Kaitlyn DeShon
12/12/11
North County Times
"Officials: Calif. parents asked man to beat child"
http://www.nctimes.com/ap/national/officials-calif-parents-asked-man-to-beat-child/article_a42083d4-e41b-5970-9f26-0fcefd9e0158.html
Religion
The parents of a 15 year old boy suspected him of smoking. Upon finding a lighter in his possession, the distressed parents called Paul Kim, an apparently reliable church man. They dropped their son off at his house. Kim beat the child with a metal pole, causing intense bruising on his legs. An adult at the child's school noticed these marks and called the police. Kim was arrested for this crime, and suspected of doing similar things to children for parents around the neighborhood.
This connects to what we are studying in class because it states that this man is apparently known for being reliable and a consistent church-goer. This has to do with religion. Also, it represents society and culture because it shows how some people in our society punish their children. Another connection is that the thirteen colonies were very religious and had strict rules about their churches. They even had strict laws on what to do on Sundays, which is considered the Lord's Day. Obviously, these rules have been lost over the years in most societies, including this one where this church man beat people.
This connects to my life as a citizen because all parents must punish their children at one point or another, yet beating is severe, not to mention illegal. I have been punished for things I have done as a child. Also, many teenagers have been influenced by adult temptations such as alcohol or smoking. In this instance, it was smoking. However, this son is not the only one who has been influenced by this.
I believe that this man obviously should not have beat this child, instead the parents should have confronted their son about the lighter found in his possession. This man is putting a bad name on religion and church, because people cannot help but stereotype other groups of people. If they had only confronted him and perhaps gotten help for him, they would have, of course, avoided the arrest of this man and avoided the harm of their own child. These people are simply sick to do this to their own child and should have charges pressed against them also. As you can see, I think that this man should be arrested as well as the parents of the beaten child. They should also have gotten help for their son.
