The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age
    Ramona's picture

    A Simple Plea: Do Not Lay Hands Upon Our Children

     

    Every hour of every day, children in our keep are being harmed.  Throughout the history of the world, adults have used their size and their physical and psychological power as weapons against our most precious assets--our children.

    Hurting them is not accidental, it's the goal, but all it takes to muddy the waters is the argument about degree.  Is spanking abuse?  Is yelling?  Is fondling?  If there are no cuts and bruises how bad is it, really?

    In the past few weeks the stories have been coming at us, fast and furious.

    On November 5, Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky was finally charged with serial sex abuse of minors after years of sexual contact with children as young as nine years old. (complete Grand Jury report is here.)  During those years several adults were suspicious of his activities but didn't come forward.

    One boy's mother, after finding out Sandusky had shared a shower with her son, told him he must never do it again.  She tries to make him promise not to shower with young boys at all.  She fails.  He tells her, "I understand I was wrong.  I wish I could get forgiveness.  I know I won't get it from you. I wish I were dead."  That was in 1998.  

    Sandusky was caught in the act at least twice during those years and hauled on the carpet.  In 2002 an eyewitness went to Paterno's office and reported an incident involving actual intercourse between Sandusky and  a ten-year-old boy.  The eyewitness was never questioned, but was told that Sandusky's locker room keys had been taken away from him and the incident had been reported.  Nothing else happened.

    Now Joe Paterno, a beloved long-time coach, has been fired after evidence surfaced proving he knew of at least one instance of the abuse and did nothing about it. On hearing the news of his firing, crowds of students gathered in protest, not against Paterno but against the board's decision to let him go.  (It's been said there was a small contingent protesting at the same time against the sexual abuse, but it apparently wasn't worthy of a news story because it's not out there anywhere.)

    A Texas family judge, William Adams, is caught on videotape beating his disabled daughter with a thick belt, striking her hard at least 20 times.  The girl's mother is seen hitting her once with another belt, telling her to "take it like a grown woman".  The incident was secretly taped by the girl in 2004, when she was 16 years old.  The girl recently put the videotape on YouTube (after her father dared her to do it, she says), but no charges will be issued against the judge because the tape is more than five years old, beyond the Statute of Limitations.

    The story was detailed last week in the U.K-based Mail Online. The story itself is horrific enough, but buried inside was this bit of nasty business:

    As a result of the furor, the video was being examined by the District Attorney and previous controversial judgements Judge Adams made in cases involving children have come to light.
    In a court judgement last October, Judge Adams said that a child's statements 'amounted to no evidence' despite the fact the child's words had been confirmed by third party witnesses and recorded on video several times. The young person had also been interviewed by a child psychologist who believed the child.
    Judge Adams also agreed with a lawyer who claimed all children are 'fantasizers' and their testimony should just be ignored.


     Michael Pearl, a preacher at the Cave Creek church in Tennessee, wrote a book called "To Train up a Child", advocating corporal punishment modeled on “the same principles the Amish use to train their stubborn mules”.  This from a November 6 NYT article:

    More than 670,000 copies of the Pearls’ self-published book are in circulation, and it is especially popular among Christian home-schoolers, who praise it in their magazines and on their Web sites. The Pearls provide instructions on using a switch from as early as six months to discourage misbehavior and describe how to make use of implements for hitting on the arms, legs or back, including a quarter-inch flexible plumbing line that, Mr. Pearl notes, “can be rolled up and carried in your pocket.”

    So far, three child deaths have been attributed to the use of the methods in that book, yet Preacher Pearl and his wife, Debi, have appeared on shows like Anderson Cooper 360 to defend their methods and their book.  As a compelling visual, "Pastor Pearl" brings a length of the plumbing line to demonstrate that it might sting but it won't do damage to muscle or bone.

    In the NYT account, there is this paragraph, describing the condition of a child who had been murdered by her parents:

    Late one night in May this year, the adopted girl, Hana, was found face down, naked and emaciated in the backyard; her death was caused by hypothermia and malnutrition, officials determined. According to the sheriff’s report, the parents had deprived her of food for days at a time and had made her sleep in a cold barn or a closet and shower outside with a hose. And they often whipped her, leaving marks on her legs. The mother had praised the Pearls’ book and given a copy to a friend, the sheriff’s report said. Hana had been beaten the day of her death, the report said, with the 15-inch plastic tube recommended by Mr. Pearl.

     This controversy brought Michael Pearl into the spotlight, not as an accomplice or the devil incarnate, but as a minor actor, the requisite media shock blast in a compelling, agonizing tragedy.  He and his wife were wined and dined, all expenses paid, to appear on television as a defender of corporal punishment in the wake of a terrible, preventable tragedy.  Never mind that the parents, now murderers of an innocent child, saw something in Pearl's book that gave them permission to abuse their children.  The mere sight of Pearl handling a 15-inch length of plumbing tube while defending its use is the kind of hold-your-nose moment we've all come to recognize as an odious but reliable tool to increase nightly ratings.

    A 7th Grade Special Education student was raped twice in the course of two years by a fellow student.  School officials didn't believe her story and after the second accusation, she was expelled and made to apologize to the boy who raped her.

    Following instructions from the school, the girl wrote an apology to the boy she accused of raping her and had to personally give it to him, according to the lawsuit. She was then expelled for the remainder of the 2008-09 school year. The school also told "juvenile authorities" that she filed a false report.

    The girl returned to the middle school for the 2009-10 school year and tried to avoid the boy, according to the lawsuit. It didn't work. She was sexually assaulted again but didn't tell anyone because she was afraid of being expelled again, her lawyers wrote in the lawsuit. She was allegedly raped a second time Feb. 16, 2010.

    School officials were notified of the incident and allegedly doubted the girl's claim, saying they'd "already been through this," according to the lawsuit. The girl was also examined and found to have been sexually assaulted. However, she was suspended from school for "disrespectful conduct" and "public display of affection," her lawyers wrote in the lawsuit.

    In the moment, as we bring ourselves to watch or read the sad, horrific details in these stories and so many others, we tell ourselves we can't stand it.  Enough.  We rail, we wail, we pontificate.  Something must be done!  But it goes on. It ever goes on.  Because once a fuss is made, once we as a nation howl at the moon and do the requisite teeth-gnashing, the moment passes and we move on nearly residue-free until it happens again. 

    We could stop it if we forced the courts and thus the perpetrators to recognize that child abuse in any form is a major crime.  When the victims are helpless children, their abuse has to be considered a crime worthy of punishment so severe the offenders assaulting them will be stopped forever.  The sentencing guidelines need to be so stringent there won't be a judge in the land who will ever again dismiss abuse as mere necessary punishment or childhood imagination.

    But it won't happen until we can get past the widespread approval of spanking as a useful punishment.  There is no cause, ever, to lay hands on a child and cause pain in order to get the point across.  Radical, I know, but think about it:  There are millions of children who grew up to become adults without once being spanked or hit or injured by a parent.  I was one of them, and I know for a fact I'm not alone.  Every child of mine can make the same claim.

    Every child has worth.  Every child needs to feel loved, to feel secure, to feel as if their world is a good place to grow up in.  The thing is, only those who have already become adults can make that happen.

    Comments

    "To Train up a Child", advocating corporal punishment modeled on “the same principles the Amish use to train their stubborn mules 

    Well like they say, treat your children like mules and they will probably grow up to be mules!

    Not that beating mules is a good idea either!

    I am an Adlerian; I believe that we have a child and an adult and a parent inside of us all.

    Those who would attack children are attacking part of themselves. They seem to have a need to hurt a part of themselves.

    That judge kind of acted like he was proud of his behavior toward his daughter and this guy ran a family court!

    Oh well, good job putting this all together. I had not seen references to this evil book before!

     


    I am an Adlerian; I believe that we have a child and an adult and a parent inside of us all.

    Wow, DD, I don't know what an Adlerian is, and here I am one!


    Minor piece of information. Margot Adler of NPR is the grand daughter of the psychologist (Alfred ?).

    Margot is on the staff at WNYC and was the host of Justice Talking an excellent  weekly debate by legal experts that aired nationwide for some years.


    Hmm, she's also a Wiccan.


    Hi, thanks for this powerful article.

    I'm running a petition to ask Amazon to cease stocking books such as To Train up a Child which advocate physical abuse. It was reference in the new york times article and signatures have reached 6000 and continue to rise. 

    Please do sign and share the link. We need to send a message that this kind of treatment of children is not acceptable, and this is the best way that I can think of to do this.

    Thank you so much.

    Here is the petition: http://www.change.org/petitions/jeff-bezos-amazon-ceo-refuse-to-carry-books-which-advocate-the-physical-abuse-of-children

     


    Thanks


    Thanks for your comment and for your efforts to remove those books from Amazon and elsewhere.  I would love to sign the petition, but you're asking for too much personal information.  Sadly, I'll have to pass.  Sorry.

    Ramona


    Your website is terrific.  Very well done.  I really would like to sign your petition.  Is there some way to sign it without proving all the personals?


    Thanks for this blog.  I was just at CNN just seeing what they had on Penn St and saw this unsettling piece

    Former headteacher: No shame at beating children

    Richard Wilkinson, Phd, was headmaster of Scarborough College and King Edward's School, Witley, and taught in various other state and independent schools in England.

     


    Interesting, isn't it, that the ones doing the beating are always convinced they're doing their victims a favor.  It's not that they want to do it...

    Richard Wilkinson

    I do not think that my action in beating Will was at all similar to Judge Adams' action. Whereas he had clearly lost control of himself, I am confident I was in complete control. Whereas a male chastising a female may well be motivated by sexual desire, including a father beating his daughter, I derived no gratification whatsoever from chastising Will. I didn't lose my temper: I was merely doing my job in upholding the discipline of the school and supporting a member of my staff.

    I might compare that to the...Nazis...but we frown on that sort of thing around here.



    Headmaster Derek Slade was the subject of a recent documentary by Roger Cook that aired on the BBC in August of this year titled "Abuse of Trust" for his sadistic beatings and sexual abuse of young boys, the sons of Britain's soldiers, spanning decades.

    Get the facts, search "A Violent Education".  Please add your support to Federal Legislation H.R. 3027 "The Ending Corporal Punishment in Schools Act" at donthitstudents dot com

     


     I was at Scarborough College when Richard Wilkinson was Headmaster, he was in my opinion a man for whom I have the very greatest respect, he provided the type of moral compass that is greatly lacking today. You will not hear a voice raised against this fine gentleman by nearly all educated under him. We need more men of the caliber of Richard Wilkinson and his deputy John Alderson. Andrew Harrison


    Mandatory reporters of suspected child abuse, school teachers, coaches and administrators legally abuse schoolchildren K-12 everyday in U.S. schools, it's called Corporal/Physical Pain/Paddling (SEXUAL ASSAULT when done to a non-consenting adult) to Punish students for minor infractions.

    U.S. Congressman Miller, Chairman of the Senate Education H.E.L.P. Committee along with Congressman John Kline, MN, Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Education and members of both the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Senate Education H.E.L.P. Committee Must Abolish Corporal/Physical Pain/Paddling (Sexual Assault when done to a non-consenting adult) of Students K-12 in ALL U.S. Schools, already Illegal in Schools in 31 U.S. States! H.R. 3027 "The Ending Corporal Punishment Schools Act" is languishing in Congress House Comm. on Education and due to expire early December 2011, earlier version of this important children's rights/equality to access to safe and healthy learning environments legislation H.R. 5628 DIED in Congress 2010 after hearings were held on April 15, 2010 by the Healthy Families and Communities Subcommittee. Search "A Violent Education" issued to U.S. Gov't. Officials by Human Rights Watch and ACLU on 8/20/08 for disturbing facts, including several incidents of legal child abuse by mandatory reporters of suspected child abuse in schools where school employees, teachers, coaches and administrators are protected from criminal/civil action by "Teacher Immunity Laws" when children suffer injuries from school punishment! Add your voice to support Federal Bill H.R. 3027 at donthitstudents dot com

     


    Thanks for the info, Julie.  I'd like to suggest that you break long blocks into paragraphs.  Makes for easier reading.  Thanks.


    I was reading the following http://lorialexander.blogspot.com/2011/11/happy-duggers.html#idc-container blog today.  The author is advocating  that people use "To Train Up a Child" as a manual for raising children.  Her suggestion appears in the comment section of her blog post about the Duggars.  Please read and let her know that "To Train Up a Child" is a manual for child abuse!



    The reasons and responses given by advocates of child/adolescent/teenage-only corporal punishment are nearly always the same:

     
    1) "The Bible says...."

    2) Research/statements from the religious fundamentalist sector (as opposed to those who believe Jesus would never condone hitting a child).

    3) They're not doing it "right". I still haven't found any general consensus on a "right" method for hitting kids.

    4) "I was 'spanked' (or bullied in school, or raised by the state, drank the green water,etc) and I turned out OK."
     
    5) If you don't "spank" children, they'll end up in prison/hell/with terrible manners (hitting being confused with discipline).
      



    In light of Judge Adams video,

    We often hear from those who fight to uphold this practice for those under the age of 18 (even to the blaming of the social maladies of the day on a supposed "lack" of it), but we rarely, if ever, find advocates for the return of corporal punishment to the general adult community, college campuses, inmate population, or military. Why is that?

    Ask ten unyielding proponents of child/adolescent/teenage-only "spanking" about the "right" way to do it, and what would be abusive, indecent, or obscene, and you will get ten different answers.

    These proponents should consider making their own video-recording of the "right way" to do it.

    Visit Unlimited Justice or Parents and Teachers Against Violence in Education to learn more and add your voice.
      


    Former Penn State President Gets Jail Time in Child Molestation Scandal

    NYTimes, June 2, 2017

    HARRISBURG, Pa. — A judge on Friday sentenced three former Pennsylvania State University officials, including a former president, to short jail terms followed by home confinement for their roles in the child molestation scandal that rocked the university.

    In March, a jury found Graham B. Spanier, the former president, guilty of one misdemeanor count of endangering the welfare of a child, and not guilty of two other charges. His lawyers have said he will appeal the conviction, and they argued for a sentence of probation rather than jail time.

    The officials were charged for failing to go to law enforcement after being told in 2001 that a former assistant football coach, Jerry Sandusky, had been seen molesting a boy in a locker room shower. The officials denied that they were told at the time that the episode in the shower was overtly sexual.

    Mr. Sandusky went on to assault several other minors, and in 2012, he was convicted of 45 counts of sexual abuse. He was sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison.

    It is very rare for prosecutors to try to hold university leaders criminally liable for the misconduct of others, and the case is all the more remarkable for involving one of the nation’s most prominent universities, and one of its most vaunted football programs.

    It has been a stunning downfall for Mr. Spanier, 68, who had spoken publicly about his own history of being abused as a child by his father, who beat him severely. He served for 16 years as president of Penn State, until he was forced out in 2011 [....]