Jennifer Armstrong1 second ago
I think the answer is, as my father stated, "I thought you were part of my brain." (He had this moment of insight even in the midst of one of his worst rages.) He implied that he needed to subjugate me and control me because to him I was an unruly part of himself, which, if he didn't gain complete control over, would express emotions and attitudes that would tear him apart. Viewing it in this light, he absolutely believed he was doing the right thing for himself, if not for me. You can't let unruly elements get out of control. You have to beat them back and subjugate them so that they have no energy to mount a secondary attack. Interesingly enough, these were the tactics used by the Rhodesian forces to subjugate urban racial dissent. If protesters came into the city, the forces would beat them back to their residential locale, switch off the electricity and plumbing overnight or for a few days, and send choppers to circle over them throughout the night. I believe that these very serious tactics were directly akin to those my father used against me to keep "his mind" under control.
