
  > On-Topic: Anything that good hackers would find interesting. That includes more than hacking and startups. If you had to reduce it to a sentence, the answer might be: anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity. Source: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- plank_time 5y ago
  Don’t read it then. The beauty of HN is how it breaks the echo chamber and introduces people like me to articles I never would have seen. This particular one is shocking and sad, I probably won’t be able to sleep at night at his angering it is.
imwillofficial 5y ago
News like this makes my blood boil. Children are a societies most precious resource. They should be protected at all costs, even if some scientific progress is missed along the way. The religion of science is as insane as other religions known for problems with pedophilia.
- legerdemain 5y ago
  More precious than coal?
  - SV_BubbleTime 5y ago
    Certainly not in terms of energy density.
    - alasdair_ 5y ago
      One of the many reasons the plot of the matrix (“the humans are batteries”) fails to make sense.
      - emteycz 5y ago
        I heard a story that people were supposed to be processing units, but someone (the producers maybe?) thought it's too hard to understand. A minor modification that makes the movie enjoyable again IMHO.
        dragonwriter 5y ago
        > (the producers maybe?) The version I read many years back from what I recall to be a fairly reliable source is “test audiences”, though I can't find hard confirmation of that noe (lots of unsourced internet comments that agree, but...)
    - Mister_X 5y ago
      Since you went there... I'll remind you that children are renewable, whereas coal is not.
livinginfear 5y ago
(from the article) "Helmut Kentler, had been one of the most influential sexologists in Germany..." Does this profession have any remaining dignity for this article to damage? I have an exceedingly low opinion of the institution that is social science, and the academic institutions that support it. > In 1960, Kentler got a degree in psychology, a field that allowed him to be “an engineer in the realm of the . . . manipulatable soul,” he said at a lecture. I see no reason to believe that the academic institutions that persist these institution do not all see themselves in this role as an "engineer in the realm of the manipulatable soul". They ostensibly exist solely for propagandistic purposes, pushing an agenda of leftist orthodoxy.
- Galaxity 5y ago
  You have a low opinion of archaeology, history, economics, law, and geography?
  - livinginfear 5y ago
    I think my intent to express my low opinion of psychology and associated academic pursuits was obvious.
    - Galaxity 5y ago
      Of course it was obvious. The issue being the implication that all social sciences are suspect, despite the obviousness.
      - whoaisme 5y ago
        It's not wrong though. Every social "science" is suspect, some much more so than others, despite their usefulness.
- smegcicle 5y ago
  john money has been revealed as a visionary, and before long kentler will be understood as well
_rutinerad 5y ago
Well, this is a new one: ” You must give consent to targeting tracking to see this content. Open my cookie preferences.”…
jk20 5y ago
Adoptions an foster care should be illegal as it invariably attracts various creeps trying to get hold of someone else's children and abuse them. If you cannot have your own children, you are already defective in some way and you better not impose your damage on others.
neonate 5y ago
https://archive.is/aapPO https://archive.is/aapPO
rasz 5y ago
Pedophiles and Nazis, this story has it all.

73 points by amadeuspagel 5y ago

fouc 5y ago

Appalling. I think we need to examine the types of social structures that can be exploited to allow situations like this to happen. For example it seems to me that it's too easy for people near the top of hierarchical structures to enable and abet all sorts of abuses. In a way, this sexologist created his own hierarchy within a larger structure, which enabled him to avoid oversight.

pstuart 5y ago
> I think we need to examine the types of social structures that can be exploited to allow situations like this to happen. "Trust but verify" should be baked into every public power structure; with an emphasis on the "verify" part being game-able and constantly evolving.
KwisatzHaderack 5y ago
> I think we need to examine the types of social structures that can be exploited to allow situations like this to happen. The article attributed this type of thing happening under the guise of "preventing fascism", which is very understandable for post-WW2 Germans. Kentler claimed that fascism was caused by repressed sexual desires. Therefore, de-stigmatizing all forms of sexual desires, even pedophilia, would prevent another Holocaust. In that sense, this wasn't the result of social structures per se, but unique to that period of German history.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

jeff3dx 5y ago

Not sure how this is a hacker story or tech.

DoctorOW 5y ago
> On-Topic: Anything that good hackers would find interesting. That includes more than hacking and startups. If you had to reduce it to a sentence, the answer might be: anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity. Source: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
plank_time 5y ago
Don’t read it then. The beauty of HN is how it breaks the echo chamber and introduces people like me to articles I never would have seen. This particular one is shocking and sad, I probably won’t be able to sleep at night at his angering it is.

imwillofficial 5y ago

News like this makes my blood boil. Children are a societies most precious resource. They should be protected at all costs, even if some scientific progress is missed along the way. The religion of science is as insane as other religions known for problems with pedophilia.

legerdemain 5y ago
More precious than coal?
- SV_BubbleTime 5y ago
  Certainly not in terms of energy density.
  - alasdair_ 5y ago
    One of the many reasons the plot of the matrix (“the humans are batteries”) fails to make sense.
    - emteycz 5y ago
      I heard a story that people were supposed to be processing units, but someone (the producers maybe?) thought it's too hard to understand. A minor modification that makes the movie enjoyable again IMHO.
      - dragonwriter 5y ago
        > (the producers maybe?) The version I read many years back from what I recall to be a fairly reliable source is “test audiences”, though I can't find hard confirmation of that noe (lots of unsourced internet comments that agree, but...)
  - Mister_X 5y ago
    Since you went there... I'll remind you that children are renewable, whereas coal is not.

livinginfear 5y ago

(from the article) "Helmut Kentler, had been one of the most influential sexologists in Germany..." Does this profession have any remaining dignity for this article to damage? I have an exceedingly low opinion of the institution that is social science, and the academic institutions that support it. > In 1960, Kentler got a degree in psychology, a field that allowed him to be “an engineer in the realm of the . . . manipulatable soul,” he said at a lecture. I see no reason to believe that the academic institutions that persist these institution do not all see themselves in this role as an "engineer in the realm of the manipulatable soul". They ostensibly exist solely for propagandistic purposes, pushing an agenda of leftist orthodoxy.

Galaxity 5y ago
You have a low opinion of archaeology, history, economics, law, and geography?
- livinginfear 5y ago
  I think my intent to express my low opinion of psychology and associated academic pursuits was obvious.
  - Galaxity 5y ago
    Of course it was obvious. The issue being the implication that all social sciences are suspect, despite the obviousness.
    - whoaisme 5y ago
      It's not wrong though. Every social "science" is suspect, some much more so than others, despite their usefulness.
smegcicle 5y ago
john money has been revealed as a visionary, and before long kentler will be understood as well

_rutinerad 5y ago

Well, this is a new one: ” You must give consent to targeting tracking to see this content. Open my cookie preferences.”…

jk20 5y ago

Adoptions an foster care should be illegal as it invariably attracts various creeps trying to get hold of someone else's children and abuse them. If you cannot have your own children, you are already defective in some way and you better not impose your damage on others.

neonate 5y ago

https://archive.is/aapPO https://archive.is/aapPO

rasz 5y ago

Pedophiles and Nazis, this story has it all.