Peterson Indicted

[STCLOUDSAYSGOVIKES]

I see a man, who more than any other public figure I know of should value the physical well being of children above all else. When he was a child, he witnessed his brother die in the street after being hit by a car. Just a short while ago his infant son died as a result of brutal child abuse. I'm truly saddened by today's news. Adrian Peterson should know better. Everyone should know better.

I think that ignorance begets ignorance. Adrian Peterson has earned a lot of money, fame and respect in his time as a football player. However, none of that can change the fact that he never learned parenting strategies other than physical discipline, or at least the potential consequences of violence(even if well-intentioned) against a child. He is a product of an ignorant culture. Just search his name, or the words "whoop" or "switch" on Twitter right now and you'll see countless examples of people who were raised by these means defending them. It's a lack of education, a lack of exposure to new ideas that hold cultures back. Most of the problems that plague our society could be cured through education. The contrast between the educated and the ignorant on this topic is stark.

Most of the media reporting on this incident are white, college educated, intelligent people; many of them come from families of privilege. Some of them were surely hit by their parents or other relatives as a form of discipline. But they, at some point in their schooling or personal pursuits of knowledge have been exposed to evidence disproving the usefulness of physical violence against children as a means of discipline. To them, this is a shocking affair. To those who are defending it, whose parents may have whipped them with switches, belts, wooden spoons, etc., this is not a big deal. Their consensus seems to be that he went a little overboard because the boy was only four years old. They use anecdotes like "my mom/dad/grandma whipped me and I turned out fine." But those examples are just that, anecdotal, they don't expose the whole picture. These people say things like "parents in my neighborhood would whoop other people's kids and everyone appreciated it." They credit this physical form of discipline for keeping them out of jail. But why are prisoners the first ones they compare themselves to? I bet they personally know a far greater number of people behind bars than the members of the press covering this story. Were those neighbors who wound up incarcerated spared from the rod? I seriously doubt it.

It is an established fact, scholastically published time and time again, that the use of physical violence against a child is not an effective means of discipline. Does it get the point across quickly? Sure. And Pavlov's dog's mouth watered when the bell rang. Peterson's aforementioned wealth and fame aren't enough to simply put those facts into his head. Adrian Peterson was raised within this culture of ignorance. His education was centered around his football career. There is no time in his life, until now, where he may have been exposed to the right and wrong ways to discipline. The Palestine, Texas school system failed him, the University of Oklahoma failed him, the Minnesota Vikings have failed him. His agent, his manager, his publicist, the mothers of his children have all failed him. Some of those individuals may have been failed in the same ways as he was.

He was raised by the ignorant, he literally didn't know any better. Did his child know better than to do whatever earned him a "whoopin?" No, but he was punished anyway. Adrian should be too.

I just hope the league and the team handles it the right way. I think Peterson should be suspended. Two to four games sounds fair. I think that the justice system should fine him, put him on probation and forbid him from being alone with his son until he completes an education on how to discipline a child through non-physical means.

Ray Rice was fairly treated by the NFL, the first time. They reviewed the evidence at hand, suspended him in a similar way to those who faced similar charges before him. Then the video was released and public pressure got to their heads. The Ravens did the right thing by cutting Rice. It's never fair to compare tragedies, but punching a woman unconscious is a violation of a clearly defined social norm. Whipping a child with a switch is different. A doctor in Minnesota called it abuse. Would a doctor in Texas have said the same thing?


I am a well educated, white male from the Northeast. I was occasionally hit as a child. I sincerely believe what Peterson did was wrong, but I believe I understand why he did it. I selfishly hope that the Vikings do not part ways with this player. This is a problem he can overcome.

I'm an uneducated dolt from the Midwest, and I see at least 5 things I disagree with in your statement. You could read every book in existence about raising a child, but nothing will replace actually doing it.

[Mr Anderson]

I'm an uneducated dolt from the Midwest, and I see at least 5 things I disagree with in your statement. You could read every book in existence about raising a child, but nothing will replace actually doing it.

Well here you go then:

Anecdotal
an·ec·do·tal
ˌanikˈdōtl/Submit
adjective
(of an account) not necessarily true or reliable, because based on personal accounts rather than facts or research.
"while there was much anecdotal evidence there was little hard fact"

Most studies that have made a link between spanking and other forms of corporal punishment on the well being of a child used self-reporting adults. They'd ask them things like if they've ever been to jail or a pyschiatric facility, if they have any psychological problems, what their lifestyle is like, if they have any drug dependencies. And then they'd ask them if they were spanked, whipped, etc., and by doing so they found a link between adults who were punished corporeally as children and adults with mental health conditions.

They use huge sample sizes in these studies. And even the researchers themselves may have had a different experience than the average participant in the study, but that doesn't make their findings any less true.

[gregair13]

Updated story: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300...ld-injury-case

Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson was indicted on charges of reckless or negligent injury to a child, NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport confirmed Friday, according to a source involved in the process.

Peterson was taken into custody Saturday morning in Montgomery County, Texas at 1:06 a.m CT, NFL Media has confirmed with jail personnel. He was subsequently released on $15,000 bond.

The Vikings announced that Peterson will be deactivated for Sunday's game against the New England Patriots.

Lt. Brady Fitzgerald of the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office had previously confirmed to NFL Media that a warrant has been issued for Peterson's arrest. An unknown police department called the City of Houston Police Department with a complaint of child endangerment, and Houston referred it to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office where the alleged case occurred.

http://jailrecords.mctx.org/Judicial...%253D290078382

[jargomcfargo]

Mr. Anderson is 100 % correct. Corporal punishment fosters unintended consequences, such as aggressive behavior and antisocial behavior. What AP did was child abuse. It is up to the victims of this type of discipline, to break the cycle of abuse, and stop beating their children. If you whip your child, there is a good chance they will whip their children; your Grand children. It's no revelation, there are effective ways to discipline children without inflicting physical discomfort. Children need rules and discipline and parents need to be the parent. Striking a child is taking the easy way out. There is nothing easy about parenting. Perpetuating the belief, sparing the rod is spoiling the child is pure outdated fallacy.
End of speech.

[kingpin9995]

I seriously hate this PC world we live in...kids do something wrong, they should be punished. Did AD go over the line? I really don't know, and who are we to say? But when you're in the public eye, you are constantly in the crosshairs. And now on the heels of Goodell's mishandling of the Rice issue, AD is going to made an example. Grand Jury indictment? BS. It sucks that a parent can't discipline his/her child without facing criminal charges.

Bravo to most of your post. I went to a private catholic school and when you got out of line you got a ruler across the knuckles, or maybe a pulled ear as the nun led you out of the room. Or taken in the cloak room by a priest and slammed up against the wall and told.. Not in my class son.. Am I a damaged man because of it? Did I suffer such abuse that it made me seek therapy? No and no. It's called being taken to task and embarrassed in front of your peers. Oh but not today. The spoiled little shits today stand up to you and tell you if you touch me I'll have your job and sue you. These whacko lib groups like NOW and the such have agendas and carry a big stick in the society of poor poor pitiful me. This NOW group and their ilk would love to shut down the BARBARIC NFL. Peterson may never see the field again when these groups get done with him. Was he wrong hell ya. I good whack on the rear is what was needed here not a switch that left welts and bled. You just don't do that to a 4 year old. I have to say though my mother had a rubber belt that when you did the deed you got a few whacks square on the ass and it hurt. I did not make the same mistake twice. Adrian went to the extreme and it's going to cost him dearly. You just can't do what he did in this day and age. Also while I love Petersons game and the story he came from this guy has how many kids with how many women? Come on man are you kidding me? Grow up, you are a huge role model for so many kids and you do what so many in the hood do and bail on these women... The league and the lib groups are going to put major pressue on the Wilfs to cut Peterson, and it may just happen... Sad but true. Oh ya NOW and all these other agenda driven hacks can kiss my skinny white ass..

[RK.]

I wish we hadn't let Toby Gerhart go.

[AngloVike]

I wish we hadn't let Toby Gerhart go.

makes me wonder about the timing the other week about Jerry Jones dropping hints about Peterson. Maybe we were seeing the early moves for Peterson being traded to Dallas.
Re Toby yes maybe we shouldn't. However I think Norv will be able to get good production out of whichever RB is in place on the team.Yes it would work better with Peterson in place but I suspect that Norvs schemes will fit other backs.

[purpledoom]

Sooo I'm seeing a lot of you should never spank a child here. I think if you have more than one child you surely know that every child is different, I have two kids a daughter now an adult and a son. My daughter you could chew out and she would be devastated the son wellll, I've spanked him when he was little and didn't even phase him. All that being said I'm really disappointed in AD here like it or not times have changed. By the way I was one who was spanked with wooden spoons, big fat yardsticks and once my mom got me with a weeping willow switch for about a half a block on the back of my bare legs. She did not abuse me, I've never been in jail and I am not friends with anyone who has ever been in jail.

[MaxVike]

makes me wonder about the timing the other week about Jerry Jones dropping hints about Peterson. Maybe we were seeing the early moves for Peterson being traded to Dallas.
Re Toby yes maybe we shouldn't. However I think Norv will be able to get good production out of whichever RB is in place on the team.Yes it would work better with Peterson in place but I suspect that Norvs schemes will fit other backs.

I actually was thinking the same thing…funny.

[Chazz]

For those lacking the southern vernacular(mostly African Americas), a switch is a light small thin branch that parents instruct children to pick and bring to be disciplined with. This is also a perfect example to pinpoint what people mean when they say "white priviladge". It doesn't mean that every white person has a golden spoon, it just means that the ins and outs our the African American world matters not to your survival. However, the ins and outs of the white world matters to our survival (i.e a bald Black man knowing what mousse is for, while you have no idea what Dax is) (huge assumtions and generalizations)

What an incredibly ignorant statement.