Spare the rod and....

If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them: Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear. -- Deuteronomy 21:18-21


By now you heard of or seen the video of the Texas Judge whipping his daughter with his belt.  I find it curious that she waited seven years to post this on YouTube.

Leather Razor Strap

For those of my generation, we wonder what is the big deal?  When I was little my mom told stories of her father and the razor strap.  For the young among us, it was a heavy strip of leather used to sharpen a straight edge razor.


When I misbehaved with my grandmother, she added insult to injury by making me go cut the switch with which to switch me with.  (say that real fast 5 times)


Woodworking became by dad's hobby as a result of his quest for the perfect paddle.  With his first jig saw, he sculpted a board with which to discipline his son.  When he discovered 9 ply void free Baltic Birch plywood with which to make a virtually break proof paddle, well it was damn near Nirvana.  Dad sanded and varnished his creations as if they were fine pieces of furniture.  Of course, we all have heard the, "This hurts me more than it hurts you."  I never really bought that.


In the first grade, I refused Ms. Bond's command to write my name on my paper.  She promptly sent me to the Principal's office, where upon my dad, the Principal gave me 3 licks with a paddle.  When we arrived home that evening, my dad, the DAD, gave me 3 more licks.   The lesson was that if I got spanked at school, regardless the administer'er of that spanking, I would receive the same when I got home.  Dad taught school for over 35 years.  For all but the last five or so, he paddled his male students when he deemed it necessary.  But dad's finely crafted wooden paddles were tame compared to some of the instructional devices other teachers used.

Fungo Bat

My ninth grade football coach, Ed Skelton, a 300 pound former pro baseball player and a coach I had the utmost respect for, used a fungo bat sawn in half.  A fungo bat was a long narrow bat used for infield practice. It was sort of the nuclear option.  This hung on the wall behind his desk.  You heard reports of him using it.  But no one really wanted to challenge him, for something told you he'd use it.  Sometimes the mere threat of such a device was enough.  Another coach, MastroGiovanni had a more hideous approach.  You had to bend over in the center circle of the basketball court, grasp you ankles and he'd paddle you until you were out of the center circle.


We learned very early that when dad said bend over, he meant it.  Unlike the above mentioned judge's daughter, you only refused once.  You learned very quickly that dad's licks on the butt hurt much less that on the legs.  Now mom was less patient.  She preferred a belt still.  Once I lost a game of Monopoly to David Franklin and tossed the game board up in the air in anger.  Something about that set my mom off, where upon she chased me to my bedroom wielding dad's belt and swinging wildly.

Paddle Ball Paddle

You almost never hear of children being spanked anymore.  Some states and municipalities have made it illegal.  The hair brush, coat hanger, the paddle ball paddle (a favorite of my grandma, once in town and no more mesquite switches, and Ms. Bond, my first grade teacher), the belt, the switch, a spatula, a cane, wooden spoon, the paint stir stick, even the hand, all relics in the child rearing arsenal destined for the museum?


I am not saying that all these forms of discipline work.  And some were harsh.  But I fear that having none has brought us more problems.  Regrettably though, for the worst among us, we end up following Deuteronomy, and the "Elders" strap someone to a table and administer a lethal "stoning."


I have had employees I thought could benefit from corporal punishment.  I have even thought of doing a management thesis on bring corporal punishment to the work place.  How do you think that would work?  Don't tell me you never had an employee you wanted to spank!


We walk a fine line between disciplining our children and abusing them.  Other times, our responses are not creditable.  Once when I was 5 or 6, after church, I went over by the parsonage and took a leak. When all the after church hand shaking and greeting was over, dad asked me if I peed over there.  Now I faced a dilemma, which was worse?  Maybe he didn't really see me pee?  I said, "No."  I got one hell of a spanking.  When it was over, dad said it wasn't for peeing out in the open but for lying to him about it. I never really bought that either.


Even with all the spankings I received, most of which I deserved, I would never have exposed my dad the way the judge's daughter did.  I will be curious to hear her motives after all these years.