REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE

DISCIPLINE PROBLEMS?
(Slightly edited to stay up with the times. )

He seems to be at war with the world.

In the class room, he's the one who spills the ink, breaks things, creates general havoc.

And at home, his parents don't understand him. They wish he could be more like his siblings. Less active, more controlled and subdued. Better at tying his shoelaces, more obedient to social demands.

He's a rebel who doesn't understand why he rebels or what to rebel against.

Actually, his "enemy" is the society in which he lives. In it people are treated like objects to be bought and sold, manipulated, displayed or ignored.

And children like him are its most unprepared victims. For no real reason, he continually finds himself il-treated by habit, convention, and design.

And he is not alone with the problem. It is estimated that one out of every ten school children have noticeable difficulties accepting socially "normal" behavior patterns-most of them boys.

A PROBLEM HE DIDN'T CREATE

The causes of his problem are pervasive and diffuse. They are nearly impossible for him to identify precisely because they are so ubiquitous (hard to see), overwhelming, and taken-for-granted by everyone with whom he is ever likely to come into contact.

The causes are ultimately identical with the very structure of our social world, a structure conditioned by capital-its formations, deformations and accumulations. The fundamental alienation of the individual from his/her activities, the mystifying roles of social relationships, the prevailing belief in hierarchy, authoritarian conditioning, sexism and ageism all combine to create a frustrating and fundamentally unsatisfying environment, which leaves him with vaguely defined impulses to rebell. With such a complex and [hard to see] situation, is it any wonder that his primitive critique seems so incoherent and easily explained-away by natural causes?

HELPING THE "MBD" (Minimal Brain Disfunction, including ADHD, ODD, etc.) CHILD "GET HIS HEAD TOGETHER"

He isn't sophisticated enough to defend himself against the ideologies and weapons of those who incarcerate and indoctrinate him. And if we act quickly, we can ensure that his nascent rebellion will never find a consciously coherent expression-now or in later life. To achieve this, we merely label him as a minimal brain dysfunction (MBD) or attention deficit/hyperactivity disordered (ADHD), or oppositional defiance disordered (ODD) child, and manage his problem with intensified indoctrination, increased parental pressure, and pharmacotherapy (psychiatric drugs).

When indicated, stimulant drugs (like Ritalin) have proven effective as adjunctive controls, often enabling authorities to more effectively destroy his ability to resist treatment.

AN AD PARODY from "Anarchy, A Journal of Desire Armed" www.anarchymag.org