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Original poster

Why are cruel parenting sites legal?

421 replies

Blu · 15/05/2006 15:21

I have heard of Gary Ezzo before, and today discovered the horrific Michael Pearl. Pearl and his wife actually advocate beating children under the age of one with 'switches' from a tree, and describe horrendous incidences where they have beaten other peopel's children. He instructs parents to beat children relentlessly.

Since incitement to other kinds of violence is banned, and the beahviour this man admits to is presumably legally child abuse, why is it permissable that he openly encourages people to beat children. To beat babies? (he proudly describes beating an 11 month old on his bare leg with a stick).

I really, really want him arrested.

OP posts:
Pruni · 15/05/2006 21:12

The freedom of speech as regards the religious content of books such as these is a huge, smelly, decomposing red herring.

I do think it is reasonable of an organisation such as Amazon to decide who their core market is and not stock books which will alienate those customers.
I can understand why they haven't done so though.

shellybelly · 15/05/2006 21:13

I have to say as soon as I read the reply I told my dh and said that they were right (sorry) the best we can do out of this I think is for all of us to add a review to amazon and hopefully the book will stay in amazons stock room

zippitippitoes · 15/05/2006 21:13

b ut it is a crime in this country to do as they do

expatinscotland · 15/05/2006 21:13

This kind of sick shit really makes me want to get medieval on some of these gutless twonks.

Caligula · 15/05/2006 21:13

you said it HC.

You're coming up with some humdingers of titles, MP! Grin Keep 'em coming, I'm almost tempted to buy some of them out of morbid curiosity.

That lie about spanking being illegal in England is deliberately put there to make it sound as if their systematic, cold-blooded abuse is the same as smacking. Whatever you think of smacking, this isn't the same, imo.

zippitippitoes · 15/05/2006 21:14

has anyone emailed their site?

FrannyandZooey · 15/05/2006 21:14

I disagree HC. I don't want these books sold either. But a multinational company should not be in the business of deciding what we can and cannot read and write.

Caligula · 15/05/2006 21:14

Would there be any point e-mailing these nutters?

hunkermunker · 15/05/2006 21:16

I'm all for freedom of speech. But to me, this is as bad as sexual abuse. Do Amazon sell books about how to sexually abuse a baby?

harpsichordcarrier · 15/05/2006 21:18

absolutely they should franny. absolutely they should.
what about corporate responsibility? Amazon is not some public service organisation.
Amazon would not offer a channel for child pornography. if you would like to tell me the difference between this book and child pornography, I would be interested to hear it.

snafu · 15/05/2006 21:18

'...without breath to complain...' Shock

It is not a work of imaginative fiction. It is not a philosophical discussion. It is a 'how to' book for people who enjoy spending their Sunday afternoons going round B&Q looking for a suitable implement to beat their 11-month-old with. It is a manual of child abuse - and I never use that phrase lightly.

Patronising guff about chucking Lolita on the barbeque misses the point entirely, imo.

FrannyandZooey · 15/05/2006 21:19

I think we are in danger of getting carried away now, guys.

harpsichordcarrier · 15/05/2006 21:19

Franny - are you saying that Amazon should not have ANY limit to what they stock?

Caligula · 15/05/2006 21:20

I just think they should make people aware that this is not a childcare manual, it's mental miscellania such as Morningpaper is sourcing so well.

What gets me about all these titles as well, is the bloody price of them. Such a lot of money for mad rantings, when you can surf the web and hear simliar dross for free!

LittleSarah · 15/05/2006 21:21

That is the problem, they would just email back some Christian quotes and general patronising shite about how we haven't seen the light, etc.

shellybelly · 15/05/2006 21:22

these people are scaring their kids into being well behaved by hitting them and its awful Sad. I don't think emailing them will make any difference tbh and they will probably think its great that the book is stirring up things and may end up in publicity for them and then people start buying the book

monkeytrousers · 15/05/2006 21:27

I wouldn't waste your time Cali - they'll thrive on it.

MP - You are making a huge category error. That book on rape is descriptive not prescriptive, it is describing a phenomena of rape to better understand how to legislate against it. I actually haven't read the book but have read papers on the same subject, so I can't be a 100% sure that the authors are presenting the science correctly. To say something is 'natural' is not to say it is good, to excuse or condone it.

Rape is a phenomena which occurs in every culture on earth and men have a more 'natural' propensity to rape than women. The papers I have read are only asking why this is, not saying it's a fact of life so we should just accept it.

This book is often cited as arguments against evolutionary biology, as it Men are From Mars, Women are from Venus. I can only say John Grey is not a specialist on EB. I'm going to read this book now though to find out.

This is the danger of moral hysteria - the good and misunderstood gets attacked along with the trash.

tamum · 15/05/2006 21:28

I agree with harpsi and Pruni- think freedom of speech is a red herring. This is different, so different from books like Lolita, and I really don't see why Amazon shouldn't exercise some corporate responsibility over this. They don't have some kind of god-given duty to stock every book in print, do they?

monkeytrousers · 15/05/2006 21:30

Shit! I just walked over my own picket line.

hulababy · 15/05/2006 21:32

Amazon has printed my review, based on the quotes here and on the website. I am suprised.

shellybelly · 15/05/2006 21:33

can you put the link on here hulababy

hulababy · 15/05/2006 21:33

It is on here already somewhere further down ....

hulababy · 15/05/2006 21:34

\link{http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1892112000/002-3406078-7856828?v=glance&n=283155\here}

I am afraid it isn't well worded or typed. I was angry and upset by the quotes as I typed it.

monkeytrousers · 15/05/2006 21:36

They home school as well?? My god, their daughter would have had no chance, no escape. Fully indoctrinated with violence. Poor girl. I wonder if they whipped her until she wrote an acceptable piece in their defence. It's truly barbaric.

thewomanwhothoughtshewasahat · 15/05/2006 21:37

I haven't read the whole thread but from what i can gather freedom of speech is not a card that can be played here. The right to freedom of expression in international law is NOT an absolute right. there are times when it has to be balanced against other rights - including the right to be protected from violence. Outlawing incitement to violence does not violate freedom of expression.