The History of Child Abuse

[spanishspy]

I want to warn you now this contains graphic description of pretty much every terrible thing you could do to a child, sexual abuse included.

But just ... Good God. I feel like I did after I read Bloodlands. If what this article says is accurate, my hopes for humanity are just gone. I grew up in an abusive household (and now I have to quarantine with the people who did it to me) and it's one of my moral commitments to help any child I encounter who endured what I did. It's this sort of thing that makes me wonder if that is just pointless in the grand scheme of things. The fact that this is so normal when viewed in the broader scale is just beyond words for me. 

[stevep]

May 19, 2020 7:23:46 GMT spanishspy said:

I want to warn you now this contains graphic description of pretty much every terrible thing you could do to a child, sexual abuse included.

But just ... Good God. I feel like I did after I read Bloodlands. If what this article says is accurate, my hopes for humanity are just gone. I grew up in an abusive household (and now I have to quarantine with the people who did it to me) and it's one of my moral commitments to help any child I encounter who endured what I did. It's this sort of thing that makes me wonder if that is just pointless in the grand scheme of things. The fact that this is so normal when viewed in the broader scale is just beyond words for me. 

  spanishspy,

  If only say 10% of that is true its a damning indictment of humanity I agree.  Utterly revolting and makes some of the stories coming of out the ME and S Asia almost moderate in comparison.  However as the author says we are, albeit agonisingly slowly, making progress.

  I must admit I'm doubtful that its fully accurate in terms of abuse being that universal and also being responsible for virtually all humanities problems.  Possibly just me being an idealist.  However some of the recent examples in the article show serious social failures and unfortunately the "it worked for our generation so we should do it to our children" does seem to be far too common a mentality even in much of modern western society. 

  Steve

[spanishspy]

May 19, 2020 14:27:26 GMT stevep said:

May 19, 2020 7:23:46 GMT spanishspy said:

I want to warn you now this contains graphic description of pretty much every terrible thing you could do to a child, sexual abuse included.

But just ... Good God. I feel like I did after I read Bloodlands. If what this article says is accurate, my hopes for humanity are just gone. I grew up in an abusive household (and now I have to quarantine with the people who did it to me) and it's one of my moral commitments to help any child I encounter who endured what I did. It's this sort of thing that makes me wonder if that is just pointless in the grand scheme of things. The fact that this is so normal when viewed in the broader scale is just beyond words for me. 

  spanishspy ,

  If only say 10% of that is true its a damning indictment of humanity I agree.  Utterly revolting and makes some of the stories coming of out the ME and S Asia almost moderate in comparison.  However as the author says we are, albeit agonisingly slowly, making progress.

  I must admit I'm doubtful that its fully accurate in terms of abuse being that universal and also being responsible for virtually all humanities problems.  Possibly just me being an idealist.  However some of the recent examples in the article show serious social failures and unfortunately the "it worked for our generation so we should do it to our children" does seem to be far too common a mentality even in much of modern western society. 

  Steve

So I must revise my comment above - I have been informed in the original reddit thread that a lot of the article's methodology is pseudoscientific and its conclusions must be taken with significant salt. That being said, a lot of the examples are things I'd encountered before. I think there is something to the unstated notion within the article that children serve as a convenient 'other' unto which society's violent impulses can be directed.