November 2, 2006, - 10:14 am

Psychobabble Study: Tough on Terrorism? Then, You’re a Bad Parent, Unstable

By Debbie Schlussel
Leave it to the flailing Scripps Howard News Service (and Ohio University) to invent a connection between supporting getting tough on terrorists and being a “bad” parent.
That’s what the news service is trying to tell you with a silly survey of 1,031 adult U.S. residents.
The survey found that those who support using torture to get information from a suspected terrorist were more likely to support spanking their children to maintain discipline. Oh, and they found, that Democrats and Independents–surprise, surprise!–are more likely to be against torture and spanking, Republicans more likely to support both.

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Absurd Study: This is a Liberal Scientist’s Brain on Drugs. Any Questions?

But the attempt to defame those who are tough on terrorism doesn’t stop there. Scripps Howard reporters presented the findings along with a quote from a left-wing Ivy League psychiatrist who sounds like he’s an ACLU lawyer and says that those who are tough on terror and support spanking are unstable and bad parents:

“We know that when parents spank, it’s a way to manage the frustrations of parenthood. It’s usually done when there are a lot of emotions, generally when parents are at the ends of their ropes,” said Kyle Pruett, a psychiatry professor and director of medical studies at Yale University’s Child Study Center.
Pruett said he’s not surprised attitudes on spanking are linked to – although not necessarily the cause of – attitudes on torture.
“I can see why people would think that terrorists have frustrated us enormously, to the point that we struggle to see them even as human beings,” he said. “We feel we can violate them because they have so frustrated us. So we say it is all right to spank. It is all right to torture.”

Oh, and by the way, this absurd study claims men and Whites are more likely to be torturing, bad parents. Women and minorities, less likely.
And the “scientists” who conducted the study were more likely to have checked their testicles and their Americanism (if they ever had any) at the door.




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7 Responses

“I can see why people would think that terrorists have frustrated us enormously, to the point that we struggle to see them even as human beings…We feel we can violate them because they have so frustrated us.”
Silly me, I thought the purpose of interrogation was to extract information from terrorists. Nope, it’s just because we’re frustrated. Typical liberal BS. They’d rather see another 9/11 than admit that Islam is a problem.

thegoalie on November 2, 2006 at 11:30 am

I’m a liberal and I support spanking, and torture, although I acknowledge the issue of false confessions.
“Silly me, I thought the purpose of interrogation was to extract information from terrorists. Nope, it’s just because we’re frustrated. Typical liberal BS. They’d rather see another 9/11 than admit that Islam is a problem.”
Torture and Islam aren’t related so I don’t see how your last sentence there makes sense.
That being said, I acknowledge that torture can be a useful tool for interrogation and that we should do what we can to get information we need to protect the nation, but I also realize that it can lead to forced/false confessions that can lead us to waste time on a wild goose chase, so it’s a catch 22.

FSM-FTW!(descent) on November 2, 2006 at 12:15 pm

If you love your kids, discipline them. If spanking modifies behavior to acceptable standards, then you’re doing society a favor. We already have an over-abundance of undisciplined, shitty, twits that have reached adulthood, that could have used a few more spankings in their childhood and adolescence.

Yiddish Steel on November 2, 2006 at 12:31 pm

From what i’ve seen, Republicans SPARE THE ROD and spoil their brats a lot more than Democrats…but then again, i’m seeing the world from the Black side of the street.

EminemsRevenge on November 2, 2006 at 1:10 pm

Most psychiatrists need to see psychiatrists.

FreethinkerNY on November 2, 2006 at 1:55 pm

From what I’ve seen, minority families tend to be less cohesive, more transient, and spend less time together as a unit. They also seem to have less discipline and less boundaries.
Two examples: one neighbor allows her kids to stay up as late as they like — usually until midnight. These are 4th and 7th graders. They get sick often, don’t do very well in school, and fall asleep frequently in school.
Another neighbor, working parents of a 3rd and 4th grader, leave the kids home alone for a couple hours after school each day. The kids are generally not a behavior problem, but they do get a little out of control occasionally.
Now, we have black parents in our suburban school system in Pickerington, OH suing the schools because their kids are disciplined more often than white kids.
Perhaps expectations are different in the primarily white suburban schools than the systems these folks transferred from? I suspect the school administrators and teachers in our schools expect kids to behave, period.
Back to the subject at hand: perhaps they need to try spanking, or just paying more attention to their kids.
I’m not afraid to spank my kid — as a matter of fact, the couple of times I had to spank her was a last resort when she was younger. She’s pretty much an angel now, an excellent student, and has very clearly defined boundaries.
I think torture is a necessary evil of war, particularly the war on islam.
And guess what? I’m a white conservative Republican. I guess that makes me a bad parent.

ConnectTheDots2006 on November 2, 2006 at 5:06 pm

Spare the rod, spoil the child.

Craig C on November 4, 2006 at 4:01 pm

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