This was written in response to some comments about my recent posts on the war.
I can never justify torture.
No matter what circumstances prompt it. It is still shameful.
Do I understand how circumstances would cause people could do such a thing? Most definitely.
But torture is wrong.
Absolutely.
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I was a psychologist for severely emotionally disturbed 6-12 year old boys for 2 years. During that time, certain boys would attack me regularly.
They would throw their toys or try to stab me with forks....that type of thing.
A huge part of the job was showing these kids you would love them no matter what. That acting out wouldn�t cause you to hate them or hurt them or abandon them.
And I was pretty good at it.
I think I made a difference.
But sometimes my righteous intentions were clouded.
For example, no matter how much love was in my heart, I couldn�t help but be consumed by anger when a kid would spit in my face.
It ignited something reptilian in me.
Did I ever hit a child? No.
Did I ever restrain a child with more strength than necessary while in a spit-induced rage?
Yes. Never hurting...just establishing superior physical strength.
My actions were wrong. My anger should not have been expressed that way.
Since I had the role of educator and counselor, aggression was the wrong response.
Understandable considering the circumstances? Yes.
But wrong. And, shameful in the role of "teacher of positive behavior."
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Note: I am not critiquing our soldiers. I am critical of the actions of certain soldiers and regretful of the impact that those actions have in the grand scheme of global protection.
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