Family Judge

[Gob]

Scooter, it's obviously not staged in the respect that it was an actual event and an actual punishment that occurred - she deliberately set up her camera to capture it, however, and that certainly indicates some intent on her part.

Seeing as she has claimed, and her mother has admitted. the abuse was a regular occurrence, she did the right thing, got evidence of it.

[BoSoxGal]

You are calling it abuse, she is calling it abuse - her mother, who once enthusiastically participated, is now calling it abuse.

Legally, I don't believe it is.

[Gob]

What does "legally" have to do with it?

In my eyes that is abuse.

[dales]

You are calling it abuse, she is calling it abuse - her mother, who once enthusiastically participated, is now calling it abuse.

Legally, I don't believe it is.

Leaving marks on a child by a hard whipping IS abuse in CA.

However "spanking" is OK.

At least according to Child and Family Services.

[BoSoxGal]

What does "legally" have to do with it?

In my eyes that is abuse.

So you recognize that it's an opinion, not necessarily held by the majority of people. Corporal punishment is legal throughout Australia, for instance.

I want to be clear that I don't support the punishment employed in that video. But I also don't believe it's necessarily abusive to spank with an implement. I also can't agree that this man's spanking of his daughter was legally abusive - there is no record of injury and had there been, she could have shown a teacher and she and her siblings would have been removed from that home pending further investigation.

[The Hen]

I only ever spanked with my hand and never an implement.

My reasoning was that if it hurt my hand, it was probrbly too harsh for the Hatch.

She has turned out well.

[Gob]

So you recognize that it's an opinion, not necessarily held by the majority of people. Corporal punishment is legal throughout Australia, for instance.

Sure, that's my whole point. I'm what is called a mandatory reporter, I'd have no hesitation in (in fact a legal obligation to,) reporting this man to Care and Protection services, for abusing his disabled daughter.

In Australia, corporal punishment of children in the home is legal in every state and territory, provided it is "reasonable". Parents who act unreasonably may be committing an assault

I believe this man assaulted his daughter. I would report him.

[BoSoxGal]

As a prosecutor, I am also a mandatory reporter.

Again, I'm playing devil's advocate to some degree, and just interested in exploring attitudes about parenting. Like I said, if she wasn't injured it wouldn't necessarily be actionable. I don't know Texas law, but I doubt it's more liberal than here. It's not illegal to shout or swear at your child.

Should it be? How would we raise all the kids we'd have to remove?

[Jarlaxle]

The judge is clearly a lunatic, I wouldn't be surprised if he was clinically psychotic. Like anyone that gets his rocks off beating up children, he should be tortured to death, ideally over a period of a year and by vivisection. His daughter should be irreversably sterilized, as should anyone else related to him no matter how distantly.

[Jarlaxle]

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[Jarlaxle]

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[Joe Guy]

One quick comment only after having just seeing and hearing the video of the beating on TV while sitting here browsing topics at Plan B.

The sound of the slaps & hits don't sound real. They sound staged. And the video looks to me like the people are acting.

There's something that isn't quite right about it.

[Gob]

Like I said, if she wasn't injured it wouldn't necessarily be actionable.

By actionable, do you mean that you are unsure whether he could be prosecuted or sued?

[dales]

The sound of the slaps & hits don't sound real. They sound staged. And the video looks to me like the people are acting.

You've been watching too many Three Stooges films, Joe.

[rubato]

Beating a young woman of that age to teach morality is ineffective as well as immoral. It stems from the conservative idea that "if we only make the punishment more painful it will eventually work". A bad theory based on a profound stupidity about human nature and combined with a love of sadism.


yrs,
rubato

[The Hen]

I learned to walk normally after being beaten to a pulp.

[snip]

Holy fuck, Jarl.

To say I was appalled to read about that does not do justice to how I feel.

You have my sympathies for such a crap start to this life.

[Sue U]

I find this all appalling. I am highly opposed to corporal punishment; I cannot think of any circumstances that would justify beating a child, either with an implement or one's hands. The fact that some of you survived such treatment does not make it okay. To me, resort to physial violence of any kind is a complete failure of parenting, and a sign that the parent is out of control with anger and/or frustration. That is not the time nor the way to discipline children.

[dales]

The key here is to NEVER discipline a child when one is angry.

Both of my daughters received corporal punishment (rare) and they've turned out OK.....so far.

[The Hen]

Some times when parenting, a quick smack on a bare leg will give a correction and pause the child in a potentially dangerous situation. (Like trying to climb over the barrier between the lounge and the combustion stove.)

In my books, it is far better for the Hatch to receive the impermanent pain and indignity of mummy shouting "NO!" with a smack to the legs, then actually breaching the barrier and falling on a burning stove.

[Sue U]

I agree with you as far as that goes, Hen, but that is something quiite different than administering a whipping as punishment.

ETA:
Discipline should never be about physical violence, and dales is certainly correct that one should never "discipline" a child in anger.