Hitting your children is abuse. Regular hitting of your children perpetuates this abuse into the next generation. Our modern civilized society shuns this behavior, though it is still practiced by an alarming number of individuals.
PZ Myers writes about Joey Salvati, who has started a business whereby he sells paddles, and provides instructions on how to use them, to facilitate this form of abuse. The instructions also support this abusive behavior in two other ways: First, it systematizes it in the context of “love” … making it seem like the right thing to do … and second it is claimed that the specifics … the design details of the paddle as well as the mode and method of use … were conveyed to him … to Joey Salvati … by god. In the shower.
This is appalling in so many ways. The story is reported here, in an article written by Michael Aubele, in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. While the article provides information from the American Pediatrics Society indicating that striking your child is not more effective than other means of training or punishment, and does have negative consequences, and is usually done in a state of anger, and so on, the article remarkably totally ignores the very distinct … indeed, unavoidable … conclusion that Joey Salvati is mentally ill. He is hearing voices. He is not normal. Why does the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review report his odd behavior as though it was perfectly normal, even going so far as to provide helpful information for the reader who wishes to contact Mr. Salvati about purchasing one of his paddles, one of the paddles that he claims to have designed given specific instructions from god?
Think of the law suit. A child is regularly smitten by abusive parents using Mr. Salvati’s paddle and instructions. The parents learned of this from the Tribune-Review article. The child grows up and sues his parents. And the newspaper. And the author of the article who failed to point out the obvious.
But the Bible says it’s okay! (here are just the ones I found in Proverbs)
Proverbs 13:24 He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.
Proverbs 19:18 Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.
Proverbs 22:15 Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
Proverbs 23:13-14 Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.
Proverbs 29:15 The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.
“Spare the rod, spoil the child” is a call to parents to provide clear and consistent discipline to their children. As a Christian, I get very annoyed with those who insist this verse means to beat with a stick/belt/paddle/etc. That is definitely NOT in the spirit of what Jesus preached.
On the other hand, I don’t think banning paddles will do any good because what’s going to stop a believer in corporal punishment from using some other implement? My mom-in-law used to spank my DH with a wooden kitchen spoon- are you going to ban those too?
Jenny: Bless you child. Those are all embodied in the adage: Spare the rod, spoil the child…You are too young and innocent to remember the days when that was all pretty normal.
CW: Right, like I was just saying to Jenny. I think for a long time people absolutely interpreted the rod as the stick you hit the kid with, but I appreciate your strong suggestion that hitting the kid is not the way to go!
I would definitely not ban the paddles. Paddles don’t spank people, people spank people. But I wouldn’t mind having the local Sheriff look in on Weird Joey now and then…
It isn’t ok to stone adulterers. After Newt Gingrich and Rudy Giuliani are stoned to death for adultery, and after we ban polyester-cotton blends, then we can move on to random phrases from the Old Testament to justify beating up children.
We don’t allow people to keep Old Testament law. If someone was chanrged with rape because he decided that he had to impregnate his brother’s widow, no one would let him off the hook if he claimed “religious persecution”. Reasonable accommodation of religion involves things like not scheduling track meets on Yom Kippur, not saying “your children are your property, do whatever you want with them.
Ian: It may depend on what country you live in…
“But I wouldn’t mind having the local Sheriff look in on Weird Joey now and then,”
A sacriligeous amen to that.
Most of those proverbs speak of putting the rod to a “him”, and it is second nature in this country to presume that males should be hit. Also, whatever happened to creative interpretations of words? Why does the word discipline, or phrase “rod of discipline,” have to be literal? Is chastening equivalent to beating with : a rod a coat hanger, and electric cord, a baseball bat, a bb gun, a belt, a wooden spoon, a tree branch….whewww…I am exhausted remembering the things myself and others were hit with when we were young…..is that old dusty book realy calling for that? And is it only young boys that we must beat then?
That very basic, very biased gender discrepancy is likely the root cause of most of this cultures violence. I wish I had a statistic for the discrepancy between the incidences of violence perpetrated on young boys versus young girls, but I think the violent crime stats can bear out that those who were taught violence, exhibit violence.
Crimson, what does “DH” stand for? Is that a male acronym? Either way, beating a kid is sure sign of people that shouldn’t have kids.
Ian, don’t forget about punishing those who eat shellfish (by the way, skepticsannotatedbible.com is a great reference for this type of stuff):
Deuteronomy 14:9-10
These ye shall eat of all that are in the waters: all that have fins and scales shall ye eat: whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye may not eat; it is unclean unto you.
Greg you are right: hitting a child is abuse. And while getting rid of Joey’s paddles won’t stop all child hitting, it will send a message that it’s not OK to advertise and sell child-hitting implements. Specifically for hitting children! We’re not talking about all the other items parents whack their kids with, such as spatulas, spoons, fly-swatters etc. These have other purposes, and are not sold for hitting children with. Joey’s paddles are.
It only encourages and legitimizes hitting children to allow paddles and whips are such to be sold with this specific stated purpose. This is wrong. There shouldn’t be any such encouragement of hitting.
Research done in the US on hitting children has been used in 19 countries to ban hitting children. But in the US there is no legal progress to protect children from being hit. It’s incredible that things are so bad it’s even legal to sell things specifically for whacking children. See stoptherod dot net
I’ve just read most of these posts regarding hitting a child. I spanked my kids when they were little, but I don’t feel it does any good whatsoever, and if I had it to do over, I would never spank or hit!
I’m curious as to “why” on earth people still think that in order to get a child to somehow miraculously “mind better” if they are “hit” with a hand or paddle??
My beef with this whole thing:
The story was reported as though everything is normal. Joey is just a guy doing something interesting.
However, he is actually a guy that is advocating and facilitating the act of striking children with a stick.
If he was a guy advocating robbing a bank or rape or terrorism the tenor of the article would be different.
He is also a guy who hears voices in the shower. If he was a guy who hallucinated fairies, instead of what he claims to be god, the tenor of the article would be different.
So what we have here is very annoying: Because the guy’s hallucination happens to be “god” the story of a person with a serious mental disorder who is advocating and facillitating violence against children turns into a human interest story.
I’ve sent copy of this link to the reporter, hoping to get his perspective on this. I don’t think this reporter is doing anything different than other reporters do or different than what editors expect and readers are accustom do. But I want to question the whole practice of continuance and enabling of what could be classified as psychotic or misanthropic behavior. I hope he responds, if he can, though he may need to use a pseudonym. My experience has often been that reporters do not always do what they would do in an ideal world, and are aware of this!
I happen to be a Christian who believes that hitting a child (with any implement, or a hand) is directly contrary to the way Jesus treated children.
I’m always appalled and embarrassed that people who self-identify as Christians advocate child abuse.
The “rod” in the Bible is a metaphor for authority, referring to the rod with which a shepherd guides (not beats) his flock: “Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me” is not a prayer
to “beat me, baby, eight to the bar.” Jesus suggests that people who hurt children will burn in hellfire.
Selective reading of Scripture aside, literally hundreds of studies have shown that paddling can cause long lasting, serious harm. None–not one–has shown any long lasting good effects. hat is, paddling does harm or nothing. Since paddling involves inflicting pain on a weaker person one is supposed to protect, there seems good reason not to, and no reason to, hit childen. If you can’t outwit your kid, when he or she misbehaves, you shouldn’t be in the parenting business. R. K . Dentan, PhD.
Regarding the 23rd Psalm: Has anyone here ever herded sheep? I have. You use a stick to whack them with now and then. It isn’t like because you have the stick they figure “Oh, do what he says…”
I think it is not OK for Christians to suddenly claim “oh, Christianity does not involve corporate violence against children.” Please just admit that it did and in man areas it still does. It certainly did when I was in Catholic school and kids were beaten regularly. Please lets stop making stuff up!
Like the good Dr says, there is no evidence of positive long term effects.
If you beat your wife, husband, an adult, or a dog with a paddle or hand you’ll get in prison or get charges, but to beat a child is okay? How sick is this?
Come on Americans! Treat others as you want to be treated yourself!! Yes, children are human beings too!!
Mrs. Kristine Smith
Pediatrician’s wife
Change is gradual. Historically the US has been more concerned with the rights of parents to discipline, even violently, than the human rights of children not to live in fear or affect of violence. Our society overwhelmingly has a negative point of view of the nature of children. That is the hardest and most crucial thing to change.
Speak up. Be a positive example. Start changing things!
The US government is more interested in protecting a parent’s right to hit a child in the name of discipline than protecting its most vulnerable citizens from violence or threat of it.
As a society, the view that children are a form of property to be managed by fear with the expectation of blind obedience needs to change in order for nonviolent parenting to become the norm.
Speak up when you see children being hit. Talk to others about your positive parenting methods. Share nonviolent resources. Change is gradual…so start changing!
rkdentan, you might want to read Jenny Z’s quotes again. That reference to beating children (again, using the word “beat”) is straight out of the King James version. “Thou shalt beat him with the rod” does not look particularly metaphorical to me. While I see that you are not condoning child abuse, you seem to be rationalizing and playing down a sentiment that does not deserve the good press you are giving it.
If it’s truly imperative as Joey and others say to sometimes use corporal punishment, I would think there’d at least be some discussion as to whether paddling is the ideal form for it to take. After all, there are many ways to inflict pain on a child, e.g., mild electric shocks, many of which would arguably be more precise, safe, judicious and equitable than crudely whacking their buttocks with a wooden board–not to mention being less associated with pornography. Yet advocates of corporal punishment seem to be attached to this particular method of pain infliction and closed-minded to alternatives, for no better reason than because that’s the way it’s always been done and most likely that’s how it was done them. I suspect that without that element of familiarity, the nature of the act would be too stark for most people’s comfort.
By the way, what degree of product liability does Joey have? If one of his paddles break during use and an injury results, people might attribute the breakage to faulty craftsmanship or materials.
Tom
Don’t misunderstand me. I never said Tazers were not OK to use on kids. I’m not sayin’ either way.
To isolate Bible verses is what fundamentalists do; here Christian fundamentalists. Shame on you in claming child abuse in God’s name. No Jewish people beat, spank, hit, or call it whatever pleasant name you want to, children in God’s or any others name. Still Old Testament is the Jewish Bible. How ironic. Jews know that the rod means the kind you guide sheep with. Rod is “shebet” in Hebrew. So if you don’t guide your sheep your sheep gets misguided. Instead “Christian” fundamentalists abuse their children by “translating” rod to something to support their child abuse: Yes read: Followers of Christ. Can you believe this? Jesus Christ, our God, is the last one to harm children. His children. Jesus, our God, loves the children and welcomes them to him.
So, don’t come and isolate Bible verses out of its context. Don’t come and mistranslate Hebrew Bible. Remember that Proverbs in OT is full of symbolism. In addition, King Solomon is not the best role model to follow, which verses in Proverbs are about. Moreover, if we should be consistent we should stone adults who commit adultery too. Did you forget that the New Testament is the New Covenant? This means that we shall follow the New Law with Jesus Christ.
Christian fundamentalists are only trying to get support by twisting Bible verses for their violent child abuse from God in the Old Testament.
Mrs. Kristine Smith
Pediatrician’s wife
Pediatrician’s wife
Wow. Kristiane Smith wrote a very good response; especially, about the division of Covenants. If a Christian insists on using any direction of the Old Testament as a rule of life, they then deny that that Old law was replaced by a New one. The Good News of Jesus Christ does not include doing violence to children or adults. When one reads in the New Testament that Peter drew a sword and cut off a person’s ear that Jesus rebuked him. Another event written was Christ comparing the Kingdom of God to that of little children. The entire New Covenant was a significant departure from the Old. Those who believe that they can serve God through both the Old and New live in constant conflict. That’s too bad because Christ knew that human relations and health needed to be bound in the framework of love and non-violence.
The American Pediatric Association and the American Psychological Association have taken a stand in their policy by stating that hitting children is damaging physcially, emotionally, and psychologically.
JERRY TOWNSEND, Christian Minister (retired); School Psychologist (retired). Jerrnan@aol.com
The CORRECT way to discipline children is NOT to hit! Lots of parents simply do not want to take the time to discipline their children CORRECTLY! They should watch the TV show Supernanny! She doesn’t believe in hitting children and her methods work!!
One thing we also learn from Supernanny is about interbirth interval. Most of the problem families on Supernanny have interbirth intervals under 2 years.
My daughter is 11. I disciplined her twice, when she was quite young. Once for thinking it would be fun to run into traffic, once for repeating a racist remark she picked up in daycare.
(Basically she walks all over me until I can’t take it any more, then out comes the taser…)
The Old Testament was written by Jewish people for Jewish people, and includes the “beat your son with a rod” type verses (Proverbs). Jewish people don’t take this literally, for the most part, and do not condone child-hitting. Child-hitting is illegal in Israel, by law and Supreme Court order.
Christians did not write the Old Testament. The New Testament is the Christian part of the Bible, or “New Covenant”. It would be pretty difficult to use only New Testament verses to justify hitting kids. Many Christians believe they should follow Jesus’ example and advice regarding children. Jesus never advocated hitting a child and said children are close to God and adults should emulate children.
Many Christians believe, whether it’s accurate or not, that the “rod” in the Old Testament must have meant a guiding tool. I say there’s no harm in this theory. There’s a lot of violence in the OT and a lot of verses that shouldn’t be taken literally, like it’s OK to have slaves and women who aren’t virgins before they marry should be stoned to death.
I’ve read that if you hit sheep they become terrified and will stop reproducing.
Greg, that isn’t funny about using a Taser on your pre-teen daughter. Tasers can actually stop a person’s heart and are especially dangerous on small people.
However, you’re absolutely correct in your earlier post that Joey Salvati seems to have lost his marbles. That point seems to be totally lost in the article about him which is disturbing. And you’re also right on the money by pointing out that problems are more likely when children are closely spaced. UNICEF and others are recommending at least 5 years between siblings. Having a bunch of children close together is hard on everyone involved, and a mom is more likely to hit in frustration.
Nice to see someone point out that the old test. is written by Jews, for Jews. However, no matter what is in that New test. , it too is largely written by jews as well.
But seriously, what is wrong with tasing my kids? So far there have been no deaths or heart attacks….
Crimes against children must not go unpunished
How was this man mistreated and beaten in his childhood - if he dares to claim, without moral scruples and without a bad conscience, that God (= his parents) told him to use a paddle? It is outrageous and shocking that in our day and age violence against children and promoting it is not regarded as a crime and goes unpunished. How can we become a humane society if we treat our weakest members in such inhumane, torturous ways? The violence of the USA society is a reflection of the violence, which this society commits, and allows being committed, against its children. No human being, no adult and especially no child must ever be beaten, hurt, degraded and humiliated. 19 countries of the 192 UNO countries have forbidden physical violence against children. The USA must join them.
I missed this earlier : “Has anyone here ever herded sheep?I have. You use a stick to whack them with now and then.”
Yeah and if you don’t whack them they run amok,or in the proper case of sheep–they run MORE amok than they have already. Whack them especially in the middle of winter, after they have found the ONE hole in the fence for thirty country miles ( sheep always find that exaclly ONE hole no matter how many holes or how many fences you mend), and they have spread themselves about the county between the hours of 2 am and six. Then, when you fire up the truck, load the kids and the collie dog in the back( your herders), and go chasing them down, make sure you bring a staff.
Whacking sheep, and especially flicking your stick at their hooves, or looping it round their necks, is especially necessary at 6 am in the icy early dead cold of midwinter, and even more necessary if you haven’t had you cofe yet: but whack nicely, unless they are rams, in which case, whack them harder then they can whack you, and whack the rams FIRST….
As for fertility and sheep, I suppose if you have twenty head or under , there is little need to whack ‘em, but over four hundred head or thousands, don’t ’spare the rod’, or the nipping of your herd dogs.
Fertility? I don’t remember that being a problem with sheep…
The sheep with the thickest wool, and by the way often black or some other dark color, are the hardy Karoo sheep of South Africa and Botswana.
A friend of mine and I were once wandering across the dunes when a baby (lamb) karoo sheep decided we were its flock. It had been abandoned. This obliged us to find an actual flock of sheep, then duck out of sight and slip away. Much more difficult than it sounds.
Karoo Lamb is among the finest meats.
Speaking from personal experience, I was spanked and hit very often as a child and teenager,
usally with a switch from a peach tree I had to pick myself, or a belt, or a flyswater, or
whatever my parents could find. I don’t even remember what I did to incurr the beating, but I do
remember the feelings of embarrasement, resentment and fear that they illicited. Ultimately,
spanking did not teach me to self-moderate my own behavior or bend to the desires of my parents.
Spanking taught me not to get caught. It taught me how to lie and be deceptive in order to
avoid punishment. I would not share my thoughts or questions or concerns with my parents becaused
I was unsure of their response. I am still not as close to my parents as I wish I could be.
I now have two children of my own (7 and 5) and have never spanked them. We have a “no hitting”
rule in our house. I am always surprised by parents who insist that their children “play nice
and don’t hit” other children, yet they advocate spanking their own. What kind of message does
that send? Those types of parents are basically telling their kids, “If you hit so and so then
I am going to hit you!”
Like I tell my children, “People are not for hitting.”
Namaste’,
Beth
In the case of sheep spanking, I think you are infering, and quite rightly, that the thick wool acts as padding against the flick of a staff, and you are quite right. The actual manner in which you ‘prod’ or ‘flick’ or ‘poke’ an animal( no pun intended, considering we are talking about the lil’ sheepies
is not only situational, but necessary.
Any mature ram worth his salt will test you as a herder by a) ramming you when you are not looking, b)leading the flock far astray if he feels you are not in authority over the herd c) test you twice if you do not stand up against his challenges.
We had alot of Suffolk, Southdown, Hqampshires, Merino, and exotic Merino ( I have heard the South African Gov’t developed a special breed of Merino,used for high fertility rates, and the great fine wool http://www.dohnemerino.org/ ), and lots and lots of Dorsets, which breed year round, and produce the cutest lambs possible–these are most likely the sheep you see depicted in childrens books and cutesy illustrations. These are the general fare at sale barns throughout the rust belt, with occasional ‘ultra-exotics’ in the lots–Exmores, Faeroes,a rare Herdwick, etc.
The good news is that shep have kids, but kids are not sheep, and someone up above mentioned that the old Jewish meanings of rods and staffs are the accurate tellings ( as most Jewish tellings are.) Somewhere along the line the oral tradition of passing down the ‘laws’ of G-d became a corrupted political imterpretastion ( damn legalists–Jesus the Rabbi called them “Pharisees”), and the world has never been the same since, as if all people are cut off from the original sourcecode, and invent their own meanings for the stories these old dusty Hebrew authored books.
How disgusting that the this sort of child abuse is allowed in this day and age. If Salvati was distributing paddles to beat wives, people would go balistic, but we tolerate this violence because the victims are the most vulnerable members of our society, the children. The research very clearly shows that children who are paddled are much more likely to turn to crime, suffer depression, commit suicide, and beat their own spouses and children, yet people would rather stick their heads in the sand than bother to take a look at the statistics. And to think that Salvati commits this abuse in the name of God! It is a national shame that we allow this to happen.
I think that the people who twist the Bible, picking and choosing verses to try to justify this abuse would be hilarious if what they were doing wasn’t so tragic. The commandment that a woman must sacrifice doves when she menstruates gets ignored, the commandment not to eat shellfish is ignored, the comandment to put adulterers and rebelious children to death is ignored, but any commandment they can use as an excuse to hit children they accept. What hypocrites!
Oh, and they never seen to quote the verse where Jesus says that what you do unto the little children, you do unto Him.
JennyZ- Did you look up who wrote Proverbs? King Solomon. Did you read how HIS kids turned out???? They were horrid, horrid people. Not someone to take parenting advice from. Example: His son Rehoboam was a killer & hated ruler who was horrible to his people. Obviously his parenting had much to be desired. The object of parenting is to raise children into good people. What does hitting them exactly teaCH? Really now. Read the good points people bring up, I don’t have to say them again. I really see that people who think about this and read would never spank their kids. It’s obvious by people’s responses. Non-spankers have thought it out & read and are well educated about the subject. Spankers have quick and unthoughtful answers like “well…my parents did it & I’m fine”. Come on now, if you don’t believe me…look for yourelf with open eyes. It’s quite amazing. Ignorance is bliss, but can hurt others and for life.
But…but…but… Are you telling me that “stoned” and “put to death” are merely allegorical? How can that be the infallible word of God, if you are interpreting it according to your own personal sense and moral code?
Perhaps “stoned” really means medicated into submission. “Put to death” means, oh, I don’t know…being forced to watch “Teletubbies” until one can figure out how to behave better, maybe.
BTW, there seem to be two Toms commenting on this one.
If people are going to be so literal about the Bible, they should only “beat” their kids with a “rod,” not a paddle. I think of these as metal and round, but maybe God will speak to me through my car stereo speakers and tell me exactly how to construct my beating devices, which I can tout on the Internet and distribute for a small shipping fee with some perverse instructions.
Thank GOD some of us can find ways to work with our children that do not involve beating them with rods.
It is a national shame that this sort of abuse is allowed. If someone offered paddles for beating wives (or even criminals) people would be in hysterics, yet we tolerate this because it targets the very most vulnerable members of our society. The research very clearly shows, time and time again, that paddling children makes them more likely to commit crimes, beat their own family, and suffer from depression, yet so many people don’t even care enough to have a look at the facts.
It would be funny if it were not tragic that hypocrites use religion as an excuse for beating kids. People who ignore 99% of the Old Testament rules will suddenly become literalists when they find a rule they like. Do they think that God does not see what they do?
As far as I’m concerned, and I speak from my own experience raising a child, the trouble with spanking is, I don’t think it’s a very effective means of correction. Yes, parents, Christian and otherwise, want their children to learn to live with rules. But, as I found out, there are other alternatives that don’t hurt the child. And the “hurting” is the problem. It’s interesting here, too, that I’ve seen various studies that seem to indicate that people who resort to “correcting” their child by hitting them(e.g.they think spanking is all right), tend to be less well-off, less well educated, often “minority” and often live in the “Bible belt”. This should tell somebody something, if true. The answer to a lot of this is educating parents and potential parents in more effective ways of raising a kid. And no, I don’t think “Weird Joey” should be banned, but I think somebody, somewhere, should take a good, hard look at what he’s doing.
Anne G
//But seriously, what is wrong with tasing my kids? So far there have been no deaths or heart attacks….//
Tasing is SERIOUSLY bad CMF.
Not to mention they’re quite expensive. The frugal solution…a fork and an outlet. Works in my house.
Yes, great question why the newspaper gives instructions for ordering a tool to beat your children with. And why stop there, the Old Testament says to discipline your wife too.
Of course, when God says to paddle children, does he mean paddle them down a beatutiful river, and treat them kindly? That God says to beat children’s private parts with thick boards is Salvati’s own sick interpretation. You’re right this guy is mentally ill. Punishment slips and self-beatings to “test” on yourself? What kind of person does those things?
Dear CRIMSON-BUMMED WIFE: > This is a puritan saying. It’s never in the Bible. Nor does the Bible ever mention thick boards called “paddles” or beating children on their private parts. And remember, the Old Testament also said to discipline “wayward women”, wives, and “fools” with rods. You must be glad to be so crimson!
PENELOPE: Your parents punished you with a BB GUN? Didn’t Nazis beat victims with electric cords? You are right too about the discpreancy of boys being beaten more viciously for the same things as girls. It’s horrible.
JAKE: Great Point about the need for a law to ban devices specifically designed to hurt children- these thick boards have caused bleeding of private parts, broken tailbones and hipbones, broken male and female private parts, and bruises are common!
JERRY TOWNSEND: GOOD POINT ON THE MERCY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT REPLACING THE VENGEANCE OF THE OLD.
What is this discussion about beating sheep about?? I can’t unerstand it!
BETH: Great posts on your experiences and viewpoints growing up. Unfortunately people don’t pay enough attention to these things, usually only repeating in general what was done to them.
Dawn: I only tase the kids when I catch them running around in the yard naked…OR when I catch them playing dress up with the Wiccan feminist homeschoolers next door–and tase them twice if I catch them in there in springtime;-)
But seriously, I will take your advice on the fork, but with the sheepies….
Racko, sorry, I couldn’t access your website, because my porn blocker ( and other ‘bad stuff’) caught it as a ‘blocked site’. But thanks for your nod of affirmation to our societies tendency to demonize boys as ‘bad boys’, and to treat them inherently different, and more violently, with little or no outcry. In fact, the last generation looked exclusively at the negative behaviors of males, much to the expense of children at large, who today are digging bunkers in Iraq, and in Florida, with the ‘radical homeschoolers’.
Sadly, the last two generations were raised with the mantra of “bad boys” bleating out of the television when COPS comes on, and even worse, the pseudo social movements of the last decades have only encouraged this demonization and encouraged the stereotyping of purported ‘male behaviour’. The feminist movement, which works hand in hand with law and order types, has done more to harm young boys than any one thing in modern (American)history by repeating sad and scary mantras nationwide, and meanwhile completely skirting the issues of womens violence ( most often directed at those boys)with pseudo social science and inflated statistics that bandy the extremes of violent behavior at the expense of examining the real and far more pervasive issues: exactly what environments teach this violence ( after all, America’s acceptance of single mother households and their methods of control within those households).
So in essence we have raised a generation of boys who think of life in terms of ‘ultimate penalties’ ( as taught on violent wrestling shows, and Americas most wanted Cops tv; bad boys go to jail) and allowed for a generation of girls with no penalties, and no social consequences for their same or slightly different behaviors.
So, if the growth in prisons, driven by the social forces of increased police powers,and extended definitions of ‘violent crime’aren’t enough to show us that treating boys in harmful ways is a bad idea, what is?
Racko: As for the sheep, I can only tell you that I have pushed them, prodded them, whacked them, tripped them, and yes, even poked them ( but not in the same sense as the Florida and Virginia Homeschoolers Bible definition of poking), and done so often times with a large stick, but never a ‘rod’ in the biblical way; I have lassoed them, wrestled with them, chased them, and dunked them in big steamy vats of harsh chemicals, and on one occasion, watched a man punch one so hard that it knocked the little sheepie out( see above comment on rams for contextual analysis). But I have never beaten or spanked a sheep.
In order to understand the context of the discussion above, you would have to also understand the context of rural vernacular and situational metaphors. The language of rural areas can easily rival the language of Hip Hop for steamy and often violent or vulgar metaphors.
this sucks!alot!