"Tough Love"

I have always viewed claims of "tough love" with suspicion. It is undeniable that people may not always have the option of being gentle with those they care about--that the only possible way to help them in a situation where they cannot not help them may require them to be blunt and even harsh. Still, it is the case that many a person seizes on any excuse to be brutal, and it seems to me that the cultural moment in which are living has been overly indulgent to those throwing about the excuse--because it approves brutality. This is especially insofar as it is those who have power who are in a position to be brutal, and it approves those who have power, with all that says about that moment.