Now Adrian Peterson.. This is gonna be the greatest!

[Jagsfan82]

I can't wait to see the media and public reaction to Adrian Peterson disciplining his child with a switch.The same people that want to throw Ray Rice in jail are going to be defending Adrian Peterson.  Its gonna be a gold mine for point out logical inconsistencies, and fall right into what Stefan has always talked about.  In the future we will look at parents hitting their kids with the same disdain that people look at men hitting their wives.And the thing is, often it should be with MORE disdain.

[andkon]

http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/12/justice/nfl-vikings-adrian-peterson-indicted/ 

A grand jury has indicted star NFL running back Adrian Peterson on a felony charge of injury to a child, spurring the Montgomery County, Texas, Sheriff's Office to issue a warrant for his arrest.Authorities didn't divulge details Friday about what led to the charge. But Peterson's lawyer said the "charged conduct involves using a switch to spank his son" -- explaining that his client did so while doling out discipline "much like he experienced as a child growing up in east Texas."Rusty Hardin said "Adrian never intended to harm his son and deeply regrets the unintentional injury."Rather, Hardin characterized the former NFL MVP as "a loving father who used his judgment as a parent to discipline his son."

 

"(Peterson) will continue to insist on his innocence of any intended wrongdoing," the lawyer said.

 

For all his exploits on the field, Peterson has dealt with heartache and headaches. That includes the death of his brother in 2007, a day before he participated in the NFL's skill testing event for potential draft picks. And last year, Peterson's 2-year-old son died after allegedly being abused by another man.Authorities in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, found that child unresponsive, and later determined he'd suffered injuries to his head consistent with abuse.Joseph Robert Patterson, the boyfriend of the boy's mother, was arrested and eventually charged with murder. Patterson has denied the charge and said the boy choked on strawberry fruit snacks, the Argus Leader of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, reported.

 http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/13/sports/football/adrian-peterson-indicted-on-child-injury-charge.html 

The charges against Peterson, a running back for the Minnesota Vikings regarded as one of the best ever, came after police investigated claims that he had abused his son while disciplining him with a switch, or a tree branch. Peterson, through a lawyer, quickly sought to play down his behavior, saying he had engaged only in stern parenting. “Adrian is a loving father who used his judgment as a parent to discipline his son,” his lawyer, Rusty Hardin, said, adding that Peterson, 29, had experienced such discipline as a child in East Texas. “Adrian has never hidden from what happened.”

 

Peterson told the police that he would give “whoopings” to his son for misbehavior, the report said, according to CBS Houston. But Peterson denied that he had ever used extension cords. “Oh, no, I’d never hit my child with an extension cord. I remember how it feels to get whooped with an extension cord. I’d never do that.”

 

And last October, Tyrese Ruffin, a 2-year-old son Peterson did not know about until a few months before, was killed in Sioux Falls, S.D. Joseph Robert Patterson, the boyfriend of Ruffin’s mother, awaits trial for murder next month.

[st434u]

Of course we all know that beating an adult woman is terribly wrong, but beating a 4 year old kid, especially if it's a boy, and especially if the one beating them is the person who's supposed to care for them and protect them the most, is not only perfectly fine, it is in fact imbuing him with healthy discipline and teaching him to become a good person, as well as the proper way solve problems.

 

If you haven't seen it yet, here's Stef's superb take on it. I wish he was made aware of the murder of Peterson's other son, that could have made the presentation even better.

 

[Josh F]

These two topics sparked a fantastic conversation with a couple new friends and some strangers, who ultimately all came to agree that child abuse is exceptionally monstrous.  Its helpful, like you said, that these two stories broke at the same time it really helps to highlight the issue.  I wonder how many other great conversations this has inspired on the topic.  I mean this, of course, with the utmost sympathy for the kid who deserves so much better.

[Magnus]

There are two aspects of this story that jump out as especially revolting --

 

1. The widespread belief that the problem with Adrian Peterson is not that he hits people, or that he hits children, but that he hits his children too hard; and

 

2. Despite the fact that untold millions of children are hit and injured and killed all the time, this one instance matters because some guy, who makes a living playing a juvenile game running around on the grass in short pants, might miss some game time.

 

I have had some success getting through to people by asking -- if hitting children is considered to be "discipline," what if it were an employer disciplining an employee? A husband disciplining his wife? Hitting them was once considered to be acceptable forms of discipline about 1-2 generations ago, and still is in lots of places.

[st434u]

Like Stef said, at one point, people like Peterson were not even considered to be a full person, they were slaves. Whipping a slave who disobeyed their master was supported by the community, as long as the slave was not hurt so bad that he still couldn't stand after a few days. So I guess that was perfectly ok too.

[fractional slacker]

Pol Pot did the best job he could do. But he was wrong!

Trying to substitute passion for philosophy = train wreck.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3Glks3Dmu4#t=98

[Avocadogreta]

These two stories coming about at the same time is extremely interesting. I've appreciated Stefan's attention to these stories and MSM hypocrisy when highlighting each issue.

 

I am friends with people from all walks of life on Twitter. Each time I've spoken up about either case, the main comments I receive are 1) I'm insensitive/don't 'get it' because I am not a person of color. my 'privilege' blinds me from the 'real issues' and because of this privilege, I should not be able to speak about it. 2) I simply don't understand the cultural/regional thinking on 'discipline' 

 

I've unfollowed each account that has condoned child abuse, in any form. I am still wanting to have conversations with people but I just don't have the emotional fortitude to engage everyone. 

 

One of the more shocking things I came across are people who are upset that these guys are suspended/fired because it actually hurts their families even MORE. And the general attitude is, 'the person's profession should not be affected for what type of person they are when they leave work.' And these comments are coming from people who have professed to be feminists and/or child advocates! 

 

I've even seen some people excuse the severity of child abuse, 'ok switching a child might be wrong, but slapping a child for doing X is permissible.'  

 

And the newest to come out is that Adrian Peterson abuses his children because he believes the bible gives him permission. I wonder if people's responses will change now that he's enlisting God as his co-abuser. 

 

I tell you, both of these stories and people's responses are just making me ill. 

[bootoo]

Wow was skipping stations on way to work this morning and some radio show host talking about peaceful parenting and pointing towards the studies that show nothing good comes from beating children

 

Many conversations at work about this - its GREAT - anyone sitting on the fence or justifying themselves as 'normal' will hopefully choose the right side of this issue

 

Thanks!

[Jagsfan82]

I have had some success getting through to people by asking -- if hitting children is considered to be "discipline," what if it were an employer disciplining an employee? A husband disciplining his wife? Hitting them was once considered to be acceptable forms of discipline about 1-2 generations ago, and still is in lots of places.

This is the best way to put it.  Any possible response they can give you applies to the disciplining coworkers / spouses.  Theres the "kids don't listen to logic".  Ya, cause women ALWAYS listen to logic.  "Kids aren't smart enough to understand without it".  OH OKAY, so if I think a fellow adult is too stupid to understand why they shouldn't do something, I can just beat them.. great!  "It teaches them to follow directions and be respectful".  Ya, cause men have NEVER used that excuse when hitting women.  And that also applies directly to Managers / employees.One of the most common problems I have with this issue when speaking to people is the thought that suspensions or even jail time does anything to solve the problem.  The argument that a year long suspension of either of these players is going to prevent even one person from repeating the action is optimistic at best.  To argue that it would have some sort of meaningful impact is completely naive and/or insane.

[st434u]

Each time I've spoken up about either case, the main comments I receive are 1) I'm insensitive/don't 'get it' because I am not a person of color. my 'privilege' blinds me from the 'real issues' and because of this privilege, I should not be able to speak about it.

 

It seems that these people believe that those of african ancestry are incapable of refraining from beating their children, and in the case of african men, they're also incapable of refraining from beating their wives. Apparently, it's white privilege that allows you to rise above such primitive barbaric practices, but you should not speak about or to those who are not blessed with your wonderful peace and rationality, because they're beyond salvation anyway. How interesting.

 

I mean, I've heard this before, but it's usually from people who consider africans to be sub-humans, never from the so-called "anti-racists". The similarities are strikingly illuminating.

[Magenta]

There are two aspects of this story that jump out as especially revolting --

 

1. The widespread belief that the problem with Adrian Peterson is not that he hits people, or that he hits children, but that he hits his children too hard; and

 

2. Despite the fact that untold millions of children are hit and injured and killed all the time, this one instance matters because some guy, who makes a living playing a juvenile game running around on the grass in short pants hitting people, might miss some game time.

I added two bolded words.

[Magnus]

This is the best way to put it.  Any possible response they can give you applies to the disciplining coworkers / spouses.  Theres the "kids don't listen to logic".  Ya, cause women ALWAYS listen to logic.  "Kids aren't smart enough to understand without it".  OH OKAY, so if I think a fellow adult is too stupid to understand why they shouldn't do something, I can just beat them.. great!  "It teaches them to follow directions and be respectful".  Ya, cause men have NEVER used that excuse when hitting women.  And that also applies directly to Managers / employees.

Thanks. My usual go-to analogy is slavery, since everyone has seen that famous photo of the slave with the whip scars on his back. But the problem with it is that people hide behind the claim that slavery was abolished, so, you know -- problem solved.

 

But employer-employee relationships are a normal part of everyone's daily life. Light hitting, for disciplinary purposes, of recalcitrant employees, who were supposedly too feeble-minded to be reasoned with, is EXACTLY how child-hitting is described and justified today.

 

Another question I have for people is this: if hitting misbehaving children is acceptable, then why is it not acceptable to hit another person's child?  Let's say you're at Starbucks and someone's child is clearly misbehaving in front of everyone, but the parent is out of arm's reach, and you have an opportunity for a clear shot.  If you hit that child in this situation, the reaction would be OUTRAGE dialed up to 11, right?

 

Why? It's not as though the parent accepts that the child has a right not to be hit.  So, what's the parent's problem?

 

The problem is that the real reason for hitting children isn't "discipline" at all, or teaching them about acceptable behavior, or any of that. The real reason they want to hit their children is to instill fear, as a method of control. 

 

When other people hit your children, the parent doesn't benefit from it.  If anything, it would undermine the parent's control over the child. That's why they have such a visceral reaction to the idea of someone else hitting their child, even when they hit the same child regularly.

[Jagsfan82]

The problem is that the real reason for hitting children isn't "discipline" at all, or teaching them about acceptable behavior, or any of that. The real reason they want to hit their children is to instill fear, as a method of control. 

 

When other people hit your children, the parent doesn't benefit from it.  If anything, it would undermine the parent's control over the child. That's why they have such a visceral reaction to the idea of someone else hitting their child, even when they hit the same child regularly.

Accurate.  Stef has talked about this to some extent, but the connection between the parent-child relationship in households that use violence and what "we" as a society accept in our governments is striking.  Society in a general sense, much more so 100 years ago than today, accepts hitting children for the reasons you mention.  It identifies the person in power who has control and instills fear among those without power.   This is the household environment many of us, hopefully less and less of us, grew up in.  The "because I said so" argument is widely used and generally accepted.  

 

Translate this into government, and its almost identical.  Citizens have to listen to what the government says despite if they agree or disagree with it because they somehow think they are in a position of authority over us.  Their use of violence as a form of punishment for breaking the rules is accepted.  I strongly believe common child rearing practices and our household environments are the main reason people accept this.

 

My head hurts and i'm sure thats horribly written but thats ok.  

[andkon]

1) I'm insensitive/don't 'get it' because I am not a person of color. my 'privilege' blinds me from the 'real issues' and because of this privilege, I should not be able to speak about it. 2) I simply don't understand the cultural/regional thinking on 'discipline'

I just thought of a witty one-liner: I may not know what it's like to be black, but I can imagine what it's like to be a child who is hit, regardless of race. (Under 140 characters too.)

[Matt D]

Dear Freedomainers,

 

Myself and another FDR listener are launching a crowdfunding campaign to raise awareness about the dangers of spanking your children. We need your help -- we need as many people as possible to tweet out links to our campaign, change their facebook profile pictures to the orange graphic seen below, and tell everyone you can about this immensely important issue. If you can spare a couple dollars (not to take any coin away from Stef) that would be appreciated as well.

 

Campaign page and video:

http://igg.me/at/spankingisassault/

 

Suggestions for social media posts:

• This football Sunday don't just sit on the sidelines. Stand up against child abuse. #spankingisassault http://bit.ly/ZzIruW
• If he was your dad, wouldn't you be frightened? #spankingisassault http://bit.ly/ZzIruW
• Examine the evidence on spanking before you decide if what Adrian Peterson did was acceptable. #spankingisassault http://bit.ly/ZzIruW
• Why take a stand on spanking? Because people still defend child abusers. #spankingisassault http://bit.ly/ZzIruW

I sincerely thank you for your generous support in helping to end hitting children.

 

Matt and Matt