Tag: corporal punishment

CBS Video:   Dad seen on tape beating daughter: I was right

We perfectly understand that educated middle class children of educated intelligent middle class parents can possibly be perfectly educated with no physical violence whatsoever. Super Nanny videos are perfect examples.

We question, though, if non-spanking needs to be mandatory and enshrined in law. Yes, we understand there are problems, but we are here to question politically correct dogma. Here a few arguments by Devil’s Advocate:

1. Look at really unruly criminal or borderline criminal children. Gang members, violent flash mob participants, Hardcore truants, heavy drug users etc. Maybe the world would be better off had these kids been disciplined when there was still a chance to get them away from their path that is both destructive to society and self-destructive.  In many rich countries there is, needlessly, an underclass of uneducated, unemployable hopeless adolescents that have no chance in life. They will forever be a burden to society, financially, as welfare basket cases, as criminals, and as parents to future hopeless children.
2. Lower class, low intelligence parents of equally lower intelligence low self control children in bad social environment might be better off with forceful education methods.
3. Parents might enforce exaggerated and unworthy goals with violent spanking? That, of course, raises other questions of parental power and freedom in general. Spanking a child for not going to church, for having homosexual tendencies, for not training mother’s pet sport? I see the problem, but what about parents enforcing such behaviors with other punishments, psychological cruelty, time out, withholding of financial resources etc.
4. To avoid excessive physical punishment, neighborhood councils could mediate between children and parents, and order parents to stop in case of injustice. Note also that in all ancient texts, punishment of children (and women) was always limited in ways as to not cause lasting physical damage.
5. The same politically correct liberals, who totally oppose measured non-endangering spanking, treat violent child endangering bullies and gangs with velvet gloves. Maybe such bullies need Singapore or Muslim style spankings to learn respect for fellow children and adults.
6. Is imprisoning for days, weeks, years really more humane then 20 minutes of corporal punishment? More so if in these prisons the serious criminals tend to rape and sexually enslave the less thuggish transgressors! Not to mention the financial cost of locking up people for years, in the light of too much government spending.
7. Spanked children become violent adults? There is lots of research supporting this theory, but …..: The proponents of such theories usually don’t consider the possibility that children of violent parents inherited genetic propensity to violence.  Without proof they assume causality.

A response to to Hillary Adams video

Plenty of intelligent guest comments at the end of "Dad seen on tape beating daughter" mention that a father who tried all other methods and uses spanking as a last resort might be very justified. In many states, including Texas, spanking one’s children is not illegal.

Again, we are Devil’s Advocate assailing conventional dogma. We want to stimulate healthy discussion. We are not ready to put our weight behind full legalization of corporal punishment.

Human-Stupidity did it again: alienate everyone by questioning politically correct conventional wisdom.