Please allow me to play devil’s advocate (to illustrate the point of how easy it is to spin things into a heaping pile of rubbish).
"Detention - Yea or Nay"
Are you seriously advocating people incarcerate their own children? Forcibly imprisoning small children without a fair trial? This is unusually cruel, especially for a child who does not understand why they are being placed into prison. What happened to the constitution? Did you build an actual prison cell in your basement? Unbelievable! I bet you won’t do this when they are old enough to say no, because you won’t be able to physically restrain them any longer. What then? Will you pepper spray them into submission?
"Extra chores - Yea or Nay"
When did personal servitude become an acceptable form of punishment? This borders on slavery. I find it despicable you promote slavery of children, especially those who are unable to defend themselves. You must feel like a big man! And in case you missed it, child labor is illegal. Once they are old enough to say no, I would like to see how you enforce this. Guess you are going to beat them into submission, huh?
Of course, these are reckless and foolhardy arguments, but I hope you realize arguments against spanking children sound the exact same, oblivious.
In relation to your ill-informed statement students are beaten in southern schools and left with bruises, you are horribly and embarrassingly mistaken. Schools, public anyway, have not enforced corporal punishment for several, several years. And to push the envelope further, bruises are, in NO WAY, indicative of abuse. Law enforcement doesn’t even use them as an indicator anymore. I would be happy to elaborate on the reasons if you wish.
Those who do not want to spank their children, don’t, but you are being disingenuous when you say things like, “Hit your kid…beat your child” as if people fist punch a three year old for not throwing cheese stick wrapper in the trash can. There is a world of difference between proper punishment and physical abuse. Those of us who know the difference listen to the irrational arguments made in opposition, roll our eyes and then take an Advil to regulate the headache which ensues. All I ask is you not placate to the emotional, wishy-washy, touchy feely, parts of the illogical mind in an attempt to support your views. Popping your child’s hand to keep them from touching a hot surface or paddling their rear for throwing a toy car and hitting another child in the face are nowhere close to grabbing a stick and full arm swing beating the child because you can and they can’t stop you. I implore you, use honest debate or do not debate at all. Stop spinning the truth and using emotionally invoking statements which have no real meaning behind them. Beating a child is wrong, spanking a child is not, but if you feel it is wrong, don’t spank you child.
And anyone who attempts to place some sort of sexual connotation into spanking is just plain vile and irresponsible.