Sounds Right

Understandably children keep adjusting and adapting to meet what they believe are the expectations of the parents. And in those regular moments when the children get it wrong (more often than you would have thought), and don’t fall into the expected patterns the parents expected. Then, in those circumstances, without any doubt, the second form of punishment (Physical) is either expected, or going to occur. But, are we back to examining the concept that most of the behaviour children learn, is based on a learned response to fear. That is, they fear the response of the parents to their behaviour (we did, and I know many others did as well). Regardless, the pressure placed on children, by psychological punishment was highlighted by my situation, as I stood before the stall, stopped after my crime,

a showie to the front of me,

a showie to the back of me,

loudly they thundered

Sworn at with threat and dread

Still held by fist, (my head)

I truly had blundered.*

Well, the showies had me, and the crowd that gathered, even more so. The crowd became fairly vocal, once they knew I was a young criminal. The showies were playing it out in the open now. No official representation offered to me. I was completely embarrassed and terrified. Surely I would not come to any real harm, these were adults after all. They were supposed to look after children. Or should I say, look after good children. I wasn’t. I was a thief.

There is a real ‘electricity’ in a small crowd. The ‘buzz of the masses’ that many people refer to, when explaining how things went ‘out of control’. I didn’t want things to get out of control. I think I was the only one who definitely did not want things to get out of control. I was looking for an official piece of authority in the form of a policeman or such. Even a steward of the fair, or a racecourse, would be a good start. You know who I am referring to if you ever go to the ‘annual shows’ ‘horse races’or ‘state fairs’ etc. The little volunteers or paid men in the white coats. The stewards, who have been given the power to stop people going through a certain gate, if they don’t have a certain pass. These ‘gatekeepers wield their authority without deference. Even one of them would be fine to see right now.

There were more threats of dire punishments, than I would have expected. I guess, thinking back on it now, they knew I was already scared, really scared. So they kept pushing my button. They were playing the top card of controller and I was the victim. In this case, the victim of their game (fast karma really, if you think about it. I stole from them, they were the victim of that, then they caught me and here I was now the victim).

(Continued tomorrow)

*apologies, to Alfred Lord Tennyson and his ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’