If you’re a parent, you may have spanked your child at some point in their life for misbehaving, right? Just a little spank to the bottom, or tap on the hand, to let them know they are being “bad,” and to give them a warning not to do it again. The Gorilla admits that during his little chimps’ lives, he too used this kind of corporal punishment; but very few times and certainly NOT in an abusive kind of way. But the Gorilla had many friends who didn’t “believe” in spanking their own children, and he respected their choices and understood them.
One particular friend of the Gorilla said that his parents were “abusive and went overboard” with corporal punishment, so he and his wife chose not to punish their own kids in that same way. There are many debates over spanking children for misbehaving and one big debate is brewing right now in Massachusetts, as that state is proposing a legislature to ban corporal punishment all together. Jeffrey Garbere, a clinical psychologist, agrees with the proposal, stating that although most parents know the difference between spanking and abuse, there are still so many cases of child abuse in that state that it’s absolutely necessary to pass it. He states that “in this case, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of a few.”
The Gorilla absolutely agrees with this philosophy, but the problem is, will this mean that kids will be calling the police on their own parents? The law will state that any kind of corporal punishment of a child will warrant abuse and the parent will be subject to arrest. Peter Sprigg, of The Family Research Council, says that he is against the legislature for this very reason. He states that “there is going to be a discrepancy on what is acceptable and what is considered to be abusive.” And the Gorilla would like to know how the state plans to determine what behavior is considered abusive? If a parent decided to spank a child on his/her behind in a grocery store for grabbing things and putting them in the cart when he/she was told not to by mom, is this in fact, abusive?
The American Academy of Pediatrics says that kids who are spanked have lower IQ’s and do much worse in school than those that are not. However, there have also been studies on basic corporal punishment alone, which indicate that this may not, in fact, be true. These studies showed that adults who were spanked as children grew up to be more successful and actually were better students than the ones who were not spanked! So, who knows which study truly is accurate? The bottom line is child abuse is rampant, and we need to take action. You may be shocked to hear this, but the Gorilla is all for this new legislation. If it means that those poor kids who are victims of abusive parents have a little recourse for their suffering, then bring on the new law. Yes, it would need to be monitored on a case by case basis, and yes, there will be children calling to report abuse when a parent simply spanks them for being bad, but as the clinical psychologist stated, “the needs of the many should outweigh the needs of a few.” These children deserve to be protected. Now keep in mind that this legislation was proposed and laughed out of the door in California (it was not passed), and this one is expected to fail miserably as well, but one can never be too careful when it comes to the needs of our precious children. Good luck Massachusetts!
November 28th, 2007 at 12:50 pm
I absolutely agree with this outlook. Sometimes we must be overly cautious-especially when it comes to our children. Although this law may sound excessive at first (parents being arrested for administering a simple spanking), if it serves to protect the innocent- then so be it. It will put those parents who are excessive with their spankings etc. on notice and perhaps it will make them more aware of the pain they are inflicting and the consequences if they should choose to.
November 30th, 2007 at 11:58 am
I am appalled at the extent that the limp-wristed, child-centric mentality has infested Ameirca. The current fixation on “child abuse” is only the latest manifestation of the continuing slide of America from World Super Power to third rate, Socialist mediocre existance. Look at the early twentith century. Think of the great minds such as Edison, Ford, the Wright brothers, Einstein, the list goes on. Corporal punshiment was fully accepted and used frequently and it benefited these greats and society in general. Why? Because it left no doubt that discipline was the rule and freedom of speech, thought, and religion were guaranteed but morals and ethics provided the guidelines. I could go into detail as to how and where the guidelines of centuries past went wrong but suffice it to say that “the ‘needs’ of the few are now attempting to dictate to the many”. We need corporal punishment. We need capital punishment. We need responsible parents and punishment for those that would have children out of marriage. We need to know again that you cannot “do your own thing” all the time and with only selfish thoughlessness. We, society in general, must stand up to all the vocal minorities that are attempting to mis-use our American freedoms to re-engineer modern life to tolerate and accept whatever aberrant lifestyles they desire.
Discipline equals order and responsibility. Order and responsibility yields growth and progress. The proposed legislation in Massachusetts must be defeated.
December 1st, 2007 at 2:52 pm
Man ..I agree with scalptrader. Well said!
December 1st, 2007 at 7:06 pm
Although I hear and fear rage in scalptrader’s comments, I support his passionate concerns. It has also been my observation that support for the systematic replacement of personal responsibility and accountability by the legislated removal of personal freedoms is driven by emotional outrage without the benefit of intellegent analysis, and all in the name of being a more progressive society. It is clear that Scalptrader has thought these issue through and is very concerned about where we are headed. The progressive view is often supported, it seems, because it is politically corrent, screaming down those that disagree. Well, I disagree. Corporal punishment is a necessary parenting tool. Abuse is an entirely separate issue. The abused are the last to blow any whistles. They are afraid of how the abuser will react. That’s what dysfunction is all about; enabling the sickest member of the group, family, team, etc. Because of the dynamics of abuse, the proposed legislation in MA will likely enable the truly abusive and disarm the caring parent. Some years ago, my own teenage daughter acused me of abuse because she was angry with me. She felt empowered to do so because she knew that I would only be hurt and not angry. Once she felt she had exacted enough pain, she retracted her charge with impunity. If I had been truly abusive, she would likely have been too fearful of the consequences to risked reporting it. Our personal freedoms are being eroded by one progressive legislation after another, as well as by the heat of political correctness. It seems that consequences for bad behavior is no longer acceptable. The consequences of that philosophy will likely not stop at the elimination of personal responsibily and accountability until it results in anarchy. I would really like to be able to say Merry Christmas and Ho! Ho! Ho! without offending someone. I would like to be suspicious of the advertised affects of global warming without being called a neandrathal. And, I would like to raise my children to be good citizens without fearing imprisonment. Scalptrader, thank you for your courage and your passion.