The Dumbest Thing I’ve Read All Day: 10/10

John Amato at the CrooksAndLiarsblog links to an overly long piece of drivel at the similarly leftist OnceUponATimeblog of Arthur Silber.

Silber’s piece goes on and on, quoting nutjob Alice Miller and relating it to the “Foley talked about touching pages in the bathing suit area” kerfuffle. I normally wouldn’t have read such a long, whining diatribe except that Amato singled out a section in Silber’s post that focuses on corporal punishment.

For all the talk we’ve been hearing lately about how we need to protect our children–please answer me this: How does corporal punishment still exist in our schools?

Silber links to a NYT piece which is unavailable for non-MYT members (why do liberals always do that?), so I found a copy of it at the Florida Herald Tribune. It opens as follows

Anthony Price does not mince words when talking about corporal punishment which he refers to as taking pops a practice he recently reinstated at the suburban Fort Worth middle school where he is principal.

Im a big fan, Mr. Price said. I know it can be abused. But if used properly, along with other punishments, a few pops can help turn a school around. Its had a huge effect here.

It goes on with the usual NYT spin about how mean it is to use more than a “time out” against unruly children, and after a few choice quotes at his place, Silber whines

I emphasize that this article concerns public schools. That means that you are helping to pay for the systematic, institutionalized brutalization of children.

Did you even know of this story, or how common these barbarities still are? Are our national legislators denouncing these methods straight out of the Dark Ages, or threatening to cut off funds for public schools that still use them? Is even one of the Democrats leaping on the Foley story with undisguised and sickening glee passionately decrying this commonplace form of torture — torture of those children they claim to be so concerned about? Of course not.

But they’re deeply committed to “protecting the children.” Or so they tell us. Lies, all lies.

For those who don’t know who Alice Miller is, she is, according to Wikipedia “a psychologist noted for her work on child abuse and its effects upon society as well as the lives of individuals.”

Sounds noble and reasonable. But what they don’t say is that, according to Alice, Child Abouse Is (from her website):

“Humiliations, spankings and beatings, slaps in the face, betrayal, sexual exploitation, derision, neglect, etc. are all forms of mistreatment, because they injure the integrity and dignity of a child, even if their consequences are not visible right away.”

So, if we’re to believe Alice, a spanking is the same as sexual exploitation, and that anything but wonderous praise said to a child could make their future an unhappy one.

cough HORSESHIT cough

Teaching a child that they are good beyond anyone’s knowledge and that doing wrong will get them no punishment beyond a gentle talking to is a recipie for a megalomaniacal adult. A whuppin’ of ass will erase that crap right out of a misbehaving youngin’.

A could think of at least a few leftists who could have used a spanking once or twice during their childhoods.