Stories told to scare children

in #anarchy7 years ago

When I was a kid, my parents told me several times about kids my age who met with tragedy- while doing whatever it was they didn't want me to do. What a coincidence!

One was outside while her dad was mowing and got a segment of wire through the heart when the mower hit some wire hidden in the lawn. So I wasn't allowed to be outdoors while the yard was being mowed. (Until I got to the age where I was encouraged to be the one mowing.)

Another story involved a girl who got her head run over by a car at a gas station while the family car was being fueled. This explained why I was told to stay in the car at gas stations.

Yet another tale told of a girl drowning in a small creek at one of my favorite outdoor destinations. This one didn't keep me out of the vicinity of the creek, though. Some things- such as playing around the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River- were more important to me than other things- such as wandering around gas stations.

Also, I was led to believe that the beautiful tiger salamanders I would occasionally encounter had venomous bites- deadly! This kept me from picking them up and bringing them into the house- I brought in "horny toads" instead.

Also, judging by the reaction of my parents, the garter snakes I found everywhere were the local equivalent of spitting cobras; their reaction led me to believe these reptiles were deadly to gaze upon and worse to touch- so I didn't start picking them up until I read for myself, and began to discover the nature of the tales I was being fed.

Did I say these stories were meant to scare children? I probably should have said they were intended to manipulate children. Me, in particular. And they worked for a time, but had unintended consequences.

When I discovered the gentle nature of tiger salamanders, and that the worst garter snakes could do was to slime you with foul-smelling goo, I began to question everything I had been told. Was it all just to manipulate my behavior; to make me more compliant?

Were the horror stories about the 3 tragically injured girls just as false? I'm still not sure about that- perhaps I should ask some day. But, if people would mislead me about some things, in order to get me to do what they wanted, would they lie about other things as well? You know the answer to that.

Well, statists tell tales meant to scare you and manipulate your behavior, too.

If there's no State forcing people to pay against their will, there would be no roads, libraries, parks, or education. You would be dead because warlords would have taken over and raped and murdered your whole family. Without the fear of punishment administered by government, it would be "kill or be killed" chaos. People are greedy, prone to theft and aggression, and only the superheroes in government "service" stand in their way. "Democracy [sic] is the worst form of government, except for all the rest." Anarchy is just like communism- it can't work in the real world... because, reasons.

Just like the stories told to scare children, the stories told to scare adults may have lessons embedded somewhere. Yes, people can be selfish and evil. The worst are drawn to government "jobs". Roads would have to be paid for- they aren't free. Sometimes, if a warlord sees an opportunity, and a docile population not inclined to defend themselves, they will take over. It's how government happens.

Yet, civilization is proof that people are better and smarter than the statists believe. Because, government is made up of the worst of the species, and it still usually manages to not immediately result in total global death and destruction. In fact, society and civilization manage to continue in spite of governments.

Don't let the fears and lies of pitiable cowards keep you from enjoying your liberated potential. You know how to live to reach it. Sure, listen to the scary tales of doom told by statists, then learn for yourself and prove their stories wrong. You have that power.

Image

.

This blog, like all of KentforLiberty.com, is reader supported. Any donations or subscriptions would be GREATLY appreciated! Thank you.

Sort:  

in spite
I make that argument about a few things, like there is freedom In spite of government, there are roads in spite of government, then some more common sense ones there's crime in the highest of places and war on collecting rainwater, or feeding the homeless, and there's still no improvement in education or healthcare and it's all in spite of government purporting to solve these things or alleviate them, they keep multiplying.

la chupacabra is a classic one for my family. lol They say a lot of stupid stuff...
"Don't walk like that or else the chupacabra is going to destroy you".... pretty much how it goes.

I'm not sure about all the state stuff, but... as a parent I totally agree with you that children should be told the truth. So, for example, if I don't want my kid to bring in garter snakes I can simply explain that I don't want them to bring garter snakes into the house without in any way maligning the garter snake. Both my husband and I can be a bit paranoid when it comes to certain safety issues, and we've shared our concerns with the kids (at age appropriate levels), but made it clear the scenarios are hypothetical if indeed they are. And we've never lied to the kids about Santa Claus or the tooth fairy. The kids enjoy the fun involved but also know that part of the fun is that we can all use our imaginations :)

Coin Marketplace

STEEM 0.29
TRX 0.12
JST 0.035
BTC 65402.71
ETH 3383.32
USDT 1.00
SBD 4.60