The Judge, The Beating, and The Unreality of Outrage

From Freedomain Radio. the largest and most popular philosophy show in the world -- http://www.freedomainradio.com

Sources: http://www.fdrurl.com/bib

It's hard to understand why people are reacting so strongly to the recent video showing a Judge beating his daughter. Over 90 percent of parents punish their kids by inflicting physical pain, so I'm not sure why everyone is pretending to be so, so shocked.

Is it because the girl in the video is a teenager? 85 percent of adolescents have been physically punished by their parents - and the video example is far less violent than most of the examples that have been shared with me.

Is it because a belt is used? 30% of parents openly admit to hitting their kids with a belt, a stick or some other "hard object." (Imagine how many more do not openly admit it!)

Is it because the man is angry? More than half of parents admit to hitting their children out of frustration and anger.

Is it the hypocrisy? The Judge recently claimed that he apologized for losing his temper, so no harm was done. Did he accept apologies from the accused in his courtroom?

Naturally, the outrage is focused on the Judge; the girl's mother, who supports and inflames her husband, hits her daughter as well and demands that she lie down and "take it like a woman," is barely mentioned.

I can't help but think that the 'shocked' reaction of the general public is just a little bit precious. It's like the pompous posturing of a veteran politician who claims to be 'shocked' about a Congressman's corruption, or the infamous Captain Renault in 'Casablanca':

Rick: How can you close me up? On what grounds?

Captain Renault: I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!

[a croupier hands Renault a pile of money] Croupier: Your winnings, sir.

Captain Renault: [sotto voce] Oh, thank you very much. [aloud] Everybody out at once!

Most parents hit their kids - and when the kids are much younger and more vulnerable than the poor girl in this video - so why is everyone so shocked? Are they pretending that such practices are somehow outside the norm? Statistically, when something is practiced by 90% of the population, claiming to be be shocked by it is ridiculous. I mean, 90% of Italians are Catholic - can any Italian claim to be 'shocked' when he runs into one?

Just about everyone knows someone who hits their kids. How many people have stood up for these poor beleaguered children? Have you? How many people have talked to parents about the civilized and civilizing alternatives to hitting defenseless little children? Have you? If you're not exposing and opposing child abuse, you're an accomplice.

I want to say to those who are 'outraged': please - don't pretend to be shocked by the commonplace. You look ridiculous and guilty.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• judge
• beating
• belt
• child abuse
• spanking
• hitting
• corporal punishment

[peaceful2300]

yeah and i spanked my kid. but the government raped him.

[peaceful2300]

i guess you might already know - i'm full of implants and i've done some bad things but never in the kind of self-riteous fucking ferver this unfortunate dude has given himself over to - somewhat like an animal. but animals are never evil. this is evil, he is trying to destroy and crush the spirit of a human being. for whatever reason it's wrong to do that, if there's a spark of humanity left in someone ideally we have to nurture that

[peaceful2300]

@MrSchpankme nobody has to do what someone says. everyone has free will even if you're full of implants, no evil can enter your own intention unless you agree to allow it. there is no excuse for being a dink. we have a choice. if you allow other people and god to touch your heart these things can be made clear to you. swedenborg said: the only difference between humans is animals is that humans can change their destiny and animals can not. there you go. change it.

[MrSchpankme]

@myndmelt .. Religion teaches 90% of the Public to beat children, women and whores. Which planet do you live on? Beam me up Scotty.

[MrSchpankme]

Welcome to herd mentality -- spare the rod and spoil the child -- what a great way to recruit COPs/Soldiers/TSA from within the ranks of the Sheeple. FREEDUMB

[erentheca]

I agree with the 90% statistic, however, I think that the empathy-based response of outrage at the beating video is actually a very good sign. What I found most disturbing was the video's audio, and the helpless outcry of one human being under physical attack from another. That this outcry, that being witness to such pain causes anger from a viewer is a positive reaction. If that reaction is properly interpreted, it is a further step to ending abuse in the home.

[Undeterminism]

To previous commenters, these are statistics gathered by sources readily available. You can assert that this is not the case, but that's all it is, an assertion. You can disagree, but what does it even mean without enough refuting data to back up your mere unsupported assertion?

[xyrial]

Additionally... please be careful using statistics. There are so often far from the truth that we should stop relying on them.

[xyrial]

(part 1) Hi Stef, just wanted to say that this is the first video I've watched from you that I HAVE TO DISAGREE! I love your video's, I recommended them to many of my friends. But this one is a disappointment. I'm afraid you're right that it happens far to often (although I'm not sure about the 90% though). Here in Europe it does happen, it does happen too often, but surely not 90%.

[xyrial]

(part 2) You're right about that people should stand up against it by ácting against it. But you're really off here when it comes to hypocrisy. My stomach felt like turning upside down when I watched the video. Never seen something like this 'live' before. Surely upsetting. Nothing fake about my emotions. It's disgusting that we've not REALLY learned from the past. In that sense I (and we all) have the right to be disappointed about our 'learning curve'.