https://twitter.com/AdrianPeterson/status/512126528982110209/photo/1(Too large to upload it and can't directly link: just open it in a new tab.)
So. Yeah. Eyes have not seen, except for the pictures taken by the kid's doctor. Ears have not heard, leaving out all those who had theirs pick up on the whipping. And Brain apparently never figured out what to do with apostrophes and commas.
You don't get to make yourself a martyr.
Hard enough to break the skin. The doctor's pictures are not going to be friendly towards any defense. Remember Texas law: discipline is fine as long as it doesn't exceed the standards of the community. A Texas community got angry. And now there's an allegation that he gave another one of his sons a head scar. One of his claims so far (and I've also heard it from those defending him) is 'My father did it to me and I turned out all right.' No. No, you did not. (Another popular one: 'It's the South and you don't understand.' So now that's making another comeback.)
I have no inherent objections to spanking as discipline -- at the reddened skin level. If you bruise, you've gone too far. If you draw blood, you're under arrest.
And a very few of the Vikings fans? Showed up at the game with switches of their own.
LAST EDITED ON 09-18-14 AT 01:55 PM (EST)
Switching, per my own southern understanding, is light physical punishment. Denoting maybe raising a red welt at the worst, administered by a Dad who pulls out his pocket knife and with deliberation and while you watch, cuts a switch. Then, with slow swings, swats the bottom of the punishee. The real punishment is in the dread and anticipation before and during the swatting. Really, it's just as much a psychological punishment as a physical one. With a side order of pain.
I don't know if any of this relates at all to what Peterson did. And, yes, I do realize that could of come out of a Tom Sawyer adventure.
It may actually leave a mark for an hour or two till bed time. Might be considered light bruising, I guess. That's where I too would draw the line. Also, only one's parents or guardians are the only ones allowed to do even this.
Certainly, breaking the skin should be reportable.
Did I get switched? My Dad used a belt, and he was a softie that almost always only did that when my Mom (or brother, or sister, etc.) ratted me out. The belt was doubled for sound effect, and since I caught on pretty quickly my yelling and screaming was for effect too. Very little pain, no blood, and no real welts. Mom and Dad had an understanding that whoever got mad at us kids, the other, presumably calmer parent, would administer the punishment. The other would provide the post switching comfort session. Looking back, that seems like a wise idea, and I'm grateful for whoever came up with that plan.
However, I don't really think any sort of pain punishment is necessary. It's just too easy to resort to for minor reasons. Instead, use psychology.
That being said, Bo Jackson, in his autobiography, is supposed to have been uncontrollable at an early age. Until one day his mom, fed up with him and exasperated with his ways, pulled out a .38 revolver and told him that either one of two things was going to happen, either he was going to straighten up or she was going to have to kill him. According to him, this was a turning point for him. Psychology? Threat of corporal punishment? Blurred lines? He even finished college to fulfill a promise he made to her.