Punishment

Punishment

Punishment

A penalty imposed for wrongdoing: "The severity of the punishment must... be in keeping with the kind of obligation which has been violated" (Simone Weil).

Punishment and correction, the dark side of a Master Slave relationship. But yet an evil necessity of maintaining structure and order.

I'm always a bit taken back of how those of us living the M/s lifestyle are the minority with in the "scene." I have heard people say "shit! You do this 24/7?" I can't even imagine where the skeptic minds wanders to when the concept of punishment is brought into the light. But regardless of what others may think punishment is an excellent tool

To maintain order and structure in the household.

When a slave is seemingly disobedient or orders have not been acted out to the satisfaction of a Master I don't believe that punishment should be the first line of action. I'm not speaking about the little things. By the little things I mean

Positions, greetings etc. Those things can usually be corrected with a friendly evil little pinch, a fun nudge in the arm or that ever popular looking down over your eye glasses stare. If those very important but yet smaller things can never be worked out one would have to take the time to consider if this is the correct relationship for the two (or how ever many) of you.

It's the standing orders of the day or the week. Those ever important tasks that a slave does to keep a household running smoothly, to keep the Masters life in line. It's the important tasks that equate to good service. When a slave is not living up to what is expected of them that's when punishment should come into thought. Some type of penalty imposed for wrong doing. I do feel that before the punishment or correction is administered the Master should look at the situations. Were there any obstacles in the way of completing the task? Were the instructions clear? After those questions ( or which ever questions may apply) I find that communication should be the next tool. Why did this infraction occur? Sometimes the mere questioning or the fear of being punished is enough to correct a situation. That too can be a valuable tool. A line of questioning to correct a situation can also avoid the breaking of the psyche of the slave. For me if the communication does not work and I have researched my data and my conclusion is that my instructions were clear and concise and there were no extenuating circumstances then a penalty for wrong doing must be put into action. Some type of lasting negative memory must be unleashed on the slave. A reminder that if the situation is the same they should not fail at this task again. Now for me the first thing that used to come to mind is corporal punishment. Hitting, flogging that very hard paddle that is only used in negative circumstances. In some relationships corporal punishment works great. It works great for the both the Master and the slave. In other relationships such as in mine it does not! In fact it had a tendency to create a downward spiral. In the past when I have been dissatisfied with barb I would take the road of corporal punishment. I would have to say to a point it worked. barb was in touch with the fact that

she did something that displeased me. Correction was implemented. I have also learned from my mistakes. Sometimes the punishment did not fit the crime. To harsh of a penalty for to small of a crime can have a disastrous effect too. As stated above by the French Philosopher Simone Weil "The severity of the punishment must... be in keeping with the kind of obligation which has been violated" As I mentioned earlier for me the method corporal punishment seemed to work. But after all was said and done it did not feel like anything positive came from it. Then I started to think about what may work for others may not work for me. Not that I need to punish often but when I do what is going to work the best. How do I obtain the best results? I thought about it. I thought about barb. I realized I needed to remember that barb comes from an abusive childhood where punishment exceeded the standard norms of correction. These very negative memories have left some intense cerebral battle scars. In my household Corporal punishment is not the ticket to success. It's now my responsibility to explore alternate actions that will act as punishment but will allow me to get the positive results that are needed. So please allow me to introduce "The Punishment Corner". This works great. The punishment corner is a corner of the house that is reserved for reflection. She knows if she's sent to that corner she's displeased me. It's an opportunity for her to reflect. In that corner she's taken away from household activity. This punishment can act as harsh but it does not interfere with the ill memories of her past. She is even more aware that I care. I care enough to make sure she stays hole. I care enough to punish to keep our path in line and steady.

Temporarily taking away service duties works well too. Taking away the service that she loves to give has seemed to be a fantastic correction tool. These alternatives to corporal punishment have worked fantastic for me.

If I was ever in the position to mentor anyone my advice would be to know your slave. Take the time to know what works best for both of you. Punishment should not be taken lightly. Look at the long term. The negative action that is administered in the now needs to have a positive effect for the future. Whether it be corporal punishment or an alternative punishment, the outcome should have growth, understanding and positivity.