9. When Abuse is not Abuse

 The article mainly focuses on targeting those who still "practice" child abuse. It starts off with a brief summary of how Adrian Peterson, the Minnesota Vikings running back, had severely abused his son. His son had shoved one of his siblings off a video game, which infuriated Peterson and caused him to force leaves into his sons mouth and beat his "legs, ankles, back, buttocks, and scrotum." The author then uses this story to his advantage in order to criticize how the United States does not enforce laws AGAINST child abuse. He writes, "But don't expect Peterson to go to jail any time soon." He then provides reader a broad history of the relationship between the country and child abuse. Child abuse used to be "popular" amongst the lower social classes. However, studies showed that as time passed, child abuse was common in middle-upper classes too. The main problem with this "trend" is that the government does not do anything about it. They do not pass on laws against child abuse, which is why people like Peterson can get away with such cruel actions.
 The author of this article, Mark Joseph Stern, does a good job showing the position he is in. He makes it obvious that he is against child abuse and how it is currently being treated in the nation. He criticizes the government for not passing on laws, and harshly criticizes the parents who are actually involved in such cruelty. Stern's vocabulary is not quite advanced, which helps him transmit his message to all readers. Also, the way he communicates with his readers seems like he is engaging in a real-life conversation. (It helps readers focus in what he is trying to say.) Amidst all the positive aspects of the article, there are a few negative features. Stern rarely uses transition words/phrases, which makes his article seem a little choppy and abrupt. For example, from the story he tells about Peterson, he suddenly changes his topic to child abuse in the past. Another negative aspect would be the length of his essay. It seems like he added a little "fluff" to his essay, for it is unnecessarily long and contains information that seem unvalid.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2014/09/adrian_peterson_and_corporal_punishment_in_america_it_s_largely_legal.single.html