Surprise! Massachusetts pushes for spanking ban

The earliest citation comes from Sir William Hope’s The Compleat Fencing-Master, second edition, 1692, page 157: "What he doth, he doth by rule of thumb, and not by art"[2]

The notion that the "rule of thumb" was a law that limited the width of a rod that a man may use to beat his wife has been partially discredited. Wife beating has been explicitly illegal in British law since the 1700s, and has never been legally sanctioned in America.[3] However, at least four judges and other legal authorities from 1782 to 1897 have referred to the bogus law in spite of the fact that it never existed.[4]The non-law gained popularity after feminist Del Martin wrote in 1976:

Our law, based upon the old English common-law doctrines, explicitly permitted wife-beating for correctional purposes. However . . . the common-law doctrine had been modified to allow the husband 'the right to whip his wife, provided that he used a switch no bigger than his thumb'--a rule of thumb, so to speak.

It is now firmly entrenched as an urban myth.[5]


:D

I was wrong.
 
LadyT said:
Well, if you're going to take on the responsiblity to clothe me, pay for my mortgage, feed me and take full financial responsibility for all of my actions (legal and illegal) then we'll talk.
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So if I provide you a meal I can beat you?
 
Blackflag said:
Bottom line...if you hit your kids, you are a bad parent. Learn to communicate with your kids.

and if you think you should be able to hit your kids, I should also legally be allowed to hit you. Neither are my property.
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Bottom line, if and when I have kids and they need a spanking, they will get one. They will not be beaten as many seem to want to equate spanking to.

Feel free and come to Colorado and take a swing at me if you think it is necessary. Though you may need to duck down when you swing... hard to hit us vertically challenged folk.
 
eh I just don't see the difference. I can't hit you but I can hit my kid. Dumb and hypocritical.

anti abortionists say the fetus has rights but I guess after it is born and does something you don't like, feel free to inflict pain with violence.
 
No wonder there is so much spousal abuse and school killings. Kids are taught at a young age that violence is the way to fix things.
 
Blackflag said:
eh I just don't see the difference. I can't hit you but I can hit my kid. Dumb and hypocritical.

anti abortionists say the fetus has rights but I guess after it is born and does something you don't like, feel free to inflict pain with violence.
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You can't compare relationships that are so utterly completely different. One does not equate to the other. For one, you're not LEGALLY bound to be responsible for the adults in your hypothetical scenario. Buying an adult dinner or even letting them live with you or even claiming them as dependents doesn't mean that you are legally responsible for their actions.
 
Blackflag said:
No wonder there is so much spousal abuse and school killings. Kids are taught at a young age that violence is the way to fix things.
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Are you oblivious to history?
2 generations ago, damn near every kid was spanked or worse and school killings were unheard of. Kids were much more respectful.

They are not being taught violence, they are being taught justice. Youth crime is much higher in this generation where spanking is less frequent.
 
TheDanold said:
Are you oblivious to history?
2 generations ago, damn near every kid was spanked or worse and school killings were unheard of. Kids were much more respectful.

They are not being taught violence, they are being taught justice. Youth crime is much higher in this generation where spanking is less frequent.
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Ugh. You are not helping.
 
I still don't understand. It is hypocritical. I can hit my kid but not my wife. I want to be able to hit my wife when she gets out of hand. I want to teach her "justice"
 
Part of Parenting is creating in miniature a model of the real world, for the child. There are real physical consequences for getting out of line, in this world.

Any parent who does NOT smack that ass the first time a child runs into the street is an irresponsible parent.
 
Blackflag said:
I still don't understand. It is hypocritical. I can hit my kid but not my wife. I want to be able to hit my wife when she gets out of hand. I want to teach her "justice"
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You can't tell your wife to go to her room when she misbehaves either, or to take away her supper or even to force her to sit still while you lecture her.
Following the logic that every child has the same rights as adults means parenting is nothing more than being providers and that's it.
You have some degree of power over your child to use as needs to be used, forgoing that turns the rest of America into an inner city with no discipline, no self control, people whining for more and less justice.
 
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