I got to thinking about problem children this morning. More specifically, children with behavioral problems. Say, for instance you were dealing with a child who lied, told stories about other children, called them names (and called you names), cheated at games, stole money from your purse or wallet, thought he or she was better than anyone else, constantly whined abut how he or she was being treated, bragged, bullied, blamed everyone else for things that went bad,took credit for things he or she had nothing to do with, and seemed to put others in danger of being physically and emotionally harmed. If this described a child with whom you were dealing what would you do? Indeed, which problem would you tackle first?
Yes I know the first thing you would think of was that the child’s parents needed to be involved (or had failed the child). However, the specific child I was thinking of is a man over 70 years old. His parents are not going to be either helpful or able to be held accountable for their child’s behavior—they have passed on. So, let’s ask a specific group of people how they would handle a child with these (and more) behavioral problems. Let’s ask Trump supporters how they would handle the child especially if that child were their child. However, let’s not tell them that the child in question is Donald J. Trump.
I would guess that Trump supporters would find the child’s behavior inappropriate and would have numerous recommendations for what to do to correct the child’s behaviors. So, one should listen patiently, perhaps even take a few notes as the Trump supporters tell us how to correct the child. I expect the concept of a woodshed would come into play along with other corporal “techniques.” Then at the end of this, find a way to ask them exactly why they support Trump (might be best to make sure they are not armed before this final question). I don’t know if this will work, but it may be a way to find out why they would vote for a man whom they would spank in other circumstances.
T. Edward Westen, October 26, 2022
This material also appears at deartedandjody today