QUIT DEFENDING ABUSE

             In a opinion paper posted on the Texas Insider September 25,2014 called, "Quit Defending Abuse". Linda Chavez talks about how people are constantly defending Adrian Peterson and his case he has about him whooping his four-year-old son. She feels like there should be a line drawn between spanking and beating your child. She is surprised at how many Americans believe its necessary to discipline a child with a good spanking. She says there should be clear rules and disciplining a child should never include hitting bare flesh. Linda is targeting everyone as a society who believes spanking your child is ok.

             I do not agree with some of the things she has stated in this editorial nor do I condone child abuse. She is saying that he abused his four-year-old child by whooping him with a switch but I would like to think differently. To me, child abuse would be more like him constantly beating on his child every day or doing something sexual to him. In this case he is disciplining his son. Apparently the son did something unpleasing and got an old southern butt whooping for it. I remember growing up as a child and having to go get my own switch off of a tree to get a whooping, and I bet not get a small one or a skinny little branch because I would really be in trouble then! She talks about how corporal punishment is not effective in discouraging future bad behavior, and is likely to increase the child’s own aggressiveness but I believe that if you discipline your child your child will be well off in the future. I am not saying,because you whoop your child they wont do the same thing again but when you whoop them for their wrong doings they often times learn from their mistakes. It’s like teaching them a lesson. If you put a child in the corner for “time out” exactly what do you think they are going to get from that? Not much. She goes to say that he is an “angry thug” for disciplining his child. According to Dictionary References the definition of a thug is a cruel or vicious ruffian, robber or murderer.  Linda should have chose better words; it was ignorant of her to say he is a thug. I am a mother of a two-year-old little girl and I do not condone any type of abuse but if I need to discipline my daughter I will.