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Originally Posted by pgardn
GR the thing that made it so horrible to me, Is that it was all about Alec, not the language that was horrible (and I have never used anything close to that on my daughter). It was all about how his 11 year old daughter had done this and that to poor Alec. It was one of the most selfish rants I have ever heard.
I got punished with a belt as a kid. It was the only thing I understood at the time, I had no ability to empathize. So my mom saying, "look honey, imagine how it would feel if someone bit your toe off", would mean nothing to me. My little mind did understand pain. You do this, and this is what its gonna feel like made "sense" to me. I understood the consequences of my actions if immediate action was taken. It was like getting your hand crushed in a car door. I never left my hand there again, I had great respect for car doors. I had not the faintest of how someone else might feel... "oh thats bad because think how it would make someone else feel." I needed to feel it for myself. I find it amazing that so many adults dont understand the level of reasoning in young kids. I had no neuronal capacity to empathize at an early age. Is the belt right for all kids? absolutely not. Did it work on me? heck yes. It was the only thing that worked. When I got a little older, I gained the ability to empathize (my butt was thankful), so the more typical of parental reasoning worked. My Dad altered course accordingly. And I never got into any sort of trouble in High School or College and was given a free rein because I was trusted.
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Pgardn, again, what did he call his daughter besides "pig?"
I agree, a small child doesn't get empathy, but this girl is 11 years old; she's not a small child. She's a pre-teen and I know by 11 years old I certainly understood my actions could hurt others. Were you still getting belted at age 11? I certainly wasn't getting spanked at that age anymore. In addition, that court order requiring these phone calls applies not only to Baldwin, but also to her- by turning her phone off, either she or her mother was in violation of a court order. And again, an 11-year-old is old enough to understand if the court says you do something, you do it.
I'm not saying this is all the kid's, or Basinger's fault- Baldwin is a bad-tempered loudmouth who got famous too young, no question (hell, the whole family is weird- check out his God-lovin' brother's "ministry"), but I think he's being crucified in the press over things that frankly, lots of parents have been guilty of doing- losing their tempers with their kids. And I'm sure the kid is messed up by how ugly her parents' divorce was and lashing out- again, something kids all over the country do every day. As I said, I think it's a tempest in a teapot. I mean, even you took it as an opening to ruminate over why liberals aren't saints. Because only saints are saints. Liberals are people, like anyone else, and screw up. And when it's a big deal, they should be taken to task for it. I just don't think this is a big deal.