L'eccesso e l'astensione

(Excess and Abstinence)

Abstract

Can one consider the rights of minors and the respect that is owed to them within a discourse that addresses the issue of violence? One may answer: Of course, if children are indoctrinated, if one does not show any respect to children, etc. This essay claims that this is not sufficient, and that violence potentially hides in any relation between adults and minors even when the minor is no longer punished nor hit nor humiliated. Overwhelming care, lack of limitations, excesses of stimuli, and even “too much love” lead to deleterious consequences in terms of growth that are complementary to the effects caused by the absence of attention. Educators’ “best intentions” as a mitigating factor do not attenuate at all the severity of violence.