General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I'm sorry, there's something terribly wrong with him [View all]enough
(13,262 posts)delight in humiliation. Especially humiliation of someone smaller than you, and someone who sees you as an authority figure.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/mitt-romney/9347495/US-election-2012-Mitt-Romney-pushed-sons-faces-into-plates-of-butter.html
snip>
Matt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor's second son, told how his father would present his children with a stick of butter, telling them "it's so rotten you have to smell it". When they leaned down he would gleefully shove their faces into the plate.
Mr Romney apparently repeated the trick recently with one of his grandsons, pushing the shocked child's head into a platter of whipped cream.
snip>
I really don't see how this falls into the category of rough-housing or toughening up.