Althouse: "I have to live with the fact that when I disciplined my son the way I was disciplined as a child, I caused an injury that I never intended or thought would happen."

September 15, 2014

"I have to live with the fact that when I disciplined my son the way I was disciplined as a child, I caused an injury that I never intended or thought would happen."

"I also understand after meeting with a psychologist that there are other alternative ways of disciplining a child that may be more appropriate."

Said Adrian Peterson.

79 comments:

David said...: Does Adrian Peterson remind you in any way of a ham sandwich?

Now he does.; 9/15/14, 5:30 PM
Drago said...: We need to know how many white people are involved in the Peterson case prior to determining the extent of white guilt.; 9/15/14, 5:31 PM
rhhardin said...: The psychologist needs a self-help book.

I'd recommend Thurber's "Let Your Mind Alone!"; 9/15/14, 5:40 PM
Original Mike said...: You left off "Make him go out back and pick out a switch ..."; 9/15/14, 5:44 PM
rhhardin said...: The world would not be a better place if things happened as four year old boys wished.

For starters, school busses would crash.; 9/15/14, 5:52 PM
jaed said...: Don't hit a four-year-old fifty times with a tree branch. If you punish your four-year-old son in a way that leaves him covered in cuts, UR DOING IT WRONG.

Now was that so hard?; 9/15/14, 5:55 PM
Lucien said...: The country is less violent in general and more educated than it used to be. But not everyone has a dad with a college degree who is in touch with his sensitive side. Did Peterson do corporal punishment in the wrong way? It sort of looks like he did, given that this was a four-year-old, not a ten-year-old, but we don't have enough facts. Four-year-olds can be unreliable witnesses, as we learned in past child abuse witch hunts. Maybe Peterson turns out to be a sadistic abuser acting out of rage and frustration, or maybe he was just trying to discipline his son in a way that sets clear limits. Too soon to tell.

Some people think that authorities let athletes and celebrities get away with too much, while others think that that cops and prosecutors try to make names for themselves by bagging some famous scalps. I think both of these things are true & that it depends on who is involved and when.

If this were the same DA who got Rick Perry indicted, I'd be squarely on Peterson's side, though.; 9/15/14, 6:01 PM
FullMoon said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9/15/14, 6:31 PM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: Lucien said...
not everyone has a dad with a college degree who is in touch with his sensitive side.

Not exactly clear on the terminology but I think they are called liberals.; 9/15/14, 6:33 PM
Mark said...: You don't spank/etc in anger. Peterson quite clearly did and got himself in trouble for it.

Hitting children is a dumb idea when you are a public persona.; 9/15/14, 6:40 PM
garage mahal said...: You left off "Make him go out back and pick out a switch ..."

A four year old kid.

The Vikings are a garbage organization. The conduct continually allowed on that team would never fly in Green Bay, thank God.

I hope Peterson breaks a leg.; 9/15/14, 6:43 PM
Guildofcannonballs said...: Areasonableman that is a COWARD response.

COW AR D!; 9/15/14, 6:46 PM
chuck said...: Acceptable punishments do change. My dad got whipped with a razor strop and still bears the scars. I just got spanked a couple of times, and frankly, deserved it.

I picked 1, let the guy play. He's not responsible for his upbringing, but let him learn the alternatives. I've known of other cases where parents had to intervene with the grandparents over inappropriate punishments. It's a heritage thing.; 9/15/14, 6:46 PM
Guildofcannonballs said...: "A four year old kid.

The Vikings are a garbage organization. The conduct continually allowed on that team would never fly in Green Bay, thank God.

I hope Peterson breaks a leg."

I could not have said it better.; 9/15/14, 6:50 PM
Doug said...: The child was a four-year-old. Four. Years. Old. Not a teen gangbanger, not a chronic truant, not a . The child was four years old.; 9/15/14, 6:50 PM
traditionalguy said...: Peterson is pleading the mores of the East Texas culture of his childhood. The people there are more a Louisiana/Mississippi hybrid than Texan. It was a harsh life for black boys and black men. So I say give him the benefit of the doubt.; 9/15/14, 7:00 PM
garage mahal said...: The child was four years old.

You should be worried that you're next.; 9/15/14, 7:11 PM
FullMoon said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9/15/14, 7:21 PM
George Grady said...: The conduct continually allowed on that team would never fly in Green Bay, thank God.

Oh, definitely not.; 9/15/14, 7:22 PM
Heartless Aztec said...: A black father who disciplined his son? Why I never... It was always the mothers wielding the belts on recalcitrant disruptive students. I would tell.my black students "I'm calling your father!" And they would laugh at me. "I'm calling your mother!" got fevered results. Many a time I walked out of an office eyes and ears averted to the sound of a belt whipping in my inner city school - duly ignoring my charge to call Children and Family Services. Or Mrs Virginia the proper black Church lady principal who had James Jefferson Roosevelt Washington down on his 20 year old knees (10th grader) in her office repeating the Lord's Prayer while she beat him on the shoulders with a pointer. I would have given much to have had a black father discipline a student at my inner city school if only for the novelty. My what a very different world we white Americans live....; 9/15/14, 7:31 PM
Unknown said...: Had he done this to his adult wife all hell would have broken loose. I mean Ray Rice only hit his adult wife 2 times, not 15 (or whatever the number is) like Peterson did this child.; 9/15/14, 7:37 PM
Guildofcannonballs said...: Were it big enough, this incident could illustrate one of the most important points for conservatives to remember:

PUNISH THE GODDAMN LEFTISTS.

This is very much like Donny Sterling.

The enemy must be confronted or they will grow stronger, grow stronger hereby defined as abusing children physically more and psychologically deeper.

Being unable to tell friend from foe has cost many lives over the ages, and it is time to be frightened it could happen to us.; 9/15/14, 7:43 PM
Connie said...: I never knew that beating a 4 year old on his scrotum with a switch might cause an injury.

The only thing more pathetic than this excuse is someone that seriously considers this as some sort of mitigation. I'm not above a swat or two, but it doesn't take much to know this is abuse.; 9/15/14, 7:44 PM
jacksonjay said...: Uh oh! Another baby mama has come forward with another allegation of child abuse. Uh oh!

We just got him back on the field! Now this. The Vikes are screwed.; 9/15/14, 7:51 PM
Original Mike said...: Looks like ARM slept it off.; 9/15/14, 8:27 PM
Hagar said...: The child was beaten, the wife was punched. Both unacceptable, but two very different things.

There was an interview with some football wives, and one said she in all innocence made a wisecrack next to her husband, and next thing she knew woke up on the floor with her everloving husband helping her up and saying: "Oh, Honey, why did you have to say that, I am so sorry," etc., and the other wives nodded their heads and said: "Yeah, that is how these guys are. You say or do the wrong thing next to them, and they just react. They don't mean to hurt you, but they do."

Now if this is true, and the NFL have a bunch of these guys walking around like IED's with a featherlight fuse, the league has a problem that ought to be looked into more carefully from a medical perspective.
And it is not just the wives. After all, you or I might also find ourselves standing next to one or more of these football players and say or do something that triggers the response.; 9/15/14, 8:29 PM
FullMoon said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9/15/14, 8:44 PM
Patrick said...: I don't care if Peterson "meant to inure" his son. I don't particularly care if he's found guilty or not. He meant to strike his kid, hid for year old kid some twenty odd times, hard enough to leave welts, bruises and bloody marks. He intended every one of those strikes.

That's all I need know. I wouldn't throw him or if the league, but
I'd give him plenty of time of to think things over, and decide what kind I'd man he wants to be, what kind of father he wants to be to his roughly seven kids by 5 women.; 9/15/14, 8:46 PM
mccullough said...: AP doesn't know how many kids he has. He needs to man up.; 9/15/14, 8:56 PM
sojerofgod said...: I don't know.
I think it is possible he didn't mean to hurt the child like he did, but got carried away by emotions that have been bottled up since he was so punished in his own childhood.
I assume this is a first time offence thing. If so what the man needs is diversion into some kind of counseling or program. It is ridiculous to ruin his career.
The same thing in spades should be said of Ray Rice. I think considering the judge in the case saw fit to give him a light sentence, why is it the media's business to ruin him?

No, wait I'll answer that.
The Democrat party's platform this year leans heavily on their "War on Women" meme. Even though Rice is black, this year womenz trumps race as the dems are desperate to get maximum turnout among female voters, and the WOW strategy must be pushed at all costs. Sacrifices must be made and he is go goat written all over him.; 9/15/14, 9:13 PM
sojerofgod said...: Dang it!

" he has GOT goat writ large on his carcass"

That's better.

Oh, and McCulloch,
I believe Peterson's 'Man' has been 'up' quite enough already. perhaps he should hit the (cold) showers?; 9/15/14, 9:16 PM
Jeff said...: How's about we mind our own business and leave the guy alone?; 9/15/14, 9:29 PM
Unknown said...: not the first time; he has at least one other child who was abused & the investigation stonewalled by baby mama.

He committed battery, he should face the legal consequences. He committed battery against a helpless child, I'd be in favor of serious punishment.; 9/15/14, 9:31 PM
FullMoon said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9/15/14, 9:35 PM
Patrick said...: Yeah, let's ignore the fact that he beat the sit out of a 4 year old.

Different strokes and all...; 9/15/14, 9:38 PM
William said...: I read his letter. It sounded sincere and contrite. He did something very wrong, but I'd be in favor of giving him a break. Maybe corporal punishment is one of those things like gay marriage to which people evolve at their own speed.......The British Empire was ruled by people who were regularly beaten, sodomized, and underfed when they were children so maybe there's something to this tough love concept.; 9/15/14, 9:49 PM
MikeD said...: What I'd like to see is permanent suspension by both the NBA & NFL for players who have more than one child out of wedlock. Especially if its a different mother for the bastards.; 9/15/14, 9:57 PM
acm said...: My preferred choice---let him get back to football and NOT fathering---was not an option. Dude has a lot of kids who need food and therapy. Football pays for that, so he needs to keep playing. The kids don't need an unsupervised relationship with him at this point in time, and he definitely needs to stop fathering in the other sense of the world until he gets his life and relationships under control. The man has two four-year-olds with two different mothers. That's pretty unhealthy.; 9/15/14, 10:08 PM
The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...: With a weapon in hand, he whipped a 4-year old. He's a stone piece of shit. If his team mates had an ounce of self-respect they'd refuse to play with him.

I enjoy football but stuff like this, and the NFL's craven inability to address it honestly, makes me indifferent to the fate of pro football.; 9/15/14, 10:19 PM
Megthered said...: I say let him go to counseling or whatever they call it. And I'm saying this as a person that got the crap beat out of her regularly by a mother that really never wanted children and had no interest in them. If I did something that she percieved was wrong, she beat me or broke a bone or burned me, I never knew what she would do next. He may have had no father to discipline him and wants to do right by his children, he just doesn't know how. Maybe he doesn't want a Michael Brown in his house.; 9/15/14, 10:33 PM
J. Farmer said...: "Get back to...fathering." Is that a joke? This guy isn't even sure how many kids he has. Maybe seven, maybe just five. He got a lot of sympathy when his infant son was beaten to death by the mother's then boyfriend. Peterson saw the child for the first time when the boy was in a coma. This guy is a sperm donor at best. And a monthly child support check for those children whose paternity Peterson publicly acknowledges.; 9/15/14, 10:35 PM
mccullough said...: This guy was a shit father before he started beating his kid. He also had a shit father himself.; 9/15/14, 10:58 PM
traditionalguy said...: Seriously, Peterson might need to fear the other players on his team more than the Child Protective system. A government bureaucracy has a greater tendency to favor a famous man than the other men in the locker room may ignor that he is a man that beats 4 year olds.; 9/15/14, 11:02 PM
Barbara said...: In my view this is more reprehensible than Rice's behavior, which was terrible enough. At least Rice's wife is an adult who can press charges, can leave him and take whatever actions she'd like to ensure it never happens again. What can a four year old do? (Peterson's other son who was allegedly abused enough to scar his face was also four years old, reportedly). That we give these men the status of celebrities is disgusting.; 9/15/14, 11:03 PM
Revenant said...: If "people did it to me when I was a kid" was a valid excuse for doing something, we'd have to let most of the child molesters out of prison.; 9/16/14, 12:07 AM
Achilles said...: Not sure how many times he hit the kid or how hard or even if the pictures I saw were the right ones. The pictures I saw were about a two on a one to ten scale of my early childhood injuries although none caused by my parents. But I have watched a lot of people wax eloquent about how awful Mr.Peterson was.

What I can't figure out is why we have generations of whiny losers who live in their parents basement. I mean we have coddled the last 2 generations. We should have achieved utopia by now. My friends and I rode our bikes without helmets! How did we ever live through our childhood?

This kid will never recover. He is a frail flower that is forever broken. Most importantly the state must take charge of his upbringing. This is the most important thing now. In fact we should preemptively save all the kids from potentially abusive parents. Especially the ones that vote inappropriately.; 9/16/14, 3:35 AM
Mark said...: Achilles sounds like men of my grandfathers generation.

My father talks about how his father never hit his mother and how that was unusual in families he grew up around.

I guess all our wives are soft too, Achilles.; 9/16/14, 6:28 AM
I Have Misplaced My Pants said...: None of those. It's not our place to "forgive." It's none of our business.; 9/16/14, 6:33 AM
MayBee said...: My preferred choice---let him get back to football and NOT fathering---was not an option. Dude has a lot of kids who need food and therapy. Football pays for that, so he needs to keep playing. The kids don't need an unsupervised relationship with him at this point in time,

Yeah, that sounds like the right thing to do. He doesn't know how to be a father in the new era, and he really isn't in an environmnet to learn.

Get him counseling, keep his visits supervised, and let him continue to be a productive member of socieity.

The fact that millions of kids in the last generation were raised like this doesn't make it right, but it makes it harder to suddenly say, "this is a crime for which your livelihood will be taken away".

Societal shifts always have some people on the tail end.; 9/16/14, 6:44 AM
I Have Misplaced My Pants said...: His behavior as a father is reprehensible (both the sperm donor aspect and of course the beating) but I am sick to death of, and troubled by, this new pastime of dragging these things in front of the public and making sure every random person in the country has an opinion on it. Not to mention forcing these people to issue "apologies" to the general public who were not affected by the behavior and whose business it is, not one iota.; 9/16/14, 6:44 AM
Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of New York said...: Better dig my dad up and hang him then. I loved my dad, still love him, never didn't love him.; 9/16/14, 6:52 AM
Curious George said...: "garage mahal said...
The Vikings are a garbage organization. The conduct continually allowed on that team would never fly in Green Bay, thank God."

Eric Walden ring a bell? Not to mention Brett Favre, Mark Chmura, or Johnny Jolly.; 9/16/14, 6:52 AM
MayBee said...: I have misplaced my pants-

perfect.; 9/16/14, 7:16 AM
MadisonMan said...: Adrian Peterson deeply regrets that his actions were perceived negatively.; 9/16/14, 7:21 AM
Curious George said...: Ohh, almost forgot James Lofton garage. Yeah, the packers are such a class act.; 9/16/14, 7:51 AM
Mark said...: What Pants said.

If the beating were as bad as has been claimed, yes, Peterson deserves punishment, but more importantly he (and his family) need help. Ripping his family apart and parading the results in the street isn't the way to do it.

Is it my imagination, or is scapegoating becoming more socially acceptable recently? There seems to be a lot of witch burning of late.; 9/16/14, 8:21 AM
MadisonMan said...: Is it my imagination, or is scapegoating becoming more socially acceptable recently? There seems to be a lot of witch burning of late.

It is not your imagination.

Showing outrage at the latest thing is how you prove to the world (a world that really doesn't care about you) you're a caring human, I guess. It's very tiresome and does far more harm than good, IMO.; 9/16/14, 8:28 AM
SomeoneHasToSayIt said...: William said...
I read his letter. It sounded sincere and contrite. He did something very wrong, but I'd be in favor of giving him a break.

There is zero chance, ZERO, that Peterson wrote that eloquent letter.

Check out some of his other published utterances.; 9/16/14, 8:45 AM
Bart Hall (Kansas, USA) said...: I use, very rarely, corporal punishment with my 3 yo daughter. Actually, it's not punishment so much as "You're not listening to words." and attempting to get through to the primitive brain of children that age.

I saw the Peterson pictures. That was child-abuse. End of discussion. Not even close. Serious jail time.; 9/16/14, 9:04 AM
MayBee said...: Showing outrage at the latest thing is how you prove to the world (a world that really doesn't care about you) you're a caring human, I guess. It's very tiresome and does far more harm than good, IMO

Old feel-good bumper sticker:
Have You Hugged Your Kids Today?

New feel-good bumper sticker:
Have You Called For Someone to be Fired Today?; 9/16/14, 9:27 AM
Birches said...: Pants is right.

Get the guy counseling, maybe probation and supervised visits. Leave him alone.; 9/16/14, 9:39 AM
Birches said...: Peterson said he wasn't in anger when he did it. He talked to the boy about why he was doing it before and after.

It sounds to me as if he really thought he was being a good parent.

Yeah, he left marks and he knows that was wrong. But child abuse can be hard to define. If I put my kid in a small, dark box for time out that's not child abuse, right? I didn't leave a mark. Or how about I kill their pet rabbit because they were disobedient. I didn't touch the kid; not child abuse, right?

If he continues after this, then by all means put him away. But I don't think many that have been subjected to this kind of abuse think they would have turned out so much better if their parents had been tossed in prison, instead of given tools to handle parenting differently.; 9/16/14, 9:45 AM
Thorley Winston said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9/16/14, 9:52 AM
Thorley Winston said...: I saw the pictures. The kid was four years old. Peterson confessed. Lock him up.; 9/16/14, 9:58 AM
exhelodrvr1 said...: Repeatedly elect him Democratic Senator from Massachusetts.; 9/16/14, 10:41 AM
Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of New York said...: I have changed my mind. Everybody who is perceived as guilty of any offence that offends people based up-to-date morality and based on incomplete evidence should lose their livelihood immediately!; 9/16/14, 10:46 AM
Thorley Winston said...: I have changed my mind. Everybody who confesses to beating a four year old so severely that they have welts a week later should lose their livelihood immediately!

FIFY; 9/16/14, 10:54 AM
Achilles said...: Mark said...
"What Pants said.

If the beating were as bad as has been claimed, yes, Peterson deserves punishment, but more importantly he (and his family) need help. Ripping his family apart and parading the results in the street isn't the way to do it.

Is it my imagination, or is scapegoating becoming more socially acceptable recently? There seems to be a lot of witch burning of late."

This is a two pronged strategy for the left.

First is to isolate an individual and call to the world about how evil he is. Force him to apologize to you. Force him to admit he is less than you. Force him to accept your "help." Force the child and the father into "counseling." Force them both to accept the state as their master. This has the added benefit of driving another father away from his kids.

The second is a chance to morally preen themselves. This is absolutely necessary when you claim dominion over other people's lives. Especially when the biggest achievement in their life is a psychology/sociology/communications degree. OUTRAGE! Can't you see the pictures!? We must tell these heathens how to live and if you disagree then you are a terrible person too and you must submit!

Adrian screwed up. But if they ran every story about CPS and foster care abuse they had nobody would ever let the government take another kid. He will do a better job raising that kid than the state would.; 9/16/14, 11:01 AM
Achilles said...: Thorley Winston said...
"I saw the pictures. The kid was four years old. Peterson confessed. Lock him up."

We are so far gone in this country I can't tell if this is satire or not.; 9/16/14, 11:04 AM
acm said...: He will do a better job raising that kid than the state would.

----

No one is talking about putting the child in foster care/state custody. The child currently lives with his mother (who reported the abuse and sought medical care) and her family. The beating was administered during "Daddy Peterson's" visitation with the little boy. If Peterson went to prison tomorrow, the child would remain in his mom's home, where he already spends the majority of his time.; 9/16/14, 11:24 AM
Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of New York said...: "FIFY"

No, you proved it for me.; 9/16/14, 11:35 AM
Birches said...: And if Daddy Peterson is in jail, do you think Mommy has the means to support her son?

Judging from Peterson's past Baby Mamas, I'm going to say no.

Locking up does nothing positive to fix the situation, it just makes the outraged feel better.; 9/16/14, 11:39 AM
Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of New York said...: "No one is talking about putting the child in foster care/state custody"

Point missed.

BTW,you haven't been punished until you have been punished by a guy who killed Nazis in the war. It adds a whole other psychological aspect to it.; 9/16/14, 11:40 AM
acm said...: To be clear, I don't think Daddy Peterson necessarily should go to jail; see my other post above. But, yeah, he admits to hitting a four year old repeatedly with a tree branch and shoving leaves in his mouth for good measure. Dude's got some serious issues, possibly related to the violent death of one of his other kids, possibly related to his own upbringing, and he shouldn't be unsupervised around any kids til he gets his shit together on that front. Since his kids all have mothers, none of his kids need to go into foster care for him to have the time to work on his anger management/other problems. I don't think that's particularly controversial.; 9/16/14, 12:04 PM
Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of New York said...: Point so completely missed that discussion is impossible.; 9/16/14, 1:02 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: I'm just glad the same folks who used to advertise black children for alligator bait are still determining what's-what. Without THEM ever going to counseling of any kind ("We don't even THINK about race!") or even being expected to.

White supremacy has come so far,...; 9/16/14, 2:48 PM
Thorley Winston said...: It’s not that hard to figure out. If you’re going to punish your children using corporal punishment, it needs to be age appropriate and you need to remain in control of the force you use at all times.

If you’re leaving a red hand print on their bottom, you’re probably at about the limit of what’s okay.

If you’re leaving bruises, you’re over the line.

If you’re drawing blood and leaving marks that can be seen a week later, your next set of jewelry should be a set of shiny bracelets to go with your new orange jump suit.; 9/16/14, 3:48 PM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: The NFL only has itself to blame for this mess. In trying to extract the maximum buck out of the game they have marketed a brutal man's game to women and children. Not surprisingly there is a conflict. If their viewers had the same demographic as MMA there wouldn't be a problem.; 9/16/14, 5:30 PM
Anonymous said...: What now for Adrian Peterson?

Let him play, or maybe make him play. Do you know how badly hurt you can get if great big guys want to grab you and drag you to the ground? If we can find criminals to do it I think that is a great way to keep them busy and supporting their children. I also think it is time to stop thinking of them as role models for our sons.; 9/17/14, 12:31 AM