My dad literally hits me and punishes me by starving me. However, my friend says he’s “just trying to shape me into the perfect young man” and that he “truly loves me”. This almost makes me think she’s either my dad in secret or dating my dad.
In all seriousness, what do I do? Stop talking to her? Talk to her? Be her friend despite it?
Sometimes people do things they know are wrong. Beating one’s child is pretty goddamn obviously wrong.
The irony of your post is that it would apply well to the child who indeed should be taught instead of physically abused (punished).
But why should society let abusers decide what the abused learn when the lessons being imparted are almost always self-serving.
We all make mistakes, we are all human, but sometimes the mistakes we make should have consequences that prevent future errors. Drive drunk? You shouldn’t have a license or a car. Shoot up a school? You shouldn’t have a gun, be near schools, or really even be in general society. Beat your child? You shouldn’t be around children
but cutting a kid off from their only known support system and jailing the abuser doesn’t serve the kid or society, on balance. I want to fix the problem, but calling the cops just doesn’t look like a fix to me.
I watched my dad get cuffed and taken away and he’s an asshole but that didnt fix the problem. I leaned on my mom, moved in with my grandma, and I’m better for it. it’s not clear this kid has an extended network that can help them make it better.
being in jail and paying fines didn’t help my dad. the biggest best change I saw from him came from explaining the dsm npd diagnosis to him.
I want this kid to get help, but I don’t think the cops are it.