Will Neil molest boys too?

You bring up an interesting point -- and I think this may have been addressed elsewhere, but I'm not sure how deeply people really delved into it for discussion.

It's my belief that Neil accepted what had happened to him when he was younger because he didn't think anything particularly bad or wrong had occurred -- he did enjoy it, and he loved his coach and believed his coach loved him too, that he was coach's 'favourite'. He kept memories of that time held dearly to him, like they were something sacred and beautiful -- whenever you hear him talk about that time, it's almost with a sort of reverence.

If you think of it that way -- in that, Neil didn't see what happened to him as being sick or twisted -- he probably could have the potential to turn around and become a paedophile (key word there being could.) I believe that in that scene of the film, Neil said something to the point of, 'When kids do well, you gotta reward 'em.' That was him being uncharacteristically friendly, likely reverting back to the memories where he was essentially 'rewarded' (albeit in a drastically different way) as a kid, by his coach. Somewhere in his head he's still making that connection -- kids doing well = reward, but whether he would ever take that too far remains to be seen.

I'm actually surprised you find Neil to be a likeable person. He was definitely charismatic and even charming at times, and I felt very sympathetic towards him in terms of what he'd gone through, and yet I still wouldn't personally describe him as a likeable character.

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Why don't you take a pill, bake a cake, go read the encyclopaedia.

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I don't think so. I don't think they made it super-clear in the movie, but in the book, it's quite obvious that Eric's reaction to the way Neil treats that boy has nothing to do with it being "inappropriate." It's because Neil is such a jerk to everyone else. Eric expected Neil to be rude to the kid, like he would be with anybody else, but he was really sweet.

There are definitely some hallmarks of his relationship with Coach, like the stroking on the back of the head, but unlike a molester (who tends to get focused on/preoccupied with his target), he just brushes off the encounter with the kid. Eric gives him a weird look and he's like, "What? No big deal," and doesn't look at all flustered or guilty. He doesn't stare longingly after the kid or anything, just lets him walk away.

Also, it seems to me that Neil sees himself as the little boy in his sexual relationships. It's like he's trying to recreate his relationship with Coach. He goes for older men and spends most of his encounters being entirely on the receiving end. Even when he tops the one guy in NY, it seems to be because it's easy for him, all the work has been done for him, etc--he doesn't have to prep the guy or himself, just put on a condom and slide it in. Once again, he's like a little boy being guided through the motions.

You're a sexual Disneyland.

I think that when Neil got beaten by the john, it was the moment that he connected the childhood experiences with pain. He had to feel physical pain to understand the emotional pain he had been harboring. Maybe that experience cements in his mind just how wrong it is to abuse a child, even if he has mixed feelings about his own experiences. Especially during the scene at the end, it seems like Neil actually does comprehend how extensive the damage is, and that was just from one experience unlike the many he had endured. My hope would be that a person like Neil doesn't do the same thing when he gets older. But the danger is that, without proper treatment (I guess just therapy and a lot of self reflection) he could. Like a poster mentioned above, he continually sees himself as a child in sexual relationships, which might mean that he'd seek out a child because he feels like he's on the same emotional level as them.

The very disturbing documentary Stevie deals with that very concept. It's another great film that takes this taboo subject and humanizes it, which I think is more effective than demonizing it. Cartoons are hard to take seriously.

He's a man and has a penis... He has to be put to death just to be on the safe side.

Looked through my copy for this. I found the part where they watch porn together, and one of the scenes is a twinky young guy getting tied up, then saved by a stereotypical bear. There's also a mention of a variety of porn under the bed, but nothing about a guy hogtied in any of them. One is of a guy chained up, another is a younger guy giving a man a blowjob, and another is of a young guy in a group sex scenario with dubious consent. There's a reference to "young boys" and "preteens" who look obviously terrified, but...since those are the first-person-limited narrator's perceptions, and because these are in what appear to be published magazines, it's not unlikely that they're of-age actors picked for their youthful appearance.

It's creepy, but it doesn't necessarily prove that Neil is a child molester. Again, it's not uncommon for porn to take legal-aged actors and purposely make them look younger. Companies produce rape porn with actors pretending to be terrified, hurt, abused, etc all the time. Some people who watch rape/"fake child" porn may have some major issues, like Neil did with his molestation, but it doesn't mean they're actually going to abuse people.

You're a sexual Disneyland.

In the book Eric discovers that Neil has child pornography in the dresser drawer he always locks up. It has pre-teen boys with older men. The book pretty much confirms the boys are underage and not twinks.
Now, all that being said, do I think Neil could become a child molester too? That's a hard question to answer but I'd say no. Yes, he was looking at child pornography but I feel like it isn't just about the child but rather the innocence a child possesses. Maybe in his mind while he viewed the porn he imagined he and Coach doing stuff.
By the end of the book he does come to a realization about the true lasting effects of what happened and I feel like it made him finally open his eyes and see that where he may have enjoyed the experience and held it as something sacred it totally ruined Brian's life and stunted him emotionally. He came to realize it wasn't love. That Coach used them. I think that knowledge, seeing what Coach did through Brian, would be enough to deter him from ever molesting a child.

it's possible that he could but after realizing what brian had been going through for years & starting to come to grips with the reality of his own experience.. that they were used & not loved.. i don't think he would want to inflict that pain or confusion on another child.
plus if those are real porn magz they're not underage bc they couldn't've been published. thousands of porn stars male & female are popular & chosen bc of their youthful looks. they have ones specifically made to look super young.. small bodied, pigtails, sometimes they get braces, wear childish clothing, the works. just think of all the teacher/student classroom porn. they even have animated porn of very kids (it's legal bc it's animated or drawn). obviously not everyone or even most people who watch it would actually become a pedophile or harm a child in real life. & this instance especially.. just bc someone likes bondage (hot) & slender guys (cute) doesn't have anything to do with child porn. it's not like they're pictures of real 8 yr olds with old dudes. i'm not saying the older men with younger men thing might not remind him of the coach but that's completely different than having porn of actual children.