It Never Did Me Any Harm
I quite often hear that phrase being used to justify something that happened in someone's youth. Usually something unpleasant.
"When I was at school we regularly got six of the best and it never did me any harm."
"When I was a young doctor we worked 90 hour weeks and it never did me any harm."
"When I was at school we were all bullied when we were first years and when we were older we did the bullying. It never did us any harm."
"When I was young we had National Service. It was a year of hell but it never did me any harm."
Sometimes it's used to make sense of something that's happened. Possibly because they don't want to accept this: it doesn't seem fair if it happened to them but it doesn't happen to the next generation - especially if it was really horrible. Possibly because they don't want to accept that they spent a whole chunk of their life in a place where things were just plain wrong.
I think that all these things DID do harm - - it's just that the person involved can't always tell.
"When I was at school we regularly got six of the best and it never did me any harm."
"When I was a young doctor we worked 90 hour weeks and it never did me any harm."
"When I was at school we were all bullied when we were first years and when we were older we did the bullying. It never did us any harm."
"When I was young we had National Service. It was a year of hell but it never did me any harm."
Sometimes it's used to make sense of something that's happened. Possibly because they don't want to accept this: it doesn't seem fair if it happened to them but it doesn't happen to the next generation - especially if it was really horrible. Possibly because they don't want to accept that they spent a whole chunk of their life in a place where things were just plain wrong.
I think that all these things DID do harm - - it's just that the person involved can't always tell.
posted by Daphne at 5:57 pm
4 Comments:
My mother used to feed us razor blades through sweaty socks while sitting on a manure heap in our underpants in early February as rats chowed on our toes and it never did me any harm!
It made you think hitting children is harmless. It made you think belittling children is harmless. It made you think compulsory military service is harmless. Ecksetra.
You are exactly right, Daphne.
A little insight into why Yorkshire Pudding is the way he is certainly goes a long way....
I think sitting on a manure heap in your underpants beats the heck out of sitting on a manure heap without your underpants....
Perhaps that is not the point he meant to convey....
I really need some coffee.
I always want to reply "Well, it kind of... DID, didn't it? It made you the kind of person who advocates RANDOM VIOLENCE, like YOU JUST DID..."
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