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June 24, 2012 - dOCUMENTA 13 - Critical Art Ensemble - Railway lecture hall

Many principles and well meant statements for proper parenting which were passed on from generation to generation are inhuman and harmful to babies. (So called poisonous pedagogy)

During more than 20 years I participated many workshops on human growth, where I met people suffering from such “normal” treatment. I found out the reasons for my own diseases when looking into childhood upsets and finding out how miserable I felt in certain situations when I was a baby. Making my cartoons was a way of coming to terms with these experiences.

Our society must be helped to see the gravity of the crime against infants that is today considered normal treatment. Jean Liedloff 1974

Spartan education was considered to be ideal up to last century. Toilet training at an early age, scheduled feeding , loud scolding and even spanking was common treatment. Johanna Haarer wrote in her book “The German Mother and her first Child” (which was printed from 1934 to 1984 1.2 Mio. copies) “A German mother doesn’t know any errors except the one to coddle their children.”  Thus, since 5000 years children were abused "with love".

Why are most people hardly aware of these facts? Because babies have the amazing ability to shut down bit by bit their fear and the anger which they express by shouting loudly. They put all the blame on themselves also in terrible abuse and repress the memory of what has happened. These processes are radical and lasting.

Even the expression of genes is altered by experiences

 Scientists examined children who grew up without the certitude of being loved and respected and, instead, in insecure social conditions, always on alert what is probably happening next. They found out that these children produce less endorphin and have a significantly lower anxiety threshold, and produce more stress hormones on small disturbances.

There is too little attention given to the consequences of repression of traumatic memories, which cause the increase of addictions (drug addiction, alcohol-, sex-, gambling-, food addiction, workaholism, lust for power and others) and the increase of frequency and severity of psychosomatic illnesses. Heart attacks and stomach ulcers, but also depression and suicide are almost unknown among some South Pacific people, and could be much less common with us, when dealing with the children and also among adults would be so kind and respectful, as it was common on Samoa and the Trobriand islands, but also among the Inuit and the Yequana (upper Orinoco) and other indigenous peoples outside of "civilization".

Grass will not grow faster, 

if you pull it. 

African proverb

In hierarchical cultures good conduct probably always was enforced by penalties and its fear. Punishment has never led to real improvement, but also built up more resentment. The temporary "good behaviour" was gained in a too expensive way. The resentment led to some kind of revenge all too frequent. In children unfortunately it often caused self-punishment, in introverted children a tendency to depression and auto aggressive disease later in life, and in performance-oriented rather to high blood pressure and heart attacks. The threat of punishment leads to corresponding avoidance behaviour, while the control is guaranteed. The cat is not on the table, as long as the owner is nearby. In humans, this is not much different. Therefore, punishment is not an appropriate means for education.

"You go ahead!" the soul said to the body, "he does not want to listen to me."
"Then I must be sick," the body replied, "so he has time for that." unknown author

Even punishment in schools and in law are questionable, and certainly do not lead to the desired social behaviour.

In our society there are many addictions and weird habits. Probably all have in common a search for some condition between happiness, basic trust, security and the certainty to be entitled to be as one wishes. All have to do something with a damage of self-esteem. And some latent fear not to satisfy any expectations drives the top athlete and the hedge fund manager to ever greater efforts and risks, also it can make the alcoholic drink.

We may be aware that diseases, tics and addictions are related to early childhood imprints.

There are no major developments nor true progress on this earth, as long as still one unhappy child lives on it. Albert Einstein

Perhaps we can recognize that our tics and our illnesses and disorders originally go back to highly intelligent solutions of the infant at that time. We can act in solidarity with the child and realize that the terrible situations at that time were not brought about, to make us sick or unhappy. And we can obtain assurance that we will be never as helpless again and never as needy as in those days. If we bestir ourselves to do these steps of self knowledge and even get the right help, it may be that the soul feels understood and healing is possible. My sinusitis healed, when I knew why I had had enough. And I'm not afraid of another heart attack, since I know about these facts and dance every day.