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Comment by ludicast | Hacker News Reader

I lived about 3 blocks away from him and was friends with his daughter when we were about preschool/kindergarten age. Back then I said I would marry her someday (I grew up and eventually married someone else in the end).

Chip was an interesting guy, he always was a jolly santalike figure and seemed really involved with his daughter's life (She split time between him and his ex-wife). I didnt know then about his sex life (would be weird if I did) but knowing about him now I can admire the way he candidly wrote about himself.

But he was a great author and I remember once interviewing him for a class when I needed some book report insights.

Fun fact. In some essay-book he wrote about a time his daughter Iva beat me and some other boys in a peeing contest. Maybe that s why I never made the cut to marrying her.

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> I didnt know then about his sex life

Did you know he was a pedophile? Did you read "in the valley of the spiders"?

Because in that context your entire post makes me ill.

I didn't to either. After a quick googling I see some pro-nambla weirdnesses with him. Don't see anything looking like victims coming forward so I'd give him the benefit of the doubt. I think...

But I only had good experiences with his daughter and him. Doubt I have any repressed memories there - would have repressed other worse shit in my life too :).

But I might Google more later. At a starbucks so I don't feel like googling for the word "pedophilia".

2014 interview with Delany about this here: http://shetterly.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/a-conversation-with-...

Interesting article and a cautionary tale for moral relativists.

Still hold to my initial impressions of him. That he was a big hearted fellow, a brilliant author, a doting father, and in his books/interviews very open about his sexuality.

His opinions on kids are odd, granted. It seems like a lot of people like him who get molested at a young age (thinking of Milo) rewrite their lives to be hypersexual.

When I was six, I was friends with a boy called Luke.

I visited his house dozens of times, knew all the family, shared toys, they belonged to the same religion as my parents you see.

25 years later I discovered Luke's father had been buggering his son the whole time. Still in prison, I think. I remember nothing strange or sexual happening despite visiting so frequently.

Same thing with that Carl guy on Reddit who was giving programming classes. It's always hard to believe, it was a shock for the community.

Point is, don't take normalcy for normal.

I don't think people, even pedophiles, are evil just for having their thoughts (because a hunt for thought criminals is something that spirals out of control so easily), but Jesus Christ they should keep those thoughts and reality very separated or it'll cause a lot of suffering for everybody.

If there are people reading this who have those urges, I suggest thinking going to the doctor, there exist drugs which deplete sexual desire. Taking a step like that shows strength, not a weakness.

I agree with everything you said. Not sure exactly where to place someone like him in these categories.

I still doubt he was an actual molester, but I will say that support of nambla is a bit odd. That said I always give the benefit of the doubt until accusers come forward. Like I feel Milo was mostly just trolling.

Course I'm a little naive too. I initially thought subway Jared couldn't be a molester because he just looked too much like a molester.

"Iva the Bonerless"

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