Abuse vs Discipline

[CaNz]

Warning, somewhat graphic video:
http://7902de93.linkbucks.com/url/http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/02/justice/texas-video-beating/

So back in 2004, Judge William Adams caught his daughter downloading music illegally and took it upon himself to discipline her. Unfortunately for him, there was a camera recording the whole affair and now it has become a public matter. The video shows the judge repeatedly striking his daughter with a belt. I would suggest actually watching the video, because I believe there is a line you need to cross in order for a parent to become a child abuser. The media as well as the public are (for the most part) enraged, but not everyone is in agreement.

What is your take on this case? Do you think the judge should be held to a higher standard because of his position? Did the crime fit the punishment?

[Boo]

Meh, judges are human, so they shouldn't be held to a higher standard than anyone. Just because a judge trials people for sleeping with prostitutes, and is later found in bed with one, shouldn't mean he is worse than the others. Hypocritical maybe. Should know better, sure. I don't know, maybe he's an awful judge as well, but even if he's great, he's no greater at being human than most others. I can even imagine the whole "I need to be greater at parenting" complex (in)directly caused this shizzle.

Also, I'd sooner beat my child for paying iTunes for songs than illegally downloading them. Dude's a proper ass who doesn't have it all in order. Anyway, that said, the chick should've just bended over and this wouldn't have been such a big deal, right mrs. William Adams? Edited November 3, 2011 by Lady Katana

[Sangome]

[color="#9932CC"][font="Microsoft Sans Serif"]I saw that video the other night and I just sort of went numb from the whole thing. I advocate spanking to scold your children, but that very clearly went too far with the way she was being thrown around and swore at. I think the "crime" sort of becomes moot in this case, unless she did something horrible to someone [which, as far as I know, she did not]. Should have just grounded her from the computer for a while and left it at that.

As for whether he should be tried differently because he's a judge, I'm not sure, really. I can see both ways. On the one hand this had nothing to do with any cases of his and involves his home life, and should be treated separately. On the other hand, he's in a position of power, and the idea of someone like this being in a position of power is rather sickening [although I know that goes for a lot of people with political power, so].

That all said, it should also be noted that this man was rather controversial as a judge, including that child abuse cases would be thrown out unless there was recorded [video] evidence. Hmmmm.[/font][/color] Edited November 3, 2011 by Sangome

[Boo]

[quote name='Sangome' timestamp='1320346913' post='710111']
[color="#9932CC"][font="Microsoft Sans Serif"]On the other hand, he's in a position of power, and the idea of someone like this being in a position of power is rather sickening [although I know that goes for a lot of people with political power, so].[/font][/color]
[/quote]Well true that. I think the dude should not be keeping his job in any case because I may hope child abuse is in the restrictions of being a family judge somewhere.

[CaNz]

I think the judge went too far. I have experienced far worse, and I am sure many other people here have too, but that's no excuse. He stated later that he just lost his temper, but when is that a ever a valid justification? I find it strange that people are allowed to physically discipline in that method at all since this would be assault if she wasn't a dependent. This guy is also a judge, so I figure he would be able to see the punishment didn't fit the crime. If he were sentencing a person who was convicted of thievery, he might make them pay money or lock them away in a room for a while, but he certainly wouldn't smack them and throw them around... so why does he go above the law on his own daughter? Personally I think if this is considered a crime, he should face the maximum sentence because he is a judge, and therefore should be aware of the rules.

[Axel]

Found the whole vid on youtube. Some of it seemed a little forced, maybe it's my skeptic side. But, if it is genuine, all I can say is Westboro' would love both the parents. I am not one of these who is against spanking as a form of punishment, but belts are a little too far especially for how many times he used it. And, as I say, if that was genuine, then I would consider it abuse.

[James]

[quote name='CaNz' timestamp='1320312267' post='710102']
What is your take on this case? Do you think the judge should be held to a higher standard because of his position? Did the crime fit the punishment?
[/quote]

[font=palatino linotype]I didn't watch the video (I don't think I really need to do that), so I will just base my answer on your description of him beating his daughter with a belt. I'm sure my imagination will suffice.

I doubt that any sane person would advocate hitting a child with a belt for downloading music illegally. In fact, there are probably very few things a child could do (if any) to warrant such a reaction, especially from a supposedly loving parent.

The father is obviously just striking out physically, without considering that he is entirely missing the point. Rather than beat your daughter with a belt (in the process, teaching her what, exactly?), a better course of action may have been to sit down and explain [i]why[/i] illegally downloading music is wrong and what it actually means. And maybe banning her access to the PC for a little while could be done for good measure.

Clearly the crime did not fit the punishment, and clearly this is a case of bad parenting.

In terms of the judge being held to a higher standard... I'm not sure why a judge should be held to a different standard than anyone else, in terms of the abuse of his child. Shouldn't we all be held to a high standard?

If a criminal conviction were to result from this action, then sure, I'd expect him to lose his job (and to never be able to fulfil his role as a judge in the future). But I wouldn't necessarily say that there should be different standards for people based on their rank in society, as such.[/font]