Bright, young
doctoral student and single mom, Fiona, assiduously took notes as her sociology
professor and mentor delivered his lecture on family violence.
"All forms of
family violence are connected," her professor intoned, gravely. "And
underlying them all is what I call 'the virtuous violence,' which goes
by the euphemistic name of 'spanking.' Study after study, has linked
so-called 'spanking' with higher rates of child abuse and spousal
abuse later in life, higher rates of substance abuse and depression, as
well as sexual obsessions." Pausing to give the scribbling students
time to transfer this to their notebooks, the professor then concluded,
"It is clear by now. The evidence is in. Any well-informed
parent who truly loves their child will never, ever spank them.
That concludes today's lecture."
Fiona's
brow knit with worry as she packed away her books. What would
her revered mentor think of her if he discovered she routinely spanked
her strong-willed little daughter, Kayla? Since Fiona was having
the professor over for dinner right after the lecture, she certainly hoped
Kayla would be on her best behavior.
As Fiona and
her professor walked across the campus she listened respectfully while
he expounded further upon the evils of spanking and summarized the growing
mountain of studies showing its many negative effects on the child.
Approaching the graduate student housing, she saw her daughter looking
up at one of the workmen who was building the new concrete bike path.
The workman looked angry as he jabbed his finger in Kayla's direction,
then pointed at the fresh concrete which had just been poured, then back
at Kayla, who stood her ground, her face a defiant pout.
"Hello Darling,"
said Fiona to Kayla, then turning to the workman, "What seems to be the
problem?"
"Is this
your kid?" demanded the workman testily. Not waiting for an answer,
he continued, "She keeps drawing pictures in the concrete, and when I smooth
them over, she goes right back and does it again when I am not looking!"
Kayla made no attempt to deny this charge, but looked sullenly at her mother
to see what would happen next.
Vexed, Fiona
pulled her hairbrush from her purse. "I am very disappointed in you,
Kayla!" Fiona scolded, waving the all-too-familiar brush at her daughter's
eye level for emphasis. "You've been a very, very bad girl and for
that I am going to give you a good-" Suddenly Fiona remembered herself,
glanced self consciously at the professor, then back at her daughter, and
stammered, "a-a good, talking to!"
She brushed
back a wisp of Kayla's hair which had come loose from one of its pigtails
as if that had been the hairbrush's original mission, then quickly replaced
it in her purse. With a look of disgust, the workman snapped, "Just
make sure your daughter doesn't do it again, lady!"
Humiliated, Fiona
watched as the workman turned on his heel and stalked off without another
work, shaking his head to himself. Then she glanced downward.
There before her astonished eyes squatted Kayla, beside the freshly poured
concrete, beginning yet another new picture.
Mountain of studies
or not... enough was enough.
Retrieving the
hairbrush from her purse, Fiona said grimly, "Professor, will you please
excuse us for a moment?" Seizing Kayla tightly by the arm, Fiona
marched her protesting daughter to a nearby park bench and bent the struggling
child across her knee so that the fabric of Kayla's cordouroy overalls
stretched snugly across the plainly visible outlines of her two pert, little
buttocks. Then, as her mentor looked on aghast, Fiona began
to swat the plump cheeks of Kayla's bottom repeatedly with the back
of the brush - a procedure which soon had her child roaring with pain.
Fiona did not relent until Kayla's stinging backside had received sixteen
solid smacks.
While
Kayla continued to bawl across her mother's knee, Fiona returned the hairbrush
to her purse, then stood Kayla onto her feet and marched her directly
to the now-smiling workman, and made Kayla apologize to him as best
she could manage through her tears.
Then
came the part Fiona dreaded. Leading her crying daughter by the hand
she rejoined her mentor, his face ashen with shock. With a look of
profound sadness, he glanced down at Kayla as she wept miserably and rubbed
the seat of her overalls, then up at Fiona. At last he murmured,
"How
could you, Fiona? How could you inflict such pain
on your very own child? Don't you love her?"
Taking
a deep breath, Fiona replied, "Let's just say that
I love my daughter very much in
the abstract...
but not in the concrete." |