A father on TikTok, named Derek Longstreth, is a self-proclaimed Gen-Xer, elevating his son in a Gen-Z world. These labels are important to Longstreth as a result of they’ve affected how he punishes his son for the wrongdoing he has dedicated towards his household.
Within the practically 9-minute video, Longstreth exhibits his younger son finishing up his distinctive punishment.
The GenX dad punished his son for hitting his mother by making him carry water jugs throughout the yard.
The video cuts on to start with with Longstreth’s son, Truman “Tbone” Longstreth, strolling throughout the yard to a gaggle of water gallons that he’ll inevitably be carrying backwards and forwards throughout their yard.
“Gen-X dad elevating a boy in a Gen-Z world,” reads the caption inlaid with the video. “All proper little man, let’s go,” Derek tells his son. “All these jugs to hold. You wanna inform them why you gotta carry these jugs?”
With “them,” referring to the a million folks that might inevitably watch this video on TikTok, Truman says no, earlier than Derek decides to elucidate anyway. “He hit his mother right this moment, so, spanking is out of the query since you ‘libtards’ made it so we are able to’t spank our kids no extra.”
“Libtard” is a derogatory time period that right-wingers usually use to attempt to insult liberals by combining the phrase “liberal” with a slur for folks with disabilities.
As a substitute of placing the blame on the act of spanking itself, he blames leftists for not with the ability to spank his son, regardless of the big quantity of proof and scientific research which have been executed to cowl the unfavourable results of spanking. For instance, “Preschool and school-age kids — and even adults — [who have been] spanked usually tend to develop nervousness and despair issues or have extra difficulties partaking positively in colleges and abilities of regulation, which we all know are needed to achieve success in instructional settings,” reads a Harvard research on spanking from April 2021.
The daddy was supportive of his son as he carried all the water jugs throughout the yard.
Not solely is the motion of carrying the water jugs utterly inoffensive, however he’s utterly supportive of his son the complete time he’s doing it. Derek additionally tries to remind Truman why he’s making him do that. Carrying these water jugs gained’t damage and scar Truman traumatically, it should merely be tiring. It’s a punishment within the type of an motion he’s being made to do, as a substitute of a punishment that’s an motion being executed to him.
Regardless of his misplaced grievances and system of beliefs round spanking, it looks like Derek’s intentions are in the fitting place. Derek merely needs his son to grasp that he shouldn’t hit his mom, and makes him do one thing that he doesn’t wish to do so as to punish him and make him perceive it.
“Let’s go, younger man. I like you, simply so you recognize, however you’re not going to hit your mother,” Derek says at one level to start with. “Good job, boy.”
A lot of the practically 9-minute video is simply Derek recording his son carrying the jugs throughout the yard and again. All through the video, Truman says issues like “I can’t do it,” adopted by assist from his father who tells him that he can and that he loves how his son by no means offers up.
Though the dad’s blame is misplaced, his coronary heart appears to be in the fitting place.
At one level, he asks folks to depart their unfavourable feedback to themselves but additionally says that he’s open to any constructive criticism. He doesn’t wish to spank his son for one cause or one other however needs to make it possible for he gained’t hit his mother once more.
On the finish of the video, as soon as Truman has completed his punishment, the daddy and son share an alternate of phrases. Derek asks his son to take a look at him and the digicam and tells him to offer him a thumbs up.
“Are you going to hit your mother once more?” Derek asks, adopted by a hummed no from Truman. “Say ‘sorry mother,’” Derek says, adopted by Truman repeating the phrase. “Have a look at me buddy, I like you. I like you a large number, I simply don’t need you to be hitting your mother, okay?”
Truman reciprocates the love, and though he appears to be resigned, it looks like he understands the load of his actions. Hundreds of feedback within the remark part touted reward for the daddy as many mother and father suppose he could also be elevating a fantastic younger man.
Isaac Serna-Diez is an Assistant Editor for YourTango who focuses on leisure and information, social justice, and politics.
