The Activist Mommy Has a Lot of Advice on How to Beat Your Children Properly

[beam me up scottie]

Last edited Sun Jul 30, 2017, 06:29 PM - Edit history (1)

The “Activist Mommy” Has a Lot of Advice on How to Beat Your Children Properly
July 29, 2017
by: Hemant Mehta

Elizabeth Johnston is the homeschooling Christian mother of 10 who goes by the name “The Activist Mommy” online and went viral with her multiple rants against Teen Vogue for daring to publish an article about anal sex.

She may be gaining popularity right now, but she’s been in conservative Christian circles for a long time, and she was writing about how to raise children in a Jesus-approved way more than a decade ago. Her old website was called Why the Truth Hurts. She and her husband posted on it back in the day when they only had four children. The site is no longer accessible.

But that’s why Satan invented the Internet Archives. It turns out we can look through several of the articles they wrote and get a sense of just how warped their idea of parenting really is.

***

What do we learn from the Johnstons’ Big Book of Advice?

1) Don’t let anyone find out you’re beating your children

Almost all spankings will cause a brief red mark on the skin, especially on fair skinned children. Be sensitive to this, and don’t let your child out in public in shorts if there are red marks on the child’s legs.

2) Beat your children at home

… don’t spank publicly if at all possible… the proper training at home will prevent the need for corporal punishment in public. Don’t presume that nobody’s looking — there are video cameras in the shadows.

3) Always use the right tools

Hands, surprisingly, can cause bruising very easily. The aim is not injury but a temporary sting, and a paddle or a switch can do this much better than a hand. The pain of a pop on the forearm with a switch, or on the buttocks with a belt, or on the thigh with a wooden spoon should never cause lasting pain or dysfunction, but only a temporary sting that should pass in a few seconds to moments. If the child is wearing a diaper, be especially careful not to swing your hand at the child’s padded buttocks. Because of the padding, parents are inclined to swing harder, and they can dislocate the child’s hip or hurt his back with a heavy swing on a diaper. It’s much safer to use a wooden spoon on the open thigh than to risk injury by spanking a padded bottom with your palm.

4) Don’t let anyone find out you’re beating your children (again)

… insist that your children cry quietly. Strong, loud, uncontrolled crying is a manifestation of rebellion, and should not be tolerated. A spanked child should cry quietly and not excessively. Excessive screaming might also prompt a concerned neighbor to call the HRS on you.

5) Always get a lawyer for when you’ve gone too far

The HRS has zero tolerance for spanking, and if they learn that you “hit” your children, they will not hesitate to take your children, and then you will be at the mercy of a liberal court… If the social worker at your door asks you if you have guns in the home, or if you believe in the Bible, or if you homeschool your kids, or what church you attend, you do not have to answer. Tell her that you love your children and that you’re uncomfortable with the spontaneous interview, and that she can ask her questions in the presence of your attorney at a later date.

***

If you’re offering advice about which household utensils are best to hit your kids with, maybe you’re a horrible parent.

If you’re beating your child so hard that neighbors might call a social worker on you, maybe you’re a horrible parent.

If you’re trying to cover up the physical marks left on your child after you beat them, maybe you’re a horrible parent.

If your parenting style involves making sure there’s a lawyer present for when you’re questioned about the child abuse, maybe you’re a horrible parent.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2017/07/29/the-activist-mommy-has-a-lot-of-advice-on-how-to-beat-your-children-properly/

Her meltdown over anal sex was just the latest in a long line of bizzare meltdowns, like her recent epic freakout over the rainbow reaction on Facebook. Still you would be amazed by how many people follow this Holier-than-thou Hypocrite on social media and even more amazed by the lengths they go to in order to defend her from critics.

The myth that somehow bigotry that's based on religious beliefs isn't really bigotry is alive and well so they get to spout their homophobia and misogyny and still act morally superior, and it appears they also get to beat their children in private while lecturing others about parenting.

[guillaumeb]

1. Some public school districts allow for corporal punishment.

Waterboarding is called torture in many countries, but is euphemized as enhanced interrogation in the US.

So is there something unique or endemic to US political belief that encourages this type of behavior?

[beam me up scottie]

4. Are you trying to use whataboutism to deflect well deserved criticism?

It's not like "Activist Mommie" is the only right wing Christian who thinks beating children is the proper way to discipline them.

Right’s Love of Corporal Punishment

I wish I could say it was surprising to learn that Adrian Peterson, his lawyer, and his friends are all defending Peterson from allegations of child abuse by saying that Peterson’s choice to beat his 4-year-old son with a stick was nothing but an expression of love. Beating children this way can leave scars, both physical and mental, but the practice continues—and continues to be treated by many as normal—in no small part because there’s an organized, conservative Christian movement that continues to promote corporal punishment and even argues that attempts to stymie the practice are an assault on their religion.

Like Peterson, I grew up in rural Texas and can attest that yes, it’s more common than not for parents to beat their children with sticks, belts, and various kitchen implements, all in the name of “love.” (I personally was never hit this way, but my family was the exception, not the rule.) It’s not just in Texas, either, as 67 percent of parents admit to spanking their children. In fact, 19 states, including Texas, still allow corporal punishment in schools.

Most of the people who support spanking draw a distinction between “corporal punishment” and “child abuse,” but as the Peterson case shows, where people draw that line varies wildly. To make the situation worse, the Christian right has, for decades now, both heralded corporal punishment as the best way to discipline children and has resisted efforts to strengthen protections for children on the grounds that these violate “parental rights.”

***

Christian conservatives defend the practice of spanking children, even with weapons, by saying that parents are not supposed to do so in anger. “You want to be calm, in control, and focused,” writes Chip Ingram of Focus on the Family, and that a parent who embraces corporal punishment “is not an angry, insensitive person with a big club and a vicious agenda.” This echoes a common refrain from parents to justify spanking, that they don’t do it in anger and they reserve it for serious infractions that require a lot of time and processing so the child doesn’t do it again.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/the-adrian-peterson-beating-and-the-christian-rights-love-of-corporal-punishment

Focus on the Family even instructs Christians on the correct way to beat their kids according to the bible:

The Biblical Approach to Spanking

Part of the Effective Child Discipline Series

Effective Child Discipline
What the Bible Says About Discipline
Five Characteristics of Biblical Discipline
Discipline Is Worth the Effort
Punishment Versus Discipline
Discipline With Action and Words
The Biblical Approach to Spanking


Regardless of the method, the Bible's word on discipline clearly demands that parents be responsible and diligent in spanking, but strongly prohibits physical abuse of any kind. Obviously, the biblical approach is balanced, reasonable and controlled.

Effective Parenting In A Defective World
by Chip Ingram

So let's get very practical. What does it look like to spank in a way that obeys Scripture, modifies attitudes and behavior, and actually strengthens the bond between parent and child?

Seven Steps

Don't panic when you have to use action to enforce discipline. I know how much second-guessing a parent can do. Let me give you seven key steps that will enable you to discipline your child without fear of overstepping your bounds.

http://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/effective-biblical-discipline/effective-child-discipline/biblical-approach-to-spanking

This has absolutely nothing to do with our government’s use of torture, if you would like to discuss that subject you can start another thread.

Thanks in advance for your cooperation.

[trotsky]

27. Why yes, yes he is.

Whataboutism is his go-to deflector for religious criticism. People need to call this propaganda technique out whenever they see it, because it's an old Soviet tactic that is actively being used by Trump and his fan club.

Trump Embraces One Of Russia's Favorite Propaganda Tactics — Whataboutism
http://www.npr.org/2017/03/17/520435073/trump-embraces-one-of-russias-favorite-propaganda-tactics-whataboutism

But What About Hillary Clinton?
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/07/but-what-about-hillary-clinton/534663/

[beam me up scottie]

28. Thanks! I thought I recognized it.

It seemed like an odd reaction to an article about child abuse. Everyone else was appropriately outraged.

[guillaumeb]

29. Merely pointing out behavioural similarities.

One might almost think that such similarities means that this is a social problem.

[trotsky]

31. Oh, what holy book do public schools use to justify corporal punishment?

This'll be good.

[guillaumeb]

35. Reread my post and find anything that implies what you asked.

I am merely pointing out how violence occurs in every human institution. Does that mean that violent behavior is intrinsic to humans?

[trotsky]

36. Reread my post and answer my question.

Thanks.

[OriginalGeek]

30. Ha, my step-asshole was big believer in not sparing the rod

or the fist or the stick or the belt or the coat-hanger or the whatever-happened-to-be-close-and-swingable. I might have been a lot of things but "spoiled" was not one of them.

I hate that motherfucker still. And the church he made us go to. I think he picked it because they were so in love with beating kids and that gave him authority to do so.

But at least I'm glad his biblical interpretation of child-rearing didn't work to create another abuser.

[beam me up scottie]

32. I am so sorry to hear that.

Glad you were able to escape and break the cycle, though.

I pity homeschooled kids who might not be able to break free because by the time they're old enough to leave they will be completely brainwashed. They don't stand a chance.

[OriginalGeek]

33. I know quite a few home-school proponents

from my christian school days - my high school was basically a glorified home-school. We even had a football team lol. Got plenty of licks there too - one time just because the principal saw me in the hallway on the way to class and wondered why he hadn't seen me in his office in a while. Figured I must have just not been caught lately.

Some of my friends from back then have walked away from the literal interpretations we were taught and I think many of them are OK now but I remember a lot of anger at parents back in the day. OF course, the ones who are still neck-deep in it are young earth creationists and home-school advocates and I just feel sad for their kids.

[beam me up scottie]

34. And they probably wonder why their flock is getting smaller and smaller.

Man that must have sucked, always wondering when the next beating will come, you weren't even safe in school.

I don't know how often social workers visit home school families but I'll wager it's not often enough. Not to mention parents are being given advice on how to hide abuse so even when social workers visit they might not see it.

Sickening.

[Voltaire2]

10. They do, but guess which states those are?

Notice something about that set of states?

Here is a map of the most religious states in the us:
https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=&w=1484

[Lordquinton]

26. Um...............

Can you clarify your statement here?

Please keep in mind some of the article's lines such as "If the child is wearing a diaper" and "Beat your children at home"

[procon]

2. Speechless... her kids will be scarred in mind and body for the whole lives. nt

[beam me up scottie]

5. Yes, along with many others.

Unfortunately this crackpot has quite a following and so do others who promote child abuse.

[3catwoman3]

3. Yet one more example of what I have long...

...believed, starting early in my pediatric career - becoming a parent should require a license and a mental health check. I'll volunteer to sit on the board that hands out the licenses, and I won't lose any sleep over those who are denied.

This is evil.

[beam me up scottie]

6. I worry about home schooled children like hers.

They are isolated and it's easy for the parents to cover up abuse and the poor kids have no one to turn to if they need help.

[SamKnause]

7. ....if a child is wearing a diaper,....

Are you fucking kidding me ????

She should have been arrested when she was posting this shit on her website.

Her children should have been taken at that point. (4 at the time she posted on her website)

She had 10 children to abuse.

Fuck her and her religion !!!!!!!!!!!

[beam me up scottie]

9. Yes, some of them actually advocate hitting babies.

A Daily Kos poster by the name of dogemperor did a series on the Dominionist movement's methods of child rearing, it was quite shocking:

Dominionism and child abuse, part 1
By dogemperor
2007/08/13

Yesterday, we looked at a particularly horrific example of religiously motivated child abuse: a teenaged girl who was dragged behind a van at a "Bible boot camp" run by a neopentecostal church in San Antonio, TX. The day before that, we looked at how cell churches maintain a "rod of iron" of conformity even among the adults, much less the kids.

The sad thing is, "Bible-based" child abuse does not in general start with these camps. There is, very sadly, an entire culture that encourages horrific forms of religiously motivated child abuse from the time that children leave the very womb in many a dominionist group.

We begin the focus by looking at the worst offenders in the dominionist community for "Bible-based baby beating", as well as the incredibly bizarre (and disturbing) practice of daddies dating daughters at a dominionist "purity ball" in a town that has been described as the national capital of the dominionist movement.

FIRST, A WARNING

The following material is likely to be intensely triggering to child abuse survivors, including (but not limited to) survivors of physical and mental abuse and childhood incest.

I apologise for this in advance. I do, however, feel it is necessary to expose the full horror of religiously motivated child abuse. I am not going to object if those of you who are survivors of child abuse do not wish to read this diary (though I do appreciate commentary from those who do).

For the rest of you--yes, this is going to be upsetting. Unfortunately, this is a reality for literally millions of kids (and also explains why I have such grave, grave concerns regarding dominionist "parallel economy" alternatives to things like pediatricians' associations).

The hell begins at birth

The horror of dominionist "Bible-based" child abuse begins, all too often, from the very time that baby goes home from the hospital.

One of the more popular books among dominionist childrearing circles is Gary and Anne Marie Ezzo's book "Babywise"--promoted in the dominionist "Quiverfull" circles as "Growing Kids God's Way". The books are popular enough that there are online forums promoting the Ezzo material (including the Livejournal community "Babywise" and--frighteningly--the books are now being promoted in homeschooling circles in the United Kingdom as well.

To say "Babywise" is "not so wise" (as an article critical of the book quipped) is possibly the understatement of the millenium.

The Ezzos are known to promote some of the most abusive books known targeting the dominionist "bible-based baby-beating" crowd because the schedule of infants (from the time they emerge from the womb) is strictly regimented and parents are encouraged to ignore the cries of their wailing infants for hours on end to "train" them. Not only this, but the Ezzos happily promote striking tiny babies to "chasten" them. (This is, alas, a nearly universal practice in dominionist childrearing circles, as we'll see.)

The Ezzos specifically promote something called "parent-directed feeding" (or PDF for short--not to be confused with the Adobe Acrobat format); in essence, this is a "mommy-centered" rather than "baby-centered" method of childrearing, with such basic things as when and how long baby gets to nurse set to a strict schedule.

A description from the Livejournal "Babywise" community comments:

The infant management concepts presented in this book have found favor with over two million parents and twice as many contented babies. On Becoming Babywise brings hope to the tired and bewildered parents looking for an alternative to sleepless nights and fussy babies. The Babywise Parent Directed Feeding concept has enough structure to bring security and order to your baby's world, yet enough flexibility to give mom freedom to respond to any need at any time. It teaches parents how to lovingly guide their baby's day rather than be guided or enslaved to the infant's unknown needs.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2007/8/13/370953/-Dominionism-and-child-abuse,-part-1

[SamKnause]

14. I remember reading about this a few years back.

Something along the lines of keeping a baby on the floor on a blanket.

Hitting the baby if the baby got off the blanket.

I was aware of the purity pledges and balls.

It is truly sick and twisted.

You can get by with almost anything if you call it religion.

I think these people should be arrested, jailed, and the children taken away.

I have had enough of this EVIL insanity !!!!!!!!!

And, these are the kind of people who think kindhearted caring Atheist are evil.

[beam me up scottie]

25. That must have been from the Pearls' book.

Child 'training' book triggers backlash
By Aidan Lewis
BBC News, Washington
11 December 2013

A child-raising book that advocates whipping with branches and belts has sold hundreds of thousands of copies to evangelical Christians. But the deaths of three children whose parents appear to have been influenced by the authors' teachings have provoked a growing backlash.
The implements can vary. For a child under one year old, a willowy branch or a 1ft (30cm) ruler is recommended. For older children, a larger branch or a belt.

But the objective of the "spanking" described in Michael and Debi Pearl's To Train Up a Child is the same - making children surrender completely to their parents' will.

"Training is the conditioning of the child's mind before the crisis arises; it is preparation for future, instant, unquestioning obedience," reads a passage from the book's first chapter.

The "training" is meant to start early and pre-empt the need for punishment. But if the child is already rebellious, parents are told to "use whatever force is necessary to bring him to bay".

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-25268343

[VMA131Marine]

8. Holy F#*@&$ing Crap!

This is her husband:

http://newswithviews.com/Johnston/patrick134.htm

[beam me up scottie]

11. Oh yeah, he's a real nut job. A 'pro-life' extremist and a doctor.

James Patrick Johnston, D.O.

James Patrick Johnston, D.O. is the same person as Patrick Johnston, D.O., a family practice physician and the founder and director of the Association of Pro-Life Physicians.[1]He also founded the Alliance to Reform Education Funding to fight public school funding and promote Christian home-schooling (www.StopSchoolLevies.org). Dr. Johnston advocates the application of Biblical law in the U.S.

He operates a web site, www.rightremedy.org, subtitled "A Ministry of Dr. Patrick Johnston and family," in which he advocates re-criminalizing abortion in the state of Ohio.[2]

He is listed as a medical supporter of ballot measure 48 in Colorado in 2008 that would define a fertilized human egg as a legal person under Colorado law.[3] The measure would confer full legal rights and upon fertilized human eggs as though they were grown, independent persons, which could potentially lead to the outlawing of some forms of contraception and the re-criminalization of abortion.

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/James_Patrick_Johnston,_D.O.

[SamKnause]

17. He was never the governor of Ohio.

I don't know why that link says he is.

Maybe he dreamed he was the governor, or maybe that is the speech he would have given

if he was elected governor ???

He is a physician and runs a 'ministry'.

He doesn't sound qualified to treat humans or animals.

[VMA131Marine]

18. That was the speech he planned to give IF he became governor

I assume he was planning to run

[SamKnause]

20. Damn glad he never became governor and damn glad he never got to give his speech.

He is a sick and evil individual.

I live in Ohio.

I was born in Cincinnati, Ohio.

I have lived 54 of my 64 years in Ohio.

I live in Florida from 1980 to 1990.

[beam me up scottie]

19. It appears to be an excerpt from his novel.

This is at the bottom of the blog entry:

Read Dr. Johnston’s new novel, The Revolt of 2020, available on Amazon by clicking here. Read it before it happens!

His book seems to be a Christian extremist end times fantasy:

When the president is among the thousands of leaders killed in a tragic explosion at the Reproductive Rights Convention, the government intensifies a campaign to silence opponents of its agenda. Good men like David Jameson are in the cross-hairs. Their intolerance is grounds for prosecution. Federal hate-crime laws become the tools to muzzle parents, pastors, sheriffs, and state leaders. In response to devastating terrorist attacks, the federal government begins to disarm Americans and drastically raise taxes. This provokes many states like Texas to resist. Secessionist fervor rises all over the country. The liberal university professor Mitch Paine leads thousands of anarchists and college students to riot and wreak havoc on the infrastructure of the “religious totalitarians.” Resistance escalates to the brink of war when Texas State Guard forces square off with federal troops in downtown Austin. Will Americans preserve liberty for their posterity, or is tyranny inevitable? Awe-inspiring courage, terrifying tragedy, tender romance, and violent conflict carry the reader through an ageless clash of worldviews, where the superiority of the principles of liberty and Christianity prevail over a plethora of vicious opponents.

https://www.amazon.com/Revolt-2020-Patrick-Johnston/dp/B007P4PX88

These people are truly deranged.

[SamKnause]

21. Gee, I can't wait to read it.

The world would be a better place without such sick and evil individuals.

[beam me up scottie]

24. I agree.

It's one of the reasons I went from atheism to an anti-theism, living in the bible belt will change your mind about religion.

[TastyTaters]

22. Yikes!

[beam me up scottie]

23. Yeah, end times porn is scary.

It's easy to laugh it off (and some of it is hilarious) until you realize they vote for people who think like them.

[Iggo]

37. When exactly was he Governor of Ohio?

Was I asleep for a few years?

[Me.]

12. If The Child Is Wearing A Diaper...

[beam me up scottie]

13. And this guy is a physician who practices family medicine.

His extremist views on abortion are just as reprehensible.

[Me.]

15. Good Grief, What Does He Do

When a child cries in his office as children are wont at the doctor?

[beam me up scottie]

16. He's smart enough to know he could get sued if he struck someone else's kid.

I do worry about his advice to easily influenced young parents though. He scrubbed his website but who knows what he's telling them behind closed doors?