“Confusing noncoercive play with actual coercion leads to coercion.”
– Sarah Fitz-Claridge
From the archives: Posted on 5th September, 1995
[Context: A parent disapproved of my photo (below) taken at the range, claiming that it is “promoting violence”. He also disapproved of “violent video games”. He was unapologetic about physically violently hurting his children for disobediently playing video games… on the grounds that “video games are violent”… and saw no irony in any of this. Confusing noncoercive play with actual coercion leads to coercion.]
It is rather ironic that I who love guns (I am in love with shooting real Smith and Wesson .44 magnums) have an aversion to coercion in reality (i.e., real coercion of real people), whilst others are quite happy to use extreme coercion to make their children stop playing mere fantasy games in which no one is coerced…
See also:
- Television vs. workbooks
- Parents accept costs and inconvenience for their children
- Video games: a unique educational environment
Sarah Fitz-Claridge, 1995, ‘Playing with guns, real coercion’, https://takingchildrenseriously.com/playing-with-guns-real-coercion/