Take it from me. I know---because that's what happened. My jaw was undershot and still slants to the left from years of face slaps, always hard ones, that began when I was about three years old and all through Catholic school. Back then (1952-1961) kids were seen as animals who had to be made to respect authority by any and all means. Corporal punishment, in the form of spankings, whippings, pulling hair,etc. were seen as legitimate means to ensure absolute obedience to those in charge be they parents, teachers or other adults.Sounds positively chilling, doesn't it? But kids were thought of as "little adults" who understood what they had done. Yes, even at 3! Unfortunately, this idea persists among far too many adults today, who themselves had probably been beaten as kids and who regard the biblical "Spare the rod and spoil the child" as God's own parental advise. Sadly, it is. All through the bible, God is quoted as demanding death to man, woman, and child, so people still do "Imitatio Deo" by inflicting war and a host of other sadistic punishments on their fellow man, woman, and child. What a convenient excuse! Do Unto Others Before They Do Unto You.
The bitter truth is that children who are beaten by adults will probably grow up to beat children themselves, or be so afraid of getting beaten (even as adults!) that they mindlessly obey all in authority. Beatings made me a coward. Even now I do everything to avoid angering "those in charge", especially to their face. I instinctively cringe if someone near me makes a sudden hand movement. The last time I was slapped in the face was at age 22, by my father who demanded to see my graduation photos first. Why? Because he believed he had paid for them (I had taken them with my camera) so they were his. Guess what? He'd been treated the same way as a kid. Both my parents had been beaten growing up and saw nothing wrong with it. After all, they'd self-righteously insist, they had gone through it without harm, so who did I think I was when I dissented---on anything?
I was lucky. College showed me better ways of discipline. Even so, my jaw is still crooked, I don't have enough money to get it straightened, and my teeth are breaking and cracking from excess wear and tear due to my bad bite. Sad. Don't do it to your kids, and try to reason with others who do. Report such a person if they continue this practice. You may lose a friend, or a relative might never speak to you again, but you'll have at least saved some poor kid from disfigurement. I know, believe me I do. This won't stop unless all of us start taking notice and speaking out.
