Abuse

  • Abused kids can’t really sue their parents: I recently searched online for the question of how an adult abuse survivor might go about suing his or her abusive parent. The results I got astounded me, but they shouldn’t have. I know my country wants parents abusing its kids. It makes this clear so many ways. This is just one more. First, the cultural. Most of the search results lead to other people asking my question. The responses they get range from “You’d be much better off just getting ... READ MORE
  • Abuse cycles – from macrocosm to microcosm: If you observe an abuse cycle in a family – e.g., “Mom abuses her kids because her dad abused her because his mom abused him” – you’re lucky if you can trace it back more than a few generations. Which always leaves me wondering: where did it begin? And how? Did this family have one rotten apple who decided to be an asshole even though no one had ever taught him or her assholishness? I said in an earlier post I ... READ MORE
  • The entitlement of the passive-aggressive do-gooder: “Won’t somebody please think of the children???” - The preacher’s wife on the Simpsons I recently made the mistake of engaging in a business transaction with a Christian who believes that, because s/he is a Christian everything s/he does is unquestionably the Lord’s work, s/he cannot possibly have done me wrong. It’s not the first time this has happened to me, and sadly, it caused me to revisit my tolerance policy and decide that, until things in the US change, I will ... READ MORE