Eric Bolling is a testosterone filled man's man who laments the "wussification" of America. As such, he seems to think that it's just fine and dandy for school teachers to administer severe beatings on students who misbehave, just like his Catholic school teachers did when he was a student at Chicago's Loyola Academy. During a recent edition of "The Five," Eric Bolling, for the second time on The Five, proudly described a high school incident where he was assaulted by a gym teacher. What makes it even worse is that in the most recent telling of this story, he said that if he were asked, he would allow his son's teachers to paddle the boy. Just when you think that Eric Bolling couldn't get any more vile....
Back in February of 2012, the group had a similar discussion about a study which found that spanking has long term negative effects on children. Bolling said that he wouldn't spank his son. But he did offer a glimpse of something from his history:
"I went to Jesuit high school. One day, the gym teacher walked in just when I was pulling a mat out of a kid who was jumping on the mat, he fell on his butt. He saw me do it. He said, at the time you were allowed to hit, corporal punishment. He said, you know, grab the ankles, grab the ankles. And I got paddled, the baseball bat. I'll tell you, it works. I was pretty good for the rest of four years for high school."
Flash forward to last Monday's Five during which the group discussed the fact that 19 states still allow teachers to paddle students. (The article that they might have been referencing is here). Kimberly Guilfoyle and Dana Perino weren't onboard with the practice. While Bob Beckel recounted how his behavior was changed by a paddling, he remained neutral regarding the practice. Bolling, with apparent pride, described how he was, realistically and probably legally speaking, assaulted by a high school teacher:
"My sophomore year of high school, we were up stairs. A gym teacher goes out of the room. A kid goes running. He jumped on one of those trampolines. I pulled the mat out from under him. He landed right on this bad on the hard floor. A teacher happened to walk by. He goes, Bolling, over there. Jesuit school, right? Bolling, over there, take your wallet out of your pocket.Wallet out. Grab your ankles. Bam, paddle. I saw stars. I saw stars for an hour.And I will tell you I was the perfect student for two and a half more years of high school. At least in gym class."
While Bolling certainly deserved to be held accountable for his action, he should have been sent to the principal's office for further discussion with input from Bolling's parents. The fact that he "saw stars" shows the severity of the beating. Interestingly, attorney Guilfoyle, also a (twice divorced) Catholic, didn't follow up on the anecdote. And more interestingly, Bolling, added that he would allow a school to "paddle my son."
Wow. Most people who experienced that kind of violence would not have fond memories of it. I suspect that even some of the bystanders were appalled. That Eric Bolling isn't appalled tells you all you need to know about him.
Video here.
I was also emotionally & physically bullied by my 2nd grade teacher (believe it or not, she was a nun
However, most people have a more advanced view of life and don’t operate at the level Bolling does. This punishment would have quite the opposite effect on more mature individuals, who would feel assaulted. The problem with Bolling is a simplistic and narcissistic view that all people are basically the same as he is, and this is so very, demonstrably wrong.
And if I’m not mistaken, Jesuit schools are PRIVATE facilities. Even if a state bans corporal punishment administered by a school official, Jesuit schools will still be allowed to beat their kids as much as they want to.
However, I’d love it if someone else who attended that school with Bolling were to come forward and tell the truth about Bolling—that he cried like a little girl or tried avoiding each swat or, more devastating to Bolling’s account, that the priest barely touched Bolling’s precious little butt. At least, not with a “baseball bat.”
