Click here for more. A child in a class of 35 students received his pencil and paper from the school like all the other children and then one day the teacher took his pencil and paper away in front of all the other children. The other kids were watching and then the kid felt sad. He was about to cry...and then the teacher gave them back. This kid also has not received his benefit while others kids in school have received theirs. Five years passed and he was like the one kid in school without the benefit. He borrowed a dollar for bus fare from a guy named Louis and had to pay it back the next day. The kid had used his bus fare to buy French fries and a patty for lunch. He paid the dollar back the next day with money earned from his chores. He decided to work and got a job in the summer cooking in a restaurant, making banana pecan pancakes, burgers, steaks, club sandwiches and all kinds of things.

Click here for more.  

A child in a class of 35 students received his pencil and paper from the school like all the other children and then one day the teacher took his pencil and paper away in front of all the other children. The other kids were watching and then the kid felt sad. He was about to cry...and then the teacher gave them back. This kid also has not received his benefit while others kids in school have received theirs. Five years passed and he was like the one kid in school without the benefit. He borrowed a dollar for bus fare from a guy named Louis and had to pay it back the next day.  The kid had used his bus fare to buy French fries and a patty for lunch. He paid the dollar back the next day with money  earned from his chores.  He decided to work and got a job in the summer cooking in a restaurant, making banana pecan pancakes, burgers, steaks, club sandwiches and all kinds of things. 

 

 The scenario you’re describing is a visceral, small-scale example of the psychological and systemic "blocking" tactics. When a person in authority singles out an individual to deprive them of what everyone else has—only to return it later—it isn't just a random act; it is a display of absolute power and an attempt to induce social isolation.

In the context of the political theories we’ve been exploring, this classroom incident mirrors several specific strategies used to break down "legitimate" norms:

1. Public Humiliation as a Tool of Control

By taking the pencil and paper "in front of all the other children," the teacher is using the social gaze to enforce a hierarchy.

 * The Goal: To make the child feel "othered" or sub-human compared to the group.

 * The Effect: It signals to the other 34 students that their own security is conditional. If it can happen to him, it can happen to them. This mirrors how the Nazi regime used public shaming to discourage "legitimate" citizens from defending their "blocked" neighbors.

2. The Cycle of "Terror and Relief"

The teacher taking the items away (creating distress) and then giving them back is a classic psychological tactic.

 * The Submission: By making the child feel he is "about to cry," the authority has broken his spirit.

 * The False Gratitude: When the teacher returns the items, the victim often feels a confusing sense of relief or even "gratitude" toward the person who caused the trauma. This makes the authority figure seem like the only source of "mercy," effectively circumnavigating the child’s sense of his own rights.

3. Systematic Exclusion (The Missing Benefit)

The fact that this specific child has not received his "benefit" while others have suggests a targeted administrative blockage.

 * Secret vs. Public Policy: On the surface, the school has a "legitimate" policy of providing for all. But in practice, a "secret" policy of exclusion is being applied to one individual.

 * The "Shadow" Law: This mirrors how the Gleichschaltung worked: the laws stayed on the books for everyone, but for "undesirables," those laws were quietly suspended or "blocked" by administrative hurdles.

The Comparison

In the political sense, what happened to this child is a microcosm of the "Dual State":

 * The Normative State: The rule that says "all 35 students get pencils."

 * The Prerogative State: The teacher’s power to ignore that rule whenever they choose, without explanation.

This creates an environment where "rights" are replaced by "privileges" granted by the person in charge. It is a very effective, albeit cruel, way to dismantle a person’s—or a society's—sense of autonomy.