Hope for America!!

[KevinM1]

My father was one of them.  His father was a brilliant man, but had major mental issues.  He used to thrash my uncle, but left my father alone because he was the youngest.  As a result, my father came to believe that discipline could only come from extreme punishment.

He used to physically abuse my oldest brother until my other brother was born.  He then turned to mental abuse, especially after I was born.

He was a military guy, but one of those guys who greatly exaggerated his own ability and importance.  Served in Vietnam for four months with the Air Force as an aircraft mechanic.  He was as far away from combat as one could get while remaining in theatre, working at an actual airport with real pavement and relatively modern (for the time) facilities.  So, he claimed PTSD and had "night terrors" where he'd smack my mom around in the middle of the night.  He was never apologetic, never sought help, so I'm thinking it was a BS excuse.

So, whenever we did something 'wrong', which was never a big deal (oh no, something was spilled!  Or not put away!  Or we looked at him or said something wrong!), he would berate us military style.  We were lined up side by side while he did his best Full Metal Jacket drill instructor impression, being sure to tell us what worthless pieces of shit we were, and how whatever whim he had was simply the way it was and not to be questioned, and that we likely wouldn't amount to anything, and so on.

It turned out he was a child molester, too.  He repeatedly sexually abused my cousin/godmother from the age of 8 until she was 16 during the late 70s/early 80s.  We didn't find out until 1999 because she knew we needed his income largely for my medical bills (and, trust me, nothing makes you feel like an utter stain like learning someone you love kept a terrible secret and withstood the worst kind of violation because you merely exist).  We barely made the statute of limitations, but he spent about 14 years in prison for it, and my brothers and I legally changed our last names to our mom's maiden name.

So, yeah, I understand might-makes-right fuckheads for the terrible cowards they are.  I am not impressed nor amused by them.

My cousin could have written this post almost word-for-word ... except that she was the molestation victim, too.

Damn