system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
I think that pedophilia is a sexual orientation, just like being gay or straight is. CMV

So basically, from what I've seen, heard and read, pedophiles do not have a choice in their attraction towards children. Just like gays do not have a choice. I've also never understood the blatant hatred for pedophiles. I feel nothing but sorry for them. They should be able to get help and cope with the fact that they can never live out their seuxality rather than being demonized by society like they are.
gpt
Pedophilia is seen as both a sexual orientation AND a mental illness. The most basic criteria for any mental illness is that it causes some level of unhappiness and/or dysfunction. 

Because pedophilia is illegal to act upon, anywhere, it will almost by necessity just frustrate you. It's essentially denying you the ability to legally act upon your sex drive, one of the most powerful aspects of a person's psyche. 

People hate pedophiles not because they are attracted to children, but because they ACT upon that attraction. Sure, you get the minority who hate just about any pedophile (just like you get a vocal minority that hates gays for no good reason) but most reasonable people will likely commend a pedophile that voluntarily submits themselves for treatment without having committed any crimes.

People are often afraid/wary of pedophiles because EVERY kind of person will act on their sex drive, even if it's immoral in other ways, under the right circumstances. How many marriages or relationships end because somebody just wanted sex one night and their significant other wouldn't give it to them? It's only rational to think that even an otherwise good person, who is also a pedophile, will at some point be unable to control their sexual desires and molest a child.