Needed to make this a main post for the sake of visibility, but in general, I think reset the clock did a lot more damage than help, because of the fact that people believe that the only reason you could ever be against a certain thing, is because you’re engaging in it yourself, when we know for a fact that isn’t the case.
To be specific, it is very much possible to be against loli/shota porn and not be an IRL predator. People like Ableist forget that, while I’m not against it existing per se, I understand why certain places would ban it altogether, and I would actually like for Ableist or anyone else to actually post the specific places where “governments ban loli/shota porn and waste police resources” where people have actually been arrested for the sole possession of that fictional content, because as much as you say that, I’ve never seen it. Unless that’s like a European thing, I’ve generally never heard of that before.
I just don’t get why some people don’t understand why the average person thinks that someone who jerks off to loli/shota porn isn’t right in the head.
It's because the fandom, just like the furries, tends to be really fucking annoying both about their fetish and in general. You also have an ideation of a child that you would fuck, which carries with it a number of concerning implications considering the absolute nightmare fuel (if we're carrying the comparison) that manifests between furfags and their own dogs - the details of which at least 1 in 3 are almost unapologetic in discussing. "DOGS CAN CONSENT GUYS!" is not a controversial statement among them and I can hardly imagine the loli/shota community being particularly rigid against pedophilia by comparison.
While I wouldn't condone arresting someone on the basis that they look at loli or shota, I would rather it be contained in whatever online Weimar Republic it crawled out of and I am not exactly chomping at the bit to defend these people either. They spammed our boards with their shit for years so my thoughts are approximately "I don't know, but fuck em." and I have very little reason to change my mind. You're not a canary in the coal mine, you're a rat in the shithouse. You should know this and the limitations of being a rat.
If furries were rounded up and set on fire tomorrow I don't think I would move an inch. That should tell you what I think about this whole topic.
While I agree with your point, most places these days I see the "topic" brought up considerably more by people ranting and raving against it than any actual fetish consumers. It was certainly more spammed in the past, but now its almost contained to dark corners (where it belongs) while crusaders scream about it constantly.
I rant against the users because like furries being in denial about being animal fuckers; lolicons insist they're not pedophiles. Both groups are determined to pretend there's nothing wrong with it