Paying for Father's Sin

Today I was late by about 30 seconds for a training session in office. The intructor did not allow me to get in. I was embarrassed. While I was thinking about the episode my mind was forced back to the day when June was punished for arriving late for school. What happened with me today was very similar. I was held as an example so that the trend could be bucked.

In July 08, June, along with others, was made to catch her ears and sit up ten times in full view of the public. The sad part was that June was late because of me. I stood there watching my daughter getting punished for my sin (sloth in this case).

This load was pretty heavy to carry. It was the first time ever that June got punished in school.
Interestingly, the episode kept working on my mind throughout the day. I was wondering how would June take it? Would she feel insulted? Would she avoid going to school? Would she make sense of it? It would be difficult if I was her.

It is always illogical to be paying for others' sins. I called Mun in the evening to find out what did June had to say when she came back from school. June was fine. She did'nt even remember that she was punished. Infact, when spoke to her about it I had a hard time explaining

• What is punishment?
• Who gets punished?
• Who gives the punishment?
• How is someone punished?

I didnt have a clear answers to any of these larger questions.