# Time & Newsweek drop pretense; embrace liberalism as survival strategy!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-newsweek-drop-pretense-embrace-liberalism-as-survival-strategy/482421>\
**Category:** The BBQ Pit\
**Created:** [January 22, 2009, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-newsweek-drop-pretense-embrace-liberalism-as-survival-strategy/482421 "2009-01-22T07:02:21Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 9

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\
**Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-newsweek-drop-pretense-embrace-liberalism-as-survival-strategy/482421/161 "2009-01-26T01:30:06Z")

</div>

**Rubystreak** , thank you for the correction. My apologies for reporting you to PETA. I would put a smilie face here, but **elucidator** frowns upon their use.

**'luci!** You got some ‘splainin’ to do! (Though sadly, the imagery makes more sense now…)

**Hentor**! Welcome home, you old Barbarian! I’ve been missing you!

> [@](#):
>
> **FriarTed** : As an active conservative for the past 30 years, I didn’t get the memo that OKs child-beating & single welfare dads (especially ones that run around impregnating various women).
> 
> Re “child-beating”, you’re not including all spanking are you?

Aha! So you did get the memo!

Seriously, I thought about putting “child-hitting” instead of “child-beating” to see if that brought out a different response. I don’t know how I feel about child “spanking” because I’m not sure what it means. I do know that when my granddaughter was five months old and was reaching for an electric outlet, I swatted her bottom. I did it without thinking. That’s the only time I’ve ever hit her and it still bothers me. She’s almost nineteen years old now. I know that it didn’t do any damage to her — just me.

I was a beaten child – abused with a belt and with slapping and hitting. The beatings continued until I was a seventeen year old woman. I could have taken the belt away from her, but I had been taught to honor my mother. My father never struck me and I didn’t realize that he didn’t know that she was abusing me. _I didn’t know that this wasn’t normal._ (And from what I know now, it did go beyond accepted practices of that time.)

As a teacher, I was asked by a parent to paddle a their daughter. It turned my stomach. I was also asked by a principal to paddle a female student. (Males were not allowed to paddle female students.) I gave her the usual three licks. He said I didn’t hit her hard enough. I refused to ever paddle a student again. I _never_ asked that a student be paddled. Corporat punishment is not allowed in our local school system now.

I believe in firm discipline, but _appropriate_ discipline. Violence teaches violence.

As for those welfare fathers, I just never see them mentioned as issues of concern. It’s always welfare mothers. Keep an eye out for it and notice it yourself.

Most of the conservatives here have been very kind to me – yourself included.

Pax

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\
**Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-newsweek-drop-pretense-embrace-liberalism-as-survival-strategy/482421/162 "2009-01-26T01:34:44Z")

</div>

> [@kaylasdad99](#):
>
> Oh noes! **Hentor the Barbarian** has lost the power of speech (with the exception of a famous French apothegm in the original French)!
> 
> I hope your aphasia goes away _tout de suite_ with just a few more days of exposure to the board.

Inb4 OP blames anglophone muteness on liberals.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\
**Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-newsweek-drop-pretense-embrace-liberalism-as-survival-strategy/482421/163 "2009-01-26T02:03:09Z")

</div>

> [@Zoe](#):
>
> …but **elucidator** frowns upon their use…

Darlin’, you rock any way you please. Freak freely, says I. Anybody who even thinks about stifling your expression can by God answer to me! And if that means I got to kick my\* own\* ass, well, I’m just the man for the job!

As for the ‘splainin’, I’m advised that I’m completely wrong. One cannot drop kick for a field goal, the puppy would have to be balanced lengthwise in the approved “kick-off” manner. This is impractical.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\
**Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-newsweek-drop-pretense-embrace-liberalism-as-survival-strategy/482421/164 "2009-01-26T02:08:38Z")

</div>

> [@Zoe](#):
>
> \*\*
> 
> Most of the conservatives here have been very kind to me – yourself included.
> 
> Pax

I like to think that’s because we have an inherent ability to recognize and appreciate quality when we see it. 🙂

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-newsweek-drop-pretense-embrace-liberalism-as-survival-strategy/482421.md?page=8)
