Messed Up Religious Teachings #1

So I recently came across one of the more revolting "religious" sites I've seen. From Avigdor Miller, who I'm pleased to say is no longer with us in this world, but there is a collection of cult members trying to carry on his message. They have an article up entitled Rav Avigdor Miller on Potches and Child Abuse potch is the Yiddish term for hit and is commonly used in the Orthodox Jewish community in connection with physical punishment of children.

There's extensive research to show that hitting children is not effective and can have long-term negative consequences. While some may say, "It worked for me and I'm fine" the fact that you think hitting children is a good thing may be a sign that you aren't in fact "fine".

So back in July 2000 Miller, wrote about how horrible it is that the modern world doesn't let you get away with hitting your children like they used to. He tells a story, about a girl who didn't want to follow the school's dress code and was at risk of being expelled. Well, Viggy (a nickname I recently learned for him and will be using in future posts as well) advised, “Why didn’t you give her a slap and force her to follow the dress code?” To which the parents were smart enough to reply, “Well, she has emotional problems.” Of course, he goes on about how she became such a problem because his advice was ignored.

Seriously, WTF. My advice, Why didn't anyone ask the girl why she had an issue with following the dress code? If she has emotional issues maybe she has undiagnosed sensory issues that make the required attire uncomfortable. Maybe she has other valid reasons. No, those are never covered.

He continues, "There’s no such thing as not obeying. A child must obey" It seems to me that he considers children property and not actual human beings. While yes children do need to be taught right and wrong by parents, only when you're trying to enforce a patriarchal power structure do you use words like, "obey".

I'm reminded of the words of philosopher Herbert Spencer:

"Despotism in the home leads to despotism in the state."

If the children aren't taught to obey without question, then when their adults they won't blindly follow what he has to say.