By Neal Wooten
There are a lot of posts on Facebook these days, mostly from people my age, which share a common theme. I’ve read many memes that says things like “You never heard your dad’s belt slide out of seven belt loops in 2.6 seconds and it shows.” Or “You never had to go cut your own hickory switch and it shows.”
I believe in discipline, but do we really wish our childhood punishments upon our kids? I’m pretty sure that none of us were fans of those techniques as we were enduring them. Have we forgotten the sheer terror? I for one have not.
My dad was an artist at removing his belt, his preferred medium when it came to creating his signature masterpieces of pain, and it took way less than 2.6 seconds. That sound of the friction of leather on denim is still the scariest sound I’ve ever heard, and I’ve been broadsided on my motorcycle in rush hour, stepped on a rattlesnake, and been struck by lightning.
Sadly I can still remember the worst whippings I ever got as easily as I can remember my best moments. I even remember why I got them, like one day when I was 12 and Dad handed me the keys to our old burgundy Cutlass and instructed me to get groceries out of the trunk. I tired turning the key but it was stuck. I tried harder and the key broke off. And in the words of Forrest Gump, “That’s all I got to say about that.”
And sometimes I got punished for getting punished. I was always getting into trouble at school and spent lots of time in Principal Weldon Parrish’s office and Vice-principal Barnett Wilson’s office. Luckily their motto was: “Whatever happens at Sylvania stays at Sylvania” and I will always love them for that.
But if word ever got to Dad that I had done something to get into trouble at school, even though I had already paid for that action, usually in the form of a paddling, it didn’t matter. It didn’t count if it came from someone else, so he still performed his duty by adding injury to insult.
I agree that kids today need more guidance, more structure, and yes, more discipline. I just question the old methods. So pardon me if I don’t jump on that bandwagon. Some people make the argument that they went through it and turned out fine and I guess that’s true.
As for me I’m not sure. I turned out funny. I tuned out forgiving. I turned out able to sympathize with what others are going through. But I don’t know if I actually turned out fine.