kenw@lcuxc.UUCP (K Wolman) (02/05/85)
>From: colonel@gloria.UUCP (George Sicherman) >Here's a point that nobody has brought up, so far as I know. Of all >the forms of corporal punishment, the most popular seems to be striking >the child's unguarded ass. Can anybody explain why this method is >superior to others? ---------------------------------------- No psychologist I, but a few guesses. Spanking a kid on the rear end can HURT; but there is generally enough flesh there to prevent the hurt from being serious or lingering. The rear is also kind of impersonal (I can't think of another term for it); it's where you sit when you go to the toilet, it has little to do with your self-image, etc. Unless you are a body model or something, it's not a part of yourself you're likely to display with any seriousness. Also, you don't LOOK AT your child while spanking him or her. This reinforces the impersonality of the act: in this case, that is a plus. The major alternative of my youth and/or generation--slapping a kid in the face--is utterly degrading by comparison. It hurts a good deal more. And because you have to be face-to-face with your child to do it, it has the overtone of a personal confrontation and insult. -- Ken Wolman Bell Communications Research @ Livingston, N.J. lcuxc!kenw (201) 740-4565 Kol machalokes shehi l'shaem shamayim, sofo l'hiskayaem; v'sheana l'shaem shamayim, ayn sofo l'hiskayaem.