Monday, October 27, 2008

Spank the Court and the Meddlers

The last time I wrote about spanking, to the best of my recollection and the search function of this here posting software, was in July 2004 and I had this to say as a concluding comment.

I think individuals who make the leap from spanking a kid on the ass, to beating them or torturing them, have a wee bit of a problem understanding that spanking is not beating or torturing, and parents who go beyond spanking and venture into the dark and terrible world of torturing their children, or beating their children, are worth no more than the detritus that gathers on the bottom of my shoes.

I mention this today because of the following.

A Columbia County jury will be asked to decide whether a pastor who spanked his 12-year-old son with a paddle committed child abuse.

A judge ruled Thursday that the case against 44-year-old Barry W. Barnett Jr. of Poynette will head to trial.

Barnett stood mute Thursday on a charge of felony child abuse so the court entered a not-guilty plea.

The criminal complaint says Barnett spanked the boy twice, leaving purplish bruises about four inches wide. But Barnett’s attorney, Gerald Mowris, says photographs showed only red marks.

The boy testified last week that the paddling hurt “a little” and said he and his father cried during the spanking.

A doctor testifying for the defense said he didn’t think the paddling amounted to abuse.

I have no idea how this Pastor’s spanking of his son came to the attention of the state, but I think that this is simply another overreach, on the part of the state and those who profess obedience to the state.  I know that the spankings I received as a child did provided me with sound instruction, and I don’t just mean the sound of the paddle striking my ass, regardless of the fact that The New York Times and their experts, in a piece titled When Is Spanking Child Abuse? tend to believe that any spanking is child abuse.

Jury to decide whether paddling was child abuse

I would hope that the members of the jury have a more sense than the state and the court system, but I am not holding my breath.

Posted by John Venlet on 10/27 at 11:44 AM
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