Loading ...A friend and I were recently discussing the fallacy of many questions, a particularly nasty linguistic sleight of tongue.
For example, one cannot directly answer the question “Have you stopped beating your dog yet?” without sounding like Michael Vick, an incarcerated Michael Vick, or a dodgy politician with something to hide.
You can ask me how much Satan bought my soul for, but not until after you ask me if I sold my soul to Satan. And establish that Satan exists.
While discussing more subtle horrors that would fit into that snowclone, we made a discovery that I find rather puzzling.
Beating your children is more socially acceptable than beating your wife.
Imagine sharing the following stories with your friends. Which would receive more scorn?
- Mr. Jones smacking Jimmy when he didn’t do his chores.
- or -
- Mr. Jones smacking Mrs. Jones when she overcooked the pot roast.
Is it just me, or does the first seem more socially unacceptable? On the surface, this doesn’t seem to make any sense.Why is it okay to beat a dependent child but not okay to beat an independent adult? Why do we tolerate some degree of violence in the first, and no violence in the second?Please note that I say this to sympathize with the children, not with the wife-beaters.
Now, I was raised on a steady diet of science-fiction. I firmly believe that every aspect of the universe fundamentally makes sense. Although there are mysteries now and there will still be mysteries when we die, the limitations are logistical, not epistemological.In that spirit, can you make sense of our attitude towards physical abuse? I have a couple possible explanations myself, but I am more interested in what you can come up with.Have you decided what you are going to write in the comment section yet?
2 responses so far ↓
1 Daniel M // Jul 14, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Also, were you ever physically disciplined as a child? Did that have much of an impact on you?
Do you think that violence is a necessary or effective way to teach children right from wrong?
This is a rather juicy topic that I have not heard much about. Let’s explore it!
2 Numeraphile // Jul 15, 2008 at 1:31 am
My guess is that you’re supposed to beat your kids…your wife should already know her place assuming that she herself was beat as a child. It’s not fair for women to be beat twice during their life, is it?
Also, I think it highlights a woman’s physical inferiority if you hit her. Everyone knows kids are weak, because they’re supposed to. Now with these women’s rights and whatever have taken into effect, we’re supposed to pretend like they’re equal.
Okay, I can’t stress enough how much those two paragraphs were FARCE/LIES/BITTER SARCASM/IRONY/TERRIBLE JOKES/NOT FOR REAL. I love both women and children with my whole heart, much more than men actually.
I was physically ‘disciplined’ maybe like 4 times or something…and that’s assuming that there are times I forgot, because I can only really remember one or two…and it’s fuzzy as heck. So, I guess it didn’t impact me much?
Is violence necessary? Hmm…I’d like to think there’s a better way. I dare say I turned out all right with my handful of spankings, so maybe “All things in moderation”? I think maybe you should gauge to see how well it works…if you’re constantly beating your kids and they still act up, maybe you’re doing it wrong? Or hitting doesn’t work with your kids.
(Hah, so the electron interfered with itself? Hmpmh, that’s sinful to interfere with yourself. No wonder he hides it away when observed…I hide when I interfere with myself, too.
That was a masturbation joke.)
Leave a Comment