Hero of the week

My hero of the week is 7-year old Yamato Tanooka who survived for 6 days on his own in a bear-infested forest after his parents left him by the roadside to teach him not to throw rocks at people and cars. I was initially struck by how insane the whole premise was until I saw a photo of the boy this morning. The irrepressible smile, the sparking eyes and the peace sign- I think Yamato will be just fine, at least I hope so.

I don’t know what crime a child could possibly commit where the just punishment would be abandoning him next to a forest. The mind boggles; people truly amaze me. An adult who is left devastated because their partner/husband/whatever seems to be losing interest in them will then go on to treat a small child in the most appalling manner and expect that child to cope with it and recover. But then, that is the modus operandum of the sadist everywhere– I will shut you in this closet, stab you with this knife, beat you with this belt, burn you with this iron, because you did not do your homework/ make your bed/ finish your vegetables etc etc. This is for your own good, it’s going to hurt me more than it hurts you, ad nauseaum. There is never any correlation between the magnitude of the punishment and the severity of the offence- they just get off on causing pain and sorrow.

It is possible that his parents do love him and just made a massive mistake. I don’t know them, I can’t judge. For all those who are living with stone-cold sadists and psychos, make an exit strategy and get away from them as soon as you can. They don’t change, that streak of evil runs through them like writing through a stick of rock. On a lighter but not dissimilar note, another story which caught my eye is about the Jawbone-style bracelet you can now buy which is linked to your bank account. Every time you become overdrawn, it gives you an electric shock. Presumably, it will be like a chastity belt you cannot remove or else how would you be compelled to keep it on? The kicker? It costs £120. If you weren’t overdrawn before……. Some people use their brains to discover immunotherapy, some use it to make a product worthy of the concentration camp. O brave new world, that has such people in it, to completely misapply a quote. Wishing you all a wonderful, love-filled weekend.