I do not think that I 'hate' that word.
I am afraid of the idea of being with one.
My parents beat me a lot. I thought that I was okay, when I was 20 - 21. I was in the US Navy, I lived thousands of miles away from my family, I got married and I thought things were okay. During my first year with my new bride, when my birthday came around. We had a bunch of friends over for a dinner. Being a group of sailors they tackled me and began to give me a 'birthday spanking'. I did not know that I had PTSD until that day. That was over 30 years ago, most of what I remember was my wife holding me as I cried.
Over the years, my wife has always made sure that whenever we were at social functions, nobody has ever tried to do that to me again.
She has stood with me, supporting me, over the years, as we have dealt with my parents and my siblings. My parents eventually died, and now my siblings have begun dying.
The idea of submitting to anyone like that, horrifies me.
I have spent years in combat zones. Literally years. When I retired from the US Navy, one of the things we had to do was to go through my awards and count how many months I had been in combat. I have served alongside a lot of men who have died. My worst fear today, as an old fat retiree, is the fear of being beaten.
I can understand that some people like it. I do not mean you any disrespect. But the thought would give me nightmares, and I drink too much already.
Originally Posted by RetiredSubmariner
We seem to have more and more in common. I too had annual 'birthday spankings from my older brother plus a really hard one to grow on. I remember this starting with age three up until I left home. I have hated having any birthday celebration until recently with my current family who are kind to each other. They don't even comprehend the idea of anyone ever getting a "birthday spanking".
Heartless, and repeated teasing was also a common thing when I was a youth. It took a long time to understand that teasing is aggression: it is OK for me not to like it. No
normal family does it. The answer when I complained as a child was: "what's the matter with you, we were only teasing." No, it is not teasing, it outright aggression toward a child. When I first became an adult, I naturally thought that it was my time to be the one teasing. Wrong, there are better, and kinder, ways to relate to others.
Defending yourself is different: it should also be unexpected, complete and total. There are a people who are bullies that use things like "birthday spankings", teasing, intimidation and harrassment until someone puts a stop to it.