The Political Compass

[Doc]

Hi,
First, 'anecdote' is not the singular of 'data', so even if I credited your story, it would have little weight with me as evidence.

Second, assuming for the moment that your stories about yourself are true, you were an abused kid.  You were incapable of distinguishing random physical abuse from corrective punishment.  Apparently your years have not increased your wisdom in this matter.  Since, by your account, you had damned little affection or tenderness, do you really think an appeal to either emotion would have worked?  You take an extreme case, the one you portrayal of your self.  You admit, indeed glory, in its deviation from the norm.  And then you claim to understand the norm on the basis of that same extreme case.  Even if your account of yourself is true, your logic is false.  A deviant situation is not an indicator for the norm except, occasionally, in the negative.

As for me, I'd a damned sight sooner discuss this with someone that has something more than doubtful personal stories as a basis for their opinion and argument.

--Pete
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But there are entirely to many other kids just like me, and adults that were at one time, kids just like I was.

I see it when I go out in public. The mothers walking around with their filthy broods in Wal Mart. Some kid bawls for something and gets slapped in the back of the skull or has a hard slap on the ass. It does nothing. These kids are right back to misbehaving a moment later or asking for something else. If these spankings worked, why is it that a mother can slap her child silly at least a dozen times or more while they are in the store and the kid does nothing to change their behaviour? I mean, if it works, why does it keep happening? Why does it need to keep happening? Why is it that when I was sitting on the bench by the restroom in Target not to long ago waiting on my wife and her squirrely friends, I saw some poor mother haul her kid in the restroom not once, not twice, but four times to tan her little kid's ass? He was just kicking and screaming away as he was being hauled over the floor and everybody who was anybody could hear what was going on in the ladies restroom. If these spankings are so effective, and work so well, why was it that it took four spankings and then leaving the store with a cartful of goods left unpurchased to deal with this little brat?

I don't see it working. What I do see work in long term is in the trenches tough love. Boot camp like conditions. Take away stuff that kids like. Stripping their room bare except for a bed and a blanket. And then sticking to it instead of folding like a house of cards when the kid bitches. Make their lives a living hell. No kool aid or delicious snacks. No desserts. No treats or delicious foods of any kinds. If you make their lives miserable and stick to it and apply the effort that it takes to enforce the rules, it works. I have seen it. Kids can't stand being bored. It kills them. And making them work to get their stuff back also kills them. Instead of just getting everything they had back all at once at the end of the week, it's better to make them slave away for it. If they want their nintendo back, require them to do 20 hours of labour. If they want computer time back, more hard labour. If they want snacks and something other than water to drink, make them earn it. If they want to watch tv that night, make em work an hour for each hour of tv they get to watch. Believe me, when kids realise that you can make their lives a living hell, they are capable of extraordinary behaviour. Kids aint dumb. They know if they screw up, it's going to take bloody forever to get stuff back, they don't screw up. You can't beat it in to kids to behave. But you can make deals with them if you keep it simple and on terms they can understand.

Spanking is the easy five minute fix. Instead of being an effective active parent, it's easier just to apply physical violence and get it over with. That way you can go about with your own business and not have to worry. It takes to much time and effort to strip your kid's room bare, lock all of their stuff in a trunk, take away their tv, their games, their cd collection, their radio, and strip everything out of their room. That's way to much trouble. Heck, most parents would rather sit on the couch and watch tv themselves. Or do whatever it is that they do. Either that, or they are to busy to even care. And that is the problem that I see. Bad kids, bad parents. There are exceptions of course, good parents with really bad kids. But with two parents both working jobs, and all these little latch key kids running around, these kids are monsters. Horrid little monsters. These little monsters are going to grow in to horrid adults. I don't even like to think about it.

I watch and I observe a lot of what goes on around me. I like to watch people. Some times. When the mood strikes me. And I don't like what I have been seeing lately.