Recently, there has been a universal outcry regarding the perceived archaic means and barbaric methods caretakers are using to discipline children.
Often “spare the rod, spoil the child” has been cited justification for using lethal weapons, tools, or instruments while doling out severe punishment to quell disobedience! Regardless, ”whippings” are often justified in the name of morality and Christianity.
Heck, in spite of public opinions, during my day and in a lickety-split, mom would not hesitate to liberally apply wood, metal, liquid, or stone smack-dab on my azz.
Tree limbs, broom sticks, ironing and extension cords, belts, scalding hot water, razor straps, paddles, profanity, fists, and even from the barrel of a gun were “accessories” within her arsenal when she routinely communicated her displeasure with my deeds.
Back then, mom didn’t give a crap what the community thought. Her hard and fast rule was, “Wench, I brought you into this world and I can damn well take you out.”
There was no “sanctuary” nor noisy neighbors or conscientious townspeople who closed ranks to prevent me from any of her raw smack downs. Many times before, during, and afterwards, I wanted a coroner’s inquest convened so that the remnants of my body and dejected spirit could be removed from her mean and cruel hands!
Moving on…
Like you, gave lots of contemplative thought to the hullabaloo created when Adrian Peterson, for whatever reason, “spanked” his son.
Talk about sensationalism!
Stemming from my own experiences, naturally I nourished innumerable “throw back” memories of the relentless blows unleashed on my fragile body.
Wondered…
Wondered why Peterson suffered such a backlash to the assertion of his parental authority?
Wondered why so many folks chose the path of collective amnesia regarding our “whipping” history?
Wondered why so many folks tried to erase or sanitize America’s barbaric past?
Where were you?
Where were you when legions of slaveholders and scores of overseers rendered unspeakable punishment to generations of enslaved blacks?
Where were you when enslaved blacks tolerated psychological scars and physical savagery associated with being unmercifully whipped, mutilated, raped, starved, flogged, burned, shackled, separated from family, branded, maimed, hoisted by the thumbs, poisoned, falsely imprisoned, lynched, and murdered?
Where were you when enslaved blacks were routinely castrated, endured forced breeding, succumbed to dog bites, submitted to amputations, and were even hog-tied and chained?
Where were you when other unpleasant apparatus accompanied mistreatments or when enslaved blacks suffered from inadequate nutrition, were openly paraded naked, or when they supplied America with uncompensated labor without representation or reparations?
Why…
And, why were you “slow as a swamp turtle” to express your ethical qualms, righteous indignation, and realm of reason to the bleakest examples of “excessive” and grisly victimization endured by a group of black-skinned people for centuries?
So, remind me again why you were expeditiously quick to condemn Peterson yet so fashionably late at liberally expressing your objections to those documented atrocities inflicted upon people of color decades and decades and decades ago?
Moving on…
I repeat, although I whole-heartedly believe in disciplining a child, I draw the line in using “excessive” modes and prolonged punitive measures that injures a child or borders on abuse. Also, reprehensible to me is the accompaniment of dangerous objects used during the correction of the behavior.
Whether it’s Peterson’s son, enslaved blacks, or even Andrea Giggetts, imposing “excessive” chastisement on individuals is detrimental to one’s health and welfare.
And, I might add, still haven’t read any scholarly or scientific explanations to support perpetuators’ horrifically inflicting pain upon children.
Bottom line, there’s no room in this society for crazed fiends and psychopaths, disguised as loving parents and concerned caretakers, to “excessively” invoke a “dose of strap oil” that may lead to injury or death just because of your freedoms, convictions, dogma, or even your purported inalienable rights!
