>>63708
It mostly has to do with the meaning behind the label and the consequences that come from it.
The term pedo has come to be a catch all term for people who pray on children, no one cares about the specifics, the details, etc, it's gross, weird, and morally wrong (to most western cultures anyways, not defending actual pedos, just making a point), so we should hate it, and burn anyone accused of it at the stake. As such no one would want to be associated with it, as they rightfully shouldn't, but especially when what they're into isn't explicitly related to what the term commonly refers to.
If we're talking plain, by the dictionary standards, then yes, cub fans are pedos, but given what "pedo" means now, they're not cut from the same cloth.
Also, consider this, not everyone into cubs gets off to it specifically because "they're kids", they could simply be into it for the features included on the character, big eyes, small body, large head, etc. The brain's hard wired to like things like that, hell, disney, and later japan, boiled that down into a marketable substance. For some they enjoy it for it's wholesome qualities alone, for others they take it further, the "cub" comes into play usually through assumptions and associations given the inherent youthful qualities of said aspects, case in point many would consider pic related to be a cub based off looks alone, when in reality she has no specified age, but is always depicted as "mature".