A College Student's View - Spanking Sparks Debate

I read the article and I find the idea rather
intriguing. I have to say that everytime I was hit as
a child I sure as hell hated it and it scared me but I
do believe I deserved it. The only times I was ever
slapped/spanked were times that I was really acting
out and I was beyond verbal confrontation. I guess you
could say I was out of control. In this context I do
beleive that a spanking can be useful. I may not have
had the cognitive skills at the time to really
comprehend why I deserved to be spanked but it kept me
from acting out in that manner, which I think is a
good thing. It's unfortunate to think of children as
dogs (who have to be spanked in order to teach right
from wrong) but in this case, as long as there is no
legitimate physical abuse (which is a little
ambiguous) I do not really see it as a problem.

I agree with Professor Goldstein, in that it is a very
frightening thing for the government to regulate such
parental behavior. ... I also think the
legislation sounds more appealing if you apply it to
infants. Obviously no infant should ever be spanked in
any way.

The real reason I oppose the legislation is that I
don't see the damage that is occuring when children
are occasionaly spanked on the rear end. Unless of
course it escalates to abuse. To me, it is a little
more frightening to think that the government
(especially as it currently stands) would regulate how
we treat our children to that extent.

The idea that spanking children at a young age gives
them the idea that they can use physical power against
others is very interesting. It may be true that when I
was spanked I thought it is how I could possibly get
my way in the future. But that is extremely hard to
prove. It may be good to get spanked every once in a
while because you are confronted with that kind of
punishment and it may help you deal with others
outside the household. As a male, I deal with this a
lot. Ever since a young age physical dominance in
social circumstances presented itself. It still does
today. Fights still break out and at times you have to
hold your own. You could argue (and im not sure if I
agree with this) that being spanked allows you to deal
with these issues in a more mature and less-frightened
manner because we all know that bullies can smell
fear. Just a thought.

Sincerely,
Garett