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Babette asked this question about Between the World and Me:
I am deeply affected/changed by this book. What a writer, at the peak of his powers it seems. One question: what is the reasoning for beating children as it relates to black children at risk for violence in the wider world?
Karen Andrews Another aspect of this is that parents believed that their children would likely encounter beatings as they grew up, so getting beaten by a parent fir…moreAnother aspect of this is that parents believed that their children would likely encounter beatings as they grew up, so getting beaten by a parent first would harden them, teach them that they could survive a beating. It was a method for desensitizing a child to what may come later. It also was meant to instill a fear of wandering away from a parent, which could leave them vulnerable to an attack or kidnapping by a stranger. (less)
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Between the World and Me
by Ta-Nehisi Coates
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