didnt think this was a hot take?? but guysâŠphysical punishment and abuse do not help people change for the better.
iâve seen some recent takes that think thatâs how it works? âc!wilbur needs some sense slapped into him.â âexile should have taught c!tommy a lesson.â etc. etc.
thatâs. not how it works. slapping someone will not make them âbetterâ it will make them afraid and probably worse because now youâre attacking them. isolating someone from all their friends under threat of killing said friends is not gonna teach someone responsibility, itâs gonna teach them anxiety.
same goes for c!dream. ive seen people saying that the torture might be making him better andâŠguys itâs literally torture. thatâs not how it works.
Adding onto this, though the SMP and real life are different, the way the characters act are based in reality (if that makes sense). If they win something, both irl people and the characters will feel happy/celebrate. If they experience loss, both will grieve. If you were to cause physical pain to anyone for wrong behaviour, it doesnât address the issue at all. There is no learning, only pain. Same applies to the characters in the Dream SMP:
What happened after Wilbur was murdered by Phil? His mental health got even worse.
What happened after Tommy was abused and manipulated by Dream? He nearly killed himself.
What happened after Techno was almost executed by the butcher army? He destroyed LâManburg.
What happened after Dreamâs âwill was brokenâ by Sam? His hunger for power stayed the same.
The point the SMPâs story keeps coming back to is that physical punishment and abuse isnât the answer.
