Myth: Alcoholism can’t be blamed for pedophilia (etc etc etc)
Don't Blame Alcoholism
"Don't blame alcohol,"read the caption to a letter to the editor in USA Today. Letter writer Cheryl James of Englewood, FL wrote that Congressman Mark Foley attempted to blame his behavior on alcoholism. "Alcoholism alone does not cause pedophilia or turn someone into a sexual predator.â€
No, Ms. James, alcoholism does not by itself turn people into predators. However, without damage to the neo-cortex and, therefore, a loss of restraint on the impulses of the lower brain centers, such misbehavior is unlikely to occur. Impulses vary by addict, which with environment, circumstances, Psychological Type of the addict and virulence, determines the style of addiction and the misbehaviors in which the addict will engage. If the style is one of ...
