Parricide

            Paul Mones reports of a 16-year-old girl who fatally shot her father. He had allegedly abused her. The article continues with talking about the killing of abusive parents by their children.

            These children, mostly male, tend to be older teens from middle-class white families. Males tend to be more aggressive due to what has been done to them, but at the same time completely sane.

            They view what they are about to do as a last act of self-preservation. They are isolated and feel helpless. They think nothing else can be done. They think clearly and they often want to protect their siblings.

            These tragic instances illustrates conflict that comes with power (Croteau & Hoynes, 2012, p. 112-115). Parents have power over their son or daughter for most of the child’s life. But there comes a time when that stops, and the reverse is true. If the parents have used their power in an extremely abusive way, the grown child often will react negatively.

            When a parent uses physical force to coerce the child into being the person he or she wants the child to be, resentment starts to build. Sometimes the resentment leads to hatred, which leads to revenge. The child’s childhood was hell on earth, he or she doesn’t want adulthood to be the same way. So, as a last resort, they eliminate the person causing them pain.

Croteau, D, & Hoynes, W. (2012). Experience Sociology. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Football and Punishment

            Recently a story has come to light that has rocked the world of sports. USA Today reports that Adrain Peterson, superstar running back for the Minnesota Vikings and one of the best running backs of all time, has been accused of abusing his child using corporal punishment. Pictures of have surfaced of his son with cuts, welts, and bruises.

            What’s also been shown is that Adrian Peterson learned this punishment from his dad and, to a lesser extent, his mom. Nelson and Bonita Peterson whipped their boy with switches or belts when he was out of line.

            Peterson credits this stern discipline as one of the reasons why he has had the success he’s earned. Also, others point out that in the area and time he grew up in, this type of punishment was common. It is only natural that he disciplines the way he was disciplined.

            However, others say that, as a society, we’ve moved past this extreme of a punishment. Now it is abuse. There are other ways of punishment that do not require medical attention.

            One of the things a person can come away with from this is that a person’s culture growing up helps to mold this person when he or she is older (Croteau & Hoynes, 2012, p. 59). We learn, for good or for worse, from something or someone. Adrian Peterson learned how to discipline (many would say "abuse") from his parents.

            Most parents have deeply held values that affect how they do their job. This doesn’t change when it comes to discipline. For Adrian Peterson and his parents, their value of hard work and integrity manifested itself through extremely rough punishment.



Croteau, D, & Hoynes, W. (2012). Experience Sociology. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Introduction

           Hello everyone! My name is Nathan Williams. I will be posting on the relationships and correlations between those who were abused as children and those who became criminals as adults. This will be for my Sociology 111 class, taught by Dr. Y, during the fall semester of 2014.