Spanking--and the Vikings.

[Solitary]

My one dad never touched me, not even a hug, but my other dad used a switch on my ankles (Under my breath I said ("I hate you! I hate you for ever!), and my mother used a belt on me when I got home from running away from home for 3 months when I was 15---once!

When my sons were in grade school and I was picking them up in the car, a woman teacher had a paddle and told a boy to face her which he was, then she got really mad and told him to face her again. He was really scared and confused because he was doing what she told him. She grabbed a hold of him and turned him around and told him to grab his ankles. When she did she acted like she was insane hitting really hard until the paddle broke. I got out of the car and slammed the door so hard she looked up at me coming at her with fire in my eyes. I grabbed the paddle that was still in her hand and told her she's lucky it was broke.

I went to the principle and told him if any teacher touches my boys I would show him what it's like to get hit with a fist in the face. He said it was the school policy. At that time there was an article condemning it in Play Boy magazine. I sent him letter after letter with the article signing it concerned parents. Using violence against children teaches them that to get their way use violence. I'm not talking about a pat on the bottom when they don't listen. But actually hurting a child.

My older son got completely out of hand and I didn't know what to do when he got hysterical at 15. Our of frustration I slapped him in the face. I read about why he got liked that and found out about the three day cure. I was being too strict with him. So I used the cure for three days letting him do what ever he wanted as long as he didn't hurt himself. It worked! A few days later he came and thanked me. I had no idea why. He said he was sorry and he had it coming. I told him that no he didn't, that I was expecting too much out of him by being too strict.

There is a big difference between discipline and being cruel in my opinion. The military has discipline, and very seldom resorts to physical violence on soldiers. A good teacher has discipline and doesn't have to resort to violence. I could always tell when a teacher was good or not when I walked into their class rooms. When the children were quiet and behaved the teacher was always very nice. When the children were loud and rowdy when the teacher wasn't in the room, the teacher was loud and threatening or making fun of the students when she came in. They also always had a cluttered and messy desk and unfriendly to me.  Kids learn from authority by being like them. Solitary 

[williemack]

I spent two years attending a Jr. High School (Johnston Jr. High--Anniston, Ala) that permitted corporeal punishment by the teachers.  Each teacher had a paddle and used it.  The PE teacher had his office lined with paddles that were filled with the names of those who had been paddled 100 times or more.  Some had holes drilled into the paddle, which were made by the school's wood shop.  In all my school years, those two years had the most ill behaved students.  The reason the PE teacher had so many retired paddles, was that he would often have relay races in his classes--the losing team got 5 swats each.  Not fond memories for this little old yankee.

Gracious!! What year was this?

It sounds like you had a horrendous time in my home state.

It is my goal to replace that bitter taste with the sweet taste of a Southern Honey Suckle. 
May your not-so-fond memories be steamed from your consciousness like butter melting into a bowl of cheese grits. 
May the memories of Southern accents calling you "yankee", be replaced by the voice of a seductive Southern belle offering you a yank.  And may your memories of the land of cotton make you feel less like a carpet-bagger and more like the blooming of a sweet tobacco posey which is the rose Alabama... Amen my brother... Amen...

[Solitary]

That's nice!

[Mike Cl]

Gracious!! What year was this?

It sounds like you had a horrendous time in my home state.

It is my goal to replace that bitter taste with the sweet taste of a Southern Honey Suckle. 
May your not-so-fond memories be steamed from your consciousness like butter melting into a bowl of cheese grits. 
May the memories of Southern accents calling you "yankee", be replaced by the voice of a seductive Southern belle offering you a yank.  And may your memories of the land of cotton make you feel less like a carpet-bagger and more like the blooming of a sweet tobacco posey which is the rose Alabama... Amen my brother... Amen...

That was 1958 and 1959.  It was a weird time, at least to me.  Then kids could leave school legally at age 16.  So we had quite a few 15 yr olds in grades 6 and 7 then.  I rode a bus from Anniston to Bynum (it was the home of an Army supply depot where my dad worked), at the end of the day, and it was not uncommon for two or three fights to be going on near where the buses were parked.  On the up side, I got to see my first pictures of fully naked women and girls. 

I'm sure things have changed quite a bit in Anniston these days.  This was so long ago that kudzo was not know of .   I lived in a dry county then so stills were still operating in the woods; we were pretty much allowed to go where we wanted to by my mom--but we stayed away from those.  Also had the 'colored' signs above bathroom doors and drinking fountains.  And there were many places where they were simply assumed to be displayed; movie theaters, lunch counters, schools, churches, things like that. 

Don't get me wrong.  Things were not all that bad as seen from my perspective.  What rests in my memory more than the stories I've related was that of family.  I had 5 brothers, so a game of tag, or 'war' or Clue, or baseball was just a 'what'ya-wanta-do' away.  TV was black and white and wasn't watched much--outside was the name of the game.  Grab a bike, or a baseball glove and bat, or hand full of pine cones and head to the woods; outside was where it was happening--after the chores were done, of course.  Baseball cards, the taste and smell of honeysuckle,  biscuits and gravy, (keep the grits), fried chicken, watermelon, the biggest dew berries I ever saw or tasted, swimming in the lake and the lunch spread after--all fond memories of that time and place. 

So, williemack, thanks for the thoughts.  As with everywhere and everywhen, there are good and bad things.  Alabama was/is no different.  And I must admit, southern belles with their soft, sweet accents are quite alluring.

[stromboli]

I would also like to go on record that I personally have never spanked a Viking. 

[AllPurposeAtheist]

I'd never let a school hit my child even though they're grown up now and would be violent to anyone at a school who did because I was beaten pretty good a few times or more as a kid in grade school and to this day believe that the school principal where I went was a sadist who probably got a hardon inflicting pain to kids.
That said, I did spank my son and a few swats at my daughter I'll regret to my dying days even if my kids have forgiven me for it.
I think most parents who do spank do so reluctantly, but many completely lose it. Should it be outlawed? No because we already have the highest incarceration rate in the world and jailing every parent who spanks would only make it much worse, but a robust public education approach to get parents to find better alternatives definitely wouldn't hurt.

[Mike Cl]

I would also like to go on record that I personally have never spanked a Viking. 

That is too bad!  Cause Vikings like it!!  Ohhhhh,  yyyyeeeaaahhhhhh!

[stromboli]

http://www.last.fm/music/Two+Inch+Astronaut/_/spank+jail

[Solitary]

What the fuck was that Strom? Are you going Punk? 

[stromboli]

Spank Jail. Hey, its a new experience.

[AllPurposeAtheist]

I'd probably give a partial right nut to spank a Viking..

[Jmpty]

I have given my kids a swat on the rear a few times. I don't consider that spanking. One swat is for them. More than one, the rest are for you.

[Jmpty]

Spank Jail. Hey, its a new experience.

I want to spank Strom's avatar.

[stromboli]

Me too.