In perhaps what is going to be the most controversial post on the NCL blog for a while, I wanted to share with you the story of Hillary Adams, the now 23-year-old girl who set up a camera in her bedroom to document her father beating her for downloading games and videos on her pc. The video itself is pretty difficult to watch. In fact, I myself had to stop watching after a few minutes. Let’s forget that this seemed to be a pattern of violence perpetrated against both the daughter and, it would later be revealed, the daughter’s mother. Let’s leave aside the fact that this man is a judge, charged with protecting society in general from the ills of criminality. I just have one point to make.
Your charge, as a father, Sir, is to protect your children from the darkness that exists in this world.
When you calmly took your belt off, turned off the lights so that no one outside could see what you were about to do, and then proceeded to hold down and whip your child as she pleaded for you to stop – you became that darkness.