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From: matt@brl-tgr.ARPA (Matthew Rosenblatt )
Newsgroups: net.abortion
Subject: The Nuclear Family
Message-ID: <886@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Date: Thu, 22-Aug-85 12:36:15 EDT
Article-I.D.: brl-tgr.886
Posted: Thu Aug 22 12:36:15 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 24-Aug-85 19:25:33 EDT
References: <3555@decwrl.UUCP> <628@brl-tgr.ARPA> <1490@pyuxd.UUCP>
Organization: Ballistic Research Lab
Lines: 34

Somehow, Rich Rosen thinks I support

>						 Sanctification of an
> institution that puts itself above the law (the "nuclear family") where one 
> member can abuse other members of the household without fear of reprisal?
 
That's what they had in Ancient Rome, Mr. Rosen.  The head of the family
was called the "paterfamilias," and he had life or death power over all
members of the family, children and adults.  That was Roman law, so it was
all LEGAL, see?  But it raises some interesting hypothetical questions:

1.  What if the paterfamilias decided to exercise his power of death over
a grown son who had offended him, say, by refusing to move out of the
father's building?  And suppose the grown son were bigger and stronger
than the father, so he couldn't just throttle the fellow.  Now, if the
father were a rich man, he could hire a few thugs to rub the son out.
But what about a poor paterfamilias?  He's a "civis Romanus" too -- why
should he have fewer rights over his family than the rich paterfamilias?
Don't the Senate and People of Rome OWE IT TO HIM to send a couple of
armed centurions over to dispatch whichever family members he no longer
wants to live?

2.  Suppose there is no such Government aid to nuclear family tyrants.
The father who goes to kill his grown son is taking a risk.  Maybe the
son will fight back.  Maybe the son knows how to use a sword, or a
ballista, or whatever ridiculous weapon they had for tearing and crushing
human flesh humanely before the mean old warmongers at the Ballistic
Research Lab invented un-humane artillery shells.  In any event, the
paterfamilias could be wounded, or even killed!  Surely Romans wouldn't
want fathers to face the risk of injury or death just because they want
to kill their sons.  If the paterfamilias system is to work at all,
it's gotta be made SAFE as well as LEGAL.

					-- Matt Rosenblatt