Whipping a Daughter. Good Dad? Bad Dad?
By now you have probably seen or heard about the YouTube video showing Texas County Judge, William Adams, mercilessly whipping his 16-year-old daughter with a belt. Hillary Adams made the video public in reaction to her father’s history of abuse.
The punishment was meted out for pirating videos and music off the internet. But does the punishment fit the crime? Or is the crime an excuse for punishment?
It all reminds me of another man, a pastor, who beat his daughter for such infringements as falling grades. After deeming a paper unacceptable he’d command, “Bra and panties!” Meaning go upstairs to your bedroom and strip down so I can beat you. Why the lingerie garb was necessary is unclear—or maybe it is clear.
Interestingly, these men’s wives responded similarly to moms who fail to stop incest. They let things be. Typically, incest occurs when wives/mothers are powerless. They may be physically or mentally incapacitated, or they may be absent. But sometimes they disempower themselves, believing their husbands are the head of home and, really, King of the Castle. Their job is to obey. So they don’t step in.
Except on this video Hillary’s mom not only supported the beating, but joined in, taking a turn at bruising Hillary, herself. “Bend over and take it like a grown woman,” she ordered.
Makes you wonder if Mom had heard that phrase before. On “Today” she said she had left her husband, saying she had been “brainwashed” by a cycle of abuse and dysfunction.
After Mom took her turn whipping her daughter, Dad told Hillary to submit to him.
This notion that women should submit and accept beatings is troubling to say the least.
Just speculating, but when you add it all up the whole scene resembles a sadistic fantasy. You have to wonder if Mom took over from Dad hoping he’d exit for good and take his focus off “the other woman” — but then punished her daughter for “provoking” (in her mind) Dad’s prurient interest. Or did Mom get a sadistic thrill, too? Or was she just being a good parent? Ok, not the last one.
When women are seen as mere things to satisfy urges — whether sexual, or a drive to dominate and belittle in hopes of feeling bigger, more powerful, or whatever…
The wrong person is being punished.
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Posted on November 11, 2011, in feminism, gender, psychology, sexism, violence against women, women and tagged domestic violence, feminism, gender, Hillary Adams, Judge William Adams, psychology, sexism, violence against women, women. Bookmark the permalink. 55 Comments.
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This is kind of scary to read and hear about. I grew up in a household with no father figure, as my father died when I was younger. I also don’t recall my mother ever beating me, there were threats once in a while, but my mother never had followed through, she never needed to. I was a relatively good child, never disrespecting my mother or my family and never really causing trouble. A few light spanks here and there might be needed when punishing your kid, but beating a child won’t teach them anything, it would just mentally and emotionally scar them for the rest of their lives. Talking to your child is probably the best thing to get through to them, like my mother did, she always told me straight what I did wrong and why my actions were bad. You also need a good relationship between parent and child for them to actually respect and listen. If you don’t listen or pay attention to your child then they won’t do the same for you.
As a father of two small aged girls, I think the beatings were unnecessary and excessive. Nowadays, hitting your kids will end in the parent being arrested, children taken away, and a custody battle with family court. Getting bad grades, writing a paper that was not good enough is not a reason to beat your kids with a belt. I understand that parents spank their kids and give them time outs, which seems a bit more sensible. But, beating them with objects and having the other parent participate does not seem logical. Men have been seen as “The King of the Castle”, for many years being the breadwinner and the one to carry out discipline in the home. Today, we find a few couples that partake in both discipline and being the “King and Queen of the Castle”. Most women that are mothers do discipline their children, but not as harshly as we have seen in this article. I am not sure if I agree that showcasing this type of behavior on YouTube is a good idea either. I think that putting out your personal business and behavior for the world to see, end up with many problems. As we can see, this couple ended up divorced a teenager that is scorned for life.
I think the only way she was able to escape the abuse was to put this on YouTube.
Sick fucks whipping their daughter n asking her to undress . Hope every single person thats ever done this burns in hell like the piece of shit he/she is. Get fucking treated dickheads
Me too! I’m glad she was tech tech savvy enough to catch it on tape. Now her parents have to live with the Publicity of that. I hope she is OK now.
I know this old but I had to comment. My dad whipped me very severely all the way up till I left home for college. He’d always tell me to go to my room and get undressed, which meant I had to take everything off including my bra and panties. Then he’d come in and whip me from head to toe. I got whipped with so many different things – the belt, leather dog leash, horse whip, extension cord, you name it. I could never figure out why I had to be completely naked when he whipped me, but now I know that it was sexual for him. It was so awful, and I’ll never forgive him.
I’m so sorry for what you had to go through. I hope that you can recover, perhaps with the help of a therapist. Best wishes to you.
Beating your kid is just no. Regardless of your gender and the kid’s. I can’t understand how anyone could possibly logically justify it. How do these people sleep at night? I feel guilty even for raising my voice at my kid when I lose my patience, I just marvel at how this “dad’s” brain must be wired to validate this behaviour…
No matter what reasons the father has, he should not beat and hurt his daughter because that is not the right way to raise a child. If he truly loves his daughter, he would not do something makes her cry. Whipping a daughter is totally immoral, and this guy is bad as a father and man. Parents punish their child when he/she does bad things but physical violence should not be used as punishment because it is not the right way to teach their child what is right and wrong. How can parents teach their kids right things by doing wrong things like whipping their kids?
I watched the video before I read this blog, but it is too horrible to watch the entire video. I could not believe what the parents have done with their daughter. Their action toward their daughter was beyond punishment. I think that the purpose of their punishment is to hurt their daughter, not to guide her onto the right path. I used to smack my children’s bottom when they made mistakes or did not follow the rules. But soon after I realized that punishment cannot lead to successful result and hurts children mentally, and children can learn nothing from it. I think the parents should not discipline their daughter; instead, they should get disciplined.
This infuriates me so much!! I also feel this is definitely child abuse and the daughter is not safe in this home. My heart aches for the girl in the video, as well for all victims of child abuse. This issue is very close to my heart and it is unbelievably upsetting. For some reason, it is the young girls in my family that are singled out for abuse. I think there is a sexual component to it, as others have commented.
The adults in the video need serious, immediate help, and I think their rights to raise children should be taken away for the protection of the girl until if and when the adults learn how to parent in a non-violent, non-abusive way. I expect there is underlying history of pain, abuse and denial in the parents and that they are acting out of what they learned or experienced in their upbringing, blindly passing on what may have been done to them. I don’t think the adults are aware of the damage they are causing. I see and hear them blaming, justifying and acting out their sicknesses on a child victim. I see very sick adults who need serious help.
I support child-rearing that includes lots of praise and rewards, and for discipline using relinguishment of privililedges, rather than physical, sexual and emotional abuse. It can take a lifetime to recover from being abused, and it makes it so hard for a child from a family of abuse to have a healthy trusting relationship when they reach adulthood. Child abuse is the most criminal offense of all, and I believe it’s where the majority of pain, dysfunction and crime come from.
I’m thankful that most of the people who posted are upset and disgusted with what the video showed, and I was appalled that the YouTube replies showed some support of this appalling violence. Yikes!
This is terrible! I can’t understand this at all! Coming from a country that was first in making laws that aimed to protect children, this is so foreign to me. This would teach a child the wrong way of dealing with things, we can’t battle it out of whom is the most dominant person whenever we feel like we don’t get what we want. This girl will never learn about respect and respecting others if her parents are beating her, you can’t beat someone to respect you, only fear you.
The parent’s should get arrested and face the consequences for this, I can’t see how this can be acceptable in any country. I see that some people believe it’s ok with some spanking, but don’t agree at all! You don’t hit someone you love and should want to protect, and the fact that the father was a judge should just give him a harder punishment, he is supposed to uphold the law, not break it by using his power to hurt people.
I understand a little punishment is needed such as a spanking, but using any sort of “weapon” on a defenseless child is disgusting. I feel like the person giving the punishment has some sort of problem with control and they get kick out of being in power. I really find this post hard to read because I can not in any state of mind approve of incest. That is your child and harming them in both a physical and psychological way like that is gross and the parent should be hung for doing that.
I watched the YouTube video; I almost want to give the parents a spanking. Both parents went way over the line. I feel when you beat a kid it’s a quick fix, you simply showing authority putting them into submission. The verbal abuse is not acceptable either, Hello do you know what age we live in, it’s not social acceptable to beat your kids. If parents want real want their children to change they need to be tough on the issue and soft on the person not vice versa. Definitely see culture and ignorance playing a role in this. Having southern roots I can see them being more tolerate towards spanking however they go overboard. I don’t want to even imagine how this man runs his courtroom. The parents are very ignorant and unaware of the harm they can do psychologically and physically. She must have really hated her father to send a seven year old video viral to ruin his image. In the end Adams dissever full punishment of the law for the abuse.
I believe in spanking a child but not whipping or beating a child. Some children do need to be spanked. There are something’s kids do that they know they should not do. Kids need to be disciplined. I was spank twice in my whole entire life, my mom only had to yell at me and I would cry. My older brother on the other hand was the type of child that pushed my mom to see how far he could push the boundaries my mom set. My mom disciplining him got to the point where he would laugh at her, and as he got into his teens he would get physical with my mom because he wanted to do what ever he wanted to do, he did not want any rules. I think that my brother needed a male figure in his life.
I cannot even bare to witness a second of the graphic abuse that is being committed in this video. The punishment definitely does not fit the “crime.” Pirating music and videos offline could possibly result in a hefty fine, however, that is absolutely no reason for this poor girl to endure such physical, mental, and emotional abuse, especially from both parents. This video essentially reiterates the stereotype of males being the “leaders” of the home, which grants them the privilege of authority and power, while the women obey are more submissive, and sort of serve (in opposition to providing). Many advertisements also demonstrates this subtly; women are depicted as being “dominated” by a male, consequently giving more power to the men. This is also detrimental for the stereotypes aimed at women; in this video, the daughter is being pushed around like a rag doll, so the widely held but fixed and oversimplified image of women as weak is unfortunately, but realistically increasing. The punishment definitely does not fit the crime. This video gets even more disturbing as the mother joins in on the beating. It is not unusual that she does, but it paints an even more “sadistic fantasy.” I believe that it is a particular family’s history which regards abuse as acceptable, which is why it occurs. A whip to the butt once or twice would suffice, but what seems as an eternity of pain is never acceptable.
Disciplining children is a matter of getting on the same understanding as them. For those abusive parents out there, help me understand, or at least try to, do you inflict this sort of torture upon your own kin because you feel that there is no other way to set your kids straight, or in your eyes, the physical beating is the most effective way to teach them a lesson. Perhaps it could be because a parent feels some sort of dominance?
The video of William Adams beating his teenage daughter was very difficult to watch. Not only was it disturbing, but it upset me so much that he, a County Judge already with so much authority and a role model to his community, would do this. This would affect his society, and the fathers in it could possibly model after him. Physical abuse is never okay, let alone carrying out such a violent action towards a young girl that could psychologically traumatize her. Hillary Adams seemed so helpless and powerless, and the only other female in the room, her mother, didn’t even take her side and advocating William’s menacing ways. He’s a terrible dad; a bad dad for beating his daughter. He should not be practicing law because he is so unfit to do so if he cannot abide by the law himself; this is child abuse and he should be the one being punished for it, not Hillary.
I had not heard of or seen the video brought up in this article so after reading it I immediately watched the clip. I did not make it half way through the video before turning it off, it disgusted me that there is a father and a mother out there that could do that to their own daughter. Whipping your children with a belt or other device was allowed and common practice in the past however, in today’s society it is just plain wrong. The attempt at justifying these parents is sad, the 16 year old daughter downloaded illegal music, that type of punishment is far beyond what I believed was deserved. I think the questions you bring up about the mothers motives is interesting as well, I would love to know what the reason was for why she joined in on the beating.
This article is pretty disturbing because I think there is a fine line between punishment and abuse and this definitely is abuse in my book. Sure, to each his own, if you’re gonna choose contact as a form a punishment, it can be done with a hand and a tap on the bottom up to a certain age, but when your daughter is almost an adult and you’re whipping her with a belt and telling her to be submissive, that is not okay. Without a doubt I would say he’s a “bad dad”, because just based off of what I’ve read, I would automatically assume that he sexually abuses the daughter as well based off the orders he gives her while whipping her.
BAD DAD. For sure. This is actually really disturbing and its sad that its not un comman. ive been spanked and hit for “disipline” but never that way, and only from my mom. Its more disturbing the things the dad would say, it seems sexual for sure, which is even worse. and for the mom to join in? clearly, this couple has a horrible mentality of what disipline is and how they should handle situations with their daughter.
wow. To be honest, before reading this blog I’m not sure I would have noticed an incident like this as being anything more than an out of control parent abusing his child. I wouldn’t have looked at gender, or any of the underlying meaning behind why a parent might do this to a child. I see it’s obvious (to me at least) that exerting his power over someone smaller, and less able to care for themselves than him makes him feel superior- which is probably why it went on for as long as it did. Every lashing he gave, and every scream she made fueled that feeling of power he seemed to get from the whole experience. That explains to me why he didn’t stop when the mother finally got her to do what they were asking her to do and turn over. In watching the interview with both the daughter and mother after the fact, I couldn’t take her seriously. She said that her husband was controlling and would “make her do things”. I’m glad that she took responsibility for her part in the situation, because it seemed like for a moment she wasn’t going to.
This blog has definitely made me question the way that I approach things like this- and is making me wonder if maybe I shouldn’t think a little deeper about what may be going on, and why it’s happening rather than just taking it at face value. Very uncomfortable, but without experiencing the uncomfortable and questioning things there remains very little possibility for true growth and learning. Thank you.
Much of what we do is about what sociologists call “the social construction of personal identity.” So if something seems off, like a punishment hardly fitting a crime, you have to wonder what other goal a person may have in mind.
This is most definitely a case of child abuse and neglect; this includes both examples given in the article. I do see one thing lacking in this article and that is the acknowledgement that no matter what gender a child, or adult is; neglect and abuse are wrong. Whether you are the son or daughter who is getting abused and neglected, or whether you are a father or mother inflicting abuse and neglect. To answer the question posed in the article of “does the punishment fit the crime? Or is the crime an excuse for punishment?”; I would say that no the punishment does not fit the crime, or any crime that a child could commit. In my opinion, no matter what your child does, physical abuse and neglect of any form are never okay, or the answer to solving any problems. I agree that the crime is the excuse for punishment, and it is a lousy excuse at best. These “parents” seem to just wait until their children do something deemed “wrong” and then they abuse and neglect them. In the case of the pastor, this seems very true because he had a specific saying that the daughter understood and knew that this meant she was going to be physically abused, or “punished” as these fathers and mothers would call it. The whole idea of child abuse and neglect makes my stomach turn upside down, and I believe there should be more severe forms of punishment for the “parents” who commit these types of crimes. The real perpetrators and people committing the crimes in these cases are the fathers and mothers of these children, and all the other fathers and mothers who abuse and neglect their children.
Thank you.
Re: “no matter what gender a child, or adult is; neglect and abuse are wrong.”
Agree, absolutely.
Beating a child is horrible and is not needed. There are other ways to punish a child for doing something wrong that is not hurtful. Such as taking away the computer, grounding him/her for a certain amount of time, and even just talking to them so they can understand what they did wrong. Many children get beaten and as they grow up some become violent because that was how they were raised. My parents were hit by a belt or a wooden spoon if they did something wrong. When I was a kid, my mother did use a wooden spoon a few times, but stopped because she did not want to do what her parents did. She realized that this is not the correct way to discipline her children. Beating a child is not the right way. I think it would not solve anything, but just make their lives harder.
All I have to say is wow! How insensitive, horrible, and ignorant do you have to be to go to the extremes of yelling at your daughter and beating her senseless?? This was an awful video to seem, but it shows everyone how the fear Judge William Adams has about his daughter having the free will to go on the internet. How awful is the internet? Everyone has their own opinion just like I have my own. I believe that you choose what you want to see on the internet. Just like how you choose what to do everyday in your daily life. Why would the idea of a 16 year old girl exploring the internet have to turn out with a beating? It is just flabbergasting that a Judge who should hold a greater understanding for people would turn out to be such a senseless low life.
I agree with Ted on this one this father was so out of line and to me seems to be the prime example of how not to be a good dad. It seems that this father has a need to express his dominance and the easiest and most effective way is through the beating of his daughter. Doing so to his wife would be obvious abuse but when put onto his daughter he can justify that he is parenting (even if the justification is in his own mind). I also think that the beating was not a first occurrence; as Jerry D said the camera was in place suggesting that this was not only a repeat offense but anticipated as well. My heart breaks for this young girl and I am disgusted by the so called parents. This is a matter of abuse not punishment/discipline. This child will probably need therapy for many years thanks to those awful people when all she needed was for someone to express the severity of what she was doing and the consequence she could face should she get caught then a reasonable punishment not a full out barbaric beating.
I think Judge Adams is sadistic and at the very least should be disbarred and hopefully charged criminally for child abuse. He presides mainly over cases involving children and can’t possibly be an advocate for their well being since he is an abusive parent himself. As is the case with most child abuse, he didn’t feel he did anything wrong. He is unrepentant. He said that the beating wasn’t as bad as it was portrayed in the video and he was just “disciplining” his daughter.
I also think the mother should be charged as well. She may have been the victim of a cycle of abuse and dysfunction but she participated in the child abuse too and for that, there is no excuse.
This video is disturbing, saddening and triggering anger at the same time. I tried so hard to watch the video to the end but I found myself crying in the middle of it. I just couldn’t watch it because it was so painful to watch and at some point I felt like I was the one being hit. My mother spanked the stubbornness out of me when I was young, or so she thought. Spanking a child in my culture is a norm, so much that one would get a hiding if you lost a lunch box at school, got a low grade, or something as stupid as accidentally breaking a glass while washing the dishes. And the same happens at school, when one gets an answer wrong or talk back to a teacher. Knowing all of these, I dislike Mr Adams for the way in which he was “disciplining” his daughter. There’s a huge difference between disciplining and cruelty and the in which he was “disciplining” his daughter, to me it came across as cruel. I mean parents have all the right in the world to discipline their kids as they wish, but Mr Adams “disciplinary” was rather disturbing.
This type of punishment will lead towards hatred between father/mother and daughter/son. Nothing good comes out of this. The parents beat her out of anger that they are supposed to obey the law and most of all their reputation. I also wonder why they beat her in the dark. Hearing the “judge” tell his daughter, do you want me to beat you into submission? Makes me think, what else does he do to her? He disciplined his daughter the wrong way; he could’ve chosen a better method instead of beating her. Or he possibly tried everything and his anger got to him. I also think that this happens to her a lot, to put up a hidden camera to record her parent’s beating her. The father was probably abused mentally or physically when younger and carried the mentality thinking it’s OK because I am doing this in my own home. His anger got the best of him and it lead him to make bad decisions.
I clicked on the link and watched the video before reading your words. It’s so disturbing! I felt like closing the window and not watching it anymore. I just kept saying: “Oh My God, Oh My God.” I wonder if this person judges his cases the same way he judged his daughter’s actions. He acts as if he was more than just angry. It fells like he was discounting all of his personal frustrations on his daughter. What kind of father does that? How could he possibly not realize that he was hurting a human being, or even worst, the girl that he probably once called his baby girl? It is so abusive, and I wonder if he would do the same if he there was a boy instead of a girl. He kept saying: “bend over the fucking bed; bend over like I said; damn it!” He is not only beating her, but also telling her to accept it all. He uses such a harsh insulting language. I also don’t agree with the mother’s actions. She comes and orders her own daughter to “bend over and take it like a grown woman.” I was shocked! It’s unbelievable! There are no excuses; she should have at least tried to help her daughter. When it comes to the father, there is nothing he can say to explain his actions. No father in this world will be respected by their children by using harsh corporeal punishment for defying authority. A daughter might fear her father when he acts this way, but she will not see him as a person who deserves respect.
One last note; I think the girl who was being punished is a brave girl. The fact that she had the courage to publish this video shows that she is standing up for herself. I hope that girls that are abused will see this video and realize that they, too, can take action to defend themselves.
This is clearly child abuse. I could not watch more than a minute of the video. These parents are sick and do not know the deference between discipline and child abuse. Judge William Adams is a terrible judge who is suppose to defend and prosecute criminals when in fact he is the criminal in this case. No child should have to go through this physical abuse just because she used the Internet to download games and music or any other reason. Using a belt to hit Hillary was very harsh and uncalled for. Parents should be there for their children and care for them not hurt them emotionally and physically. Judge William Adams needs help and should not be serving as a judge in Texas or any other states.
I hadn’t heard about this story until reading this blog. I couldn’t even watch the entire video. It was too cruel and crazy. That was child abuse. Hilary’s father verbally and physically abused her. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Why would any man beat a woman especially his own daughter with a belt, or anything else for that matter. This was definitely not “punishment”, it was abuse! Why Hilary’s mother to join in on her husband’s beating of their daughter is beyond me. This came to show that her mother is just as cruel as her husband. Although she claims that her husband brainwashed her, it seems crazy to me that someone could actually brainwash you to think that beating your child is right. On top of that, Hilary’s father seemed like a man who needs to be in control and thinks of men as being better than women. Clearly, his wife encouraged that. For this reason, leaving her husband claiming that she was only brainwashed seems like bogus to me.
This video was definitely very disturbing to watch. Both parents showed no mercy or sympathy for the daughter’s pain. I was even more disturbed and infuriated when Hilary’s mother supported and participated in the beating; as if the parents were taking turns and even fighting for who gets to abuse their child. I agree that “women are seen as mere things to satisfy urges”, whether it be for sexual or empowering purposes. Over the course of history, the definition of women have been based on “faulty theories and biased cultural assumptions” (p. 85).
Many of us have been living in a patriarchal society where women are seen as inferior, irrational and emotional- compared to men. We are constantly being shaped by pre-existing cultural assumptions and gender roles that shape our identity: our thoughts and actions, our life goals and expectations, our value and worth in society. Men think that they are superior because “they were the first to vote and own land” or “they biologically hold the key to start reproduction.” In families, men are known to face the outside world and provide for his family while the women stay home to take care of the children and do house chores. Because women were never given the same opportunities to be well-educated and work toward their dreams, they are seen as subordinate to men. In certain households, families even favor their sons than their daughters. They hold more value in their sons because they are capable of developing “masculine” traits to become successful while daughters are shaped into becoming good house wives (p. 174).
I believe that child abuse should not be tolerated in society, regardless if it was tradition that your parents treated you when you were younger. It is not a healthy way to handle and resolve problems. It is ridiculous for men to mistreat the women in their household, as if they were merely objects that are meant to be pushed around.
This is completely sick. This man has real sadistic problems and should be put away. I don’t want to sit here and say it’s because he lives in Texas, but Texas is a very conservative state. I blame the mom here too. She should not let her husband abuse their child and then to jump in on it after she stood there and watched for a little while. I just wanted to cry seeing this garbage. I’m a mother of two girls ages 12 and 7 and I swear I would never beat my girls like this let alone let their dad or anybody else touch them like this. I believe in disciplining your children if they act up but this is child abuse. You would think these people know better being a law official. I’m completely appalled by this act of inhumanity.
He is a conservative man. Because it is in texas not california its more different. In texas people are soo strict, and prohibited from a lot of things. As a liberal, i dont think it was that big of a deal for using the computer, but their mind sets are soo different that ours that it was a big deal and she got beated for it, which was wrong. But it seems like they all have been beaten like that their whole lives, so they are just doing what everyone else is doing in Texas. Beating your child over the most stupidest reason isn’t justice. Wow, she listened to music and watched videos and she gets a 5 minute beating. As a judge and committing child abuse is embarrassing and people will show disrespect towards the farther. The farther is a judge, he is the leader and what he says goes. Also, at the house the rules still stays the same. The mom can’t satisfy her husband. I blame the mom, if the mom can satisfy her husband and make decisions 50-50 rather than 95-5 the husband would have acted differently towards his daughter. The father who is a judge is to uphold and obey the law is not doing so by abusing is daughter. You would expect the father to be a man of what he believes in and not just do the opposite. The mother just stood there and watched and then just decided to join in and beat her daughter up as well. You would at least expect the mom stop the husband from what he is doing and protect her daughter.
This video baffled most Americans including myself especially as the child really did nothing to deserve such beatings and was disabled.It was clearly obvious that Mr Adams was practicing some form of displacement, that is displacing his anger or stress on his daughter. It was even shocking that the wife joined in to whip instead of dissuading or standing up for her daughter, well she might have truly been brainwashed who knows? I think women need to find ways to expose husbands who abuse children as such. The punishment was so harsh and cruel ,and such punishment may only cause a child to be recalcitrant and fearful of the parent instead of correcting a particular behavior.
The video is very disturbing, the daughter is crying out for help, yet the father does not let up and keeps beating her. What is surprised is that her mother will not help her, does not sympathize with her and even justifies her husbands authority by adding to the rage toward her daughter and beats her herself. The husband is not ashamed of his actions and pressures his wife to support him in dominating his daughter for something that is not worth punishment. It seems that either issue was not worthy of such harsh punishment nor physical punishment, but simply an excuse to show aggression and dominance over his family. When in actuality the father as well as the mother should face consequences for what was abuse.
This may be going slightly against the grain here, but I thought I’d mention that I don’t see this as a particularly gender-specific incident. The father here is doing something that I see as terrible, yes, but I’m not entirely sure that it’s gender-related beyond the victim (not entirely sure what term to use here, so victim will have to do) happening to be female. You could just as easily replace the girl in the video with a boy, and save for a pronoun or two I don’t see the video changing at all.
“Submit to your father”
“Obey your elders”
I see this as excessively harsh corporeal punishment for defying authority, and a THOROUGHLY broken family – the daughter’s pretty messed up after growing up in this house – but I can’t say that I see anything particularly gender-related here.
I agree that it’s not gendered in that males can also be punished this way.
To the extent that there’s a sexual component, it is gendered. Girls are twice as likely to receive sexual abuse from a parent, though boys get that sort of abuse, too.
This is definitely child abuse in my books. Whipping your child is totally unnecessary and to video tape it on top of that is absolutely wrong. I don’t think any parent should lay their hands on a child, spanking on the hand or butt is understandable at a young age. The man that made is child take off her clothes while he beat is sexual and physical abuse and the child should be taken out of that situation immediately. Parents are suppose to be loving and support their child and actions like these causes problems for children.
Like everyone else, I couldn’t stand watching the rest of this video. It is very difficult realizing that there are abusive, mental and if I don’t say so myself retarded parents that commit to delivering such a crude punishment.
It is a sad realization but I always wonder what outcome parents try to get out of whipping, slapping and hitting their children. Yes they are trying to get them not to commit to foolish means– but if it constitutes anger and misuses the trust between a parent and child, why do they still do it?
We were all kids once. We were are all young of experience. We steal. We fight. We were reckless. But fact of the matter is, we all learn eventually. Whether it be slow or fast paced. Our morals will be met if we talked amongst each other. So why hit your child if you still love them?
I am utterly shocked after watching this video. I could barely watch it is a horrifying video. Both these parents were unfit to care for their child. For seven minutes, he continues to beat her relentlessly. Parents are here to protect their children and clearly, they failed as parents. After watching more follow up videos, the father states, “this is discipline”. This is the complete opposite of discipline this is abuse. The mother had submitted her power to her husband, let him continue to beat their daughter, and helped him as well. He brainwashed her and manipulated her into believing this was okay. You could tell the mother was scared of her husband as well as her daughter but thought to join in to show her loyalty to her husband. I don’t think this man should have the right to tell other families what to do if he is unfit in parenting himself.
This Certainly is basic punishment. Instead it is hurtful abusive, and manipulative. Parents are suppose to be there to nurture their child and guide them on the right paths. Parents are suppose to instill love and values into their child’s lifestyles. Obviously this guy and along with the mother thought it would be okay to belittle their child. To abuse and batter their daughter is outrage. Their actions only reflect what was instilled in their minds. What was traditional for them . Or how they seen Gender roles in society. Making a women or a girl period feel less dominant and powerless has always been the visual or aspect of how women are to be identified. This man deserve to be punished to the the hightest degree. The mother is just as guilty for not standing up for her daughter and paritcipating in the abuse. How do she feel knowing that this is how her mother felt, my parents hated me enough to beat me for something as minor as “pirating videos and movies from the internet”. What happen to taking the internet access away. The both should be prosecuted.
This video is very disturbing. This is a perfect example of a Bad Dad. I personally believe that hitting a child only teaches children to hit others when trouble arises. There are several ways to punish a child without laying a hand on them. This man is a Judge and I am pretty sure he has seen a great deal of parents go to jail or lose their children due to child abuse. Did he believe that becuase he was a Judge that the same rules did not apply to him? I think so. I also fault the mother as well. As parents we are suppose to protect our children from any harm, even if it is the other parent. And it is clear that this was not the first time of this happening.This poor girl was basically double teamed by her parents for a crime that did not deserve this type of punishment. Hopefully the judicial system will bring this poor girl justice instead of putting her back in the home of the abusers. .
I did watch this you tube video with many regrets and cursing this parents by using the corporal punishment to their daughter. I personally am very against with this type of punishment to the children or anyone as human being. What kind of this man, who is judge and couldn’t figure it out very simple solution for the problem? How can he be judge where he can’t decide what is wrong and right?
I got impression from this video that as a parents they have all the power and can do whatever they want? You, children don’t deserve anything, once you make one mistake? The both parents were abusing their daughter which was unbearable and never forgettable teenage experience. We are all human and we all make mistake but never use such a harsh and cold punishment to anyone especially to the children who are still very young, discovering and experimenting the world around them. Both parents were not a good role model for any teen age parents. All I say at the end that this was very short, sharp treatment for the poor girl who’s crime was not worth it to hit her in the first place. There are many ways which they could’ve used to solve the problem instead of beating. In this video, the parents discipline method was totally unacceptable and I don’t think they deserve the right to be parents where they don’t have love and mercy for their children.
I had seen this video before on Dr. Phil I was shocked to see how her dad — and including her mom — would whip her daughter. Instead of treating their child that way and thinking that’s the solution to discipline they should find another solution. I don’t agree with parents hitting so their children understand what is good or bad. It upsets me how cruel some parents can be. I have seen parents treat their children bad in public. The video was horrible and I don’t agree with the mom and don’t believe she is saying the truth, that she was forced to whip her daughter if she really wanted to defend her daughter she should have tried to stop her husband. I think he is psycho and had problems as a child that’s why he found pleasure in whipping his daughter. He should be in jail and get disciplined.
I watched the video at the start of the reading and another time at the end of the reading. I didn’t like the fact that the dad was beating his young teenage daughter for pirating videos and music illegally online. I mean what was the big deal with the computer? Like are they amish? I don’t think the judge did that as an expression to the jepordy of possibly loosing his job due to the illegal download matter; the hidden camera was already in place which made me think that this happens often to her. The main reason for my discomfort in watching that video was the relativity it had to a sense of forced incest. The phrases used like “get on your stomach, now” and “bend over and take it” should not be said from a father to his young daughter or another. I have my suspicions that the wife had joined in the beating because if she had not taken sides or took the daughter’s side she might have been whipped too.
Commenting on Cassie’s post, i think the punishment would have been differently if the victim were a boy. If that harsh punishment was enforced on a boy, the father might have been throwing punches instead of flinging a belt. At the same time, the father might have given the boy more freedom to begin with which might have included internet privileges, of course unless they’re amish
Bad Dad. Very Bad Dad actually. I think there has been overwhelming evidence presented in the past few decades to show that corporal punishment does little to reinforce discipline and more to spur psychological damage in children. Hitting your daughter with a belt over internet use is extreme and shows that this man is not stable and unfit to properly apply and interpret the law. He should be removed immediately. The fact that he hasn’t just shows the amount of progress this country needs to make on protecting its people. As a child who was disciplined in a similar manner growing up I can say first hand that getting hit with something did not cause me to “straighten out” or understand what I did wrong. The video is perfect example of everything that is wrong with physically punishing your child. He makes the claim that in trying to cover herself from being hit that she is being disobedient; I’m sure if I showed up at this mans house and began to beat him with a belt who make every effort to have the beating stop. Point is that this judge is a moron and a shitty father and judge.
Not sure how a person can sleep at night knowing that they’re the type of person who thinks it’s appropriate to physically harm someone in order to get their way.
But, I agree. It probably is sexual.
First of all, cant anyone see that this guy is crazy? He should be behind the bars by now or in a mental hospital. I skimmed through the video ( didnt dare to watch the whole thing) and bunch of question poped in my head.
Are they parents mentally retarded? Is she not their daughter? Why spanking at the back specifically? (i was scared for one second that they might rape her) which in a sense they did.
How could you do it to your own daughter? How could you do this to anyone? All in all, this man is not mentally fit for a peaceful scociety. If I get to decide what to do with that person I will give him a death sentence.
Secodly, under the youtube video, (in comment section) people were justifying his actions. Its sad to see that people are so evil that even lucifer will bow down to them.
I will be commenting on this post from personal experience. My father used to spank me and my sisters with a 2 inch thick security guard belt. At times he even struck us in the face with his hands. My mother totally disapproved and even filed a police report about it. I also disagree with this mainly because he is a man, and also because physical discipline is not needed to teach a child right and wrong. I believe that if a parent must spank a child it should be with the hand on the legs or bottom. Not in the face and not with an object. Although i wouldnt go as far to say it is child abuse i do believe it is unneeded. If a father hits his daughter in the face it could cause long term damage to not only her mentality but physically. A grown man has ten times the strength of a young girl and that has to be taken into account. I always hated my father for the way he chose to discipline my sisters and i and i still have a bit of resentment toward him. Our relationship is not as bonded as it should be and this could be why. Now for the stories above it sounds like child abuse. There is no reason why a child should get a beating from both parents at the same time. As stated in the blog the mother could be brainwashed and abused as well by the father therfore she feels like “this is the way it is”. Sad and true i think parents should undergo counseling on the proper way to discipline the children they are raising. Cursing, yelling, and excessive beating should be outlawed from households. I pray for the children who have to endure abuse whether it be sexual, mental or physical. This begins a vicious cycle that may effect the child for the rest of his or her life.
This is very disturbing and angers me completely. I have been in plenty situations like this and now that I am an adult, it really make’s me wonder if the those beating are to benefit the kid or the parents?? For instance, discipline is suppose to keep you from doing bad, to teach you a lesson or just a little bit of punishment to hopefully keep you in the right track, right? When parents beat their kids it really is not helping the situation, it does not make the kid think about what they may have done wrong, it does make them rethink things but instead builds anger towards their parent. They now have a trust and anger issue that has escalated through years of being abused and its obvious at times that beatings like the one displayed on youtube is ONLY benefiting the parent. The parent is outrageously angry and needs to deal with it in some way and beating their kids is therapeutic to them, its helping them release that anger and at the same time they can say that their “disciplining” their kid to make seem less harsh, what in all actuality it isn’t the case at all.
In the real world, cops don’t beat violators up for running a red light, or speeding and judges don’t beat criminals for breaking the law, they simply give them a ticket or send them off to jail,whatever the case may be. So what makes it okay for a parent to think that it is okay to beat their kid?? Because they gave them life? cause the kid is under their roof? Its sickening. What’s even more sickening is that this father said in the video ” I will start beating your face, if you don’t turn around on your stomach”, that comment was completely sickening to me. The mother was another one I thought was just as sickening. I don’t think by taking the belt she was saving her daughter from her dad beating her, I just seriously think that her mother wanted her piece in the beating.
These parents were probably treated the exact same way when they were kids and instead of learning how to break the chain they do exactly what was taught to them.
I am still in shock and contemplating whether I should watch the video or not. The blog itself is horrifying and very disturbing. To think that is really happening, it is out there. And a lot of women, from being a mother, daughter or a wife who get beaten up are so afraid of saying anything. It makes me wonder if they are afraid that they will get hurt more or do they think they really have to be punished? How does it affect one’s life when they are physically abused by their own Father? Everything happens from home, the guidance from a parent, the things taught on how to face the world starts from them. They serve as our role model. I think we should have more resources for anyone who is suffering from abuse to be able to come out and be not afraid to tell someone what they are going through. As for the Father, there is no excuse! Father or any Parent who physically abuse their children should be punished, or go to Jail. If a child cannot have a loving home for a brighter future, I think it is better for them to live in a foster home where they are free from abuse, a parent does not have the right to beat up their children no matter what the circumstances are. There are a lot of options to deal with problems and challenges that families face today.
That sure looks like child abuse to me. I couldn’t bear to finish watching the video. This makes me wonder in how many cases his rulings were in favor of the abuser rather than the victim. According to law.com a statement was released saying “William Adams regrets the interruption and inconvenience his daughter’s post has caused to the Aransas County, Texas community.” So not only does he feel she had the beating coming, but any “interrutpion” in the judicial process that can be related to this is all her fault. He obviously doesn’t feel he used any kind of excessive force with her. I’m glad she released thi s video and is now taking a stand. I don’t care if it is behind closed dooors or not abuse should be stopped period. How would he have responded to the internet usage if his child had been a boy?