Those Who Stand By As Victimization Abounds

Daniel complained bitterly tonight about something Madeleine had done to him - some hit or push or whatever. I have no illusions about Miss Madeleine, but I do strongly suspect that much of the time, when she resorts to physical assault, it is in retaliation for some very calculated verbal torture on Daniel's part. Daniel has a far more "developed" psy-ops arsenal, but Madeleine is pretty impressive in her ability to deck someone almost twice her age, so I don't always go into preach-time-outy mode in these situations, and tonight was one of those nights.

But Daniel took exception to my inaction in the face of such raw victimization:

"Can't you take something away from her? What - you're just gonna let her do that to me for the rest of my life?!"

It's a wonderful assumption, but of course it's absurd; within a couple of years, Madeleine will be quite able to hold her own on the verbal front, and we'll see a lot less pugilism.

(February 13, 2012)