06/29/2005: 
Asshat of the Week
Spanking Illegal In Massachusetts?
from WCVB, Boston
Should parents be allowed to spank their children? Massachusetts lawmakers will be debating that question following the filing of a bill that would ban corporal punishment in the commonwealth.
NewsCenter 5's Kelly Tuthill reported that state Rep. James Marzilli, Jr., of Arlington, Mass., is one of the sponsors of the bill, which prohibits everything from spanking to "hot saucing," which involves putting undiluted Tabasco sauce in a child's mouth.
In April, a Plymouth, Mass., father landed on the front page of local papers and behind bars after he used a belt to spank his son Josh, 12.
"He forgot his book. I went upstairs, I got my belt. I came downstairs. I gave him three swats on the rear end, with his pants on, like any concerned parent would do, and scared him, of course, you know. Hopefully I got the point across," Charles Enloe said.
But now, lawmakers are considering making "the willfull infliction of physical pain on children under 18," illegal. The measure would prohibit corporal punishment including whipping, spanking and pinching. Also forbidden would be washing a child's mouth out with soap and administering electric shocks.
The bill comes two weeks after Brookline, Mass., Town Meeting passed a non-binding resolution encouraging parents not to spank. The Supreme Judicial Court addressed the issue after a Woburn, Mass., minister used a belt to spank his 9-year-old son. In 1999, he was cleared when the SJC ruled that parents have a right to spank their children if it does not cause substantial risk of injury.
The bill appears to be unprecedented. Supporters said it's all about preventing abuse, not prosecuting parents.
As it stands, parents seem to be unable or unwilling to discipline there children. So what is the next logical step? Yep, punish the few remaining parents who care enough to try and keep there kids from becoming disruptive thugs. Twenty more years and some idiot will try to outlaw "time out" because it scars their brat's fragile little ego. Strong work, Marzilli. Asshat.
4 Annotations Submitted
Monday the 18th of July, Michael noted:
Representative Jim Marzilli is a fine lawmaker, a gentleman and well-loved by his constituents who know he is sincere, very hardworking and cares deeply about people. He sponsored this bill at the request of a group of children's advocates and lawyers, one of whom is a constituent of his. This is a grass-roots group led by a concerned mother. Children live what they learn. If they are hit they learn to become violent, to accept violence as a means of expression.
"awiggins" is unaware of the truth: when children are corporally punished, they become more aggressive, more likely to commit violent crimes. There is more than enough research to satisfy the skeptic, see http://stoptherod.net/research.htm
Discipline means "to teach". Adults can teach children in many creative and gentle ways. There is ample "precedent" for this, and many resources for ways to guide children to good behavior without hitting them.
This bill has ample "precendent" - 17 countries have banned all corporal punishment of children, 4 just in the last year. Here's how Sweden did it: http://se-web-01.rb.se/shop/Archive/Documents/751%20The%20first%20anti%20spanking%20law.pdf
Here in Massachusetts adults are legally protected from corporal punishment in all situations, but children are only protected in schools, group homes and daycare. The US Department of Health & Human Services reports that 142,000 children are seriously injured from corporal punishment every year in this country, 18,000 of them are left permanently disabled. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, between 1000 and 2000 children die in this country every year from corporal punishment. And while we have laws in Massachusetts against causing substantial injury or death to a child, it is impossible to predict how striking another human being will affect that person's body. Adults forget how much bigger and stronger they are, and children vary in their capacity to withstand being hit. Nearly 70% of child abuse cases in CPS agencies result from corporal punishment. The defense of "discipline" is raised in 41% of homicide prosecutions against parents who "accidentally" killed their children.
All forms of hitting entail risks. Even spanking can cause spinal damage, nerve damage, persistent pain in the tailbone and damage to the testes. Hitting a child's face or head can cause brain and eye injury, and is the form of corporal punishment most likely to cause death.
Corporal punishment is risky behavior that CAN lead to injury and death. Not restraining children in car seats is also risky behavior that CAN lead to injury and death. Just as we have a law requiring children be restrained in car seats, there should be a law requiring children be protected from being hit.
Not only can hitting cause physical injury and death, but over 100 research studies have shown many emotional and social problems from spanking: impaired parent/child relationships, increased aggression, behavior problems, learning problems, lower IQ, lower academic scores, and antisocial behavior. Adults who were spanked as children are more prone to be angry, depressed, to suffer from addictions, to commit more domestic violence and other violent crimes. One research study shows that adults who were spanked as children are more likely to hit their elderly parents.
Not a single study on spanking has shown ANY benefit that cannot be achieved by non-physical forms of discipline. Corporal punishment is risky and harmful. Medications have been taken off the shelf with far less evidence of risks. 16 countries have banned corporal punishment with excellent results, Massachusetts can do it too.
For many adults, spanking is a sexual activity. Try Googling "spank"! An adult touching another adult's buttocks is considered a sexual act; the buttocks are considered a private, sexual area. The sciatic nerve, which goes directly to the genitals from the lower spine, is profoundly and painfully stimulated by hitting the buttocks. We adults should not hit the private, sexual areas of children, and we should not sexually stimulate children.
In the Bible there are several verses in the Book of Proverbs in the Old Testament, that speak of beating sons with a "rod" or wooden stick. Fundamentalists taking these verses literally, led to the development of this nylon whip for whipping babies and children http://www.stoptherod.net/rod-petition.html If someone whips their dog with "The Rod" they can be charged with FELONY animal abuse. Children deserve at least as much protection as animals!
We have an obligation to stop the violence because children can't vote or lobby for their rights, yet they are citizens too. Children are far more vulnerable than adults, physically and emotionally. Therefore it is our duty as responsible adults to act with their interests in mind, and to grant them legal protection from being hit.
Ending corporal punishment is the most important thing we can do to reduce violence in Massachusetts. My family supports this bill as does everyone I know.
"If we are ever to turn toward a kindlier society and a safer world, a revulsion against the physical punishment of children would be a good place to start." That quote is from Dr. Benjamin Spock.
Tuesday the 19th of July, Jimmy Dunne noted:
Yes, corporal punishment should be banned in Mass. homes. This will send a strong message throughout the U.S. that spanking or otherwise hitting children is wrong! It will help to reduce child abuse in American homes.
Tuesday the 19th of July, Steve noted:
Obviously a ban on corporal punishment would be a win. We don't allow
the sorts of things mentioned in this bill to be done to convicted
criminals; why does it make sense to do these things to children?
Corporal punishment certainly is linked to child abuse. To follow a
very simple chain of reasoning, if corporal punishment of children
makes for better behaved adults, then seriously abused children (who
are the most vigorously punished of all) should be the best behaved
adults. Yet a moment of reflection reveals that's not the case:
Abused children have, in the past, grown into such badly-behaved
adults as Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Saddam Hussein. Extreme
cases, it's true, but the lesson is worth pondering: Beating up kids
doesn't "improve" them.
What's more, physical punishment of children has been linked to
reduced IQs: Spanking interferes with mental development. Of course
that sort of thing can only be detected by lateral studies, comparing
the intelligence of people who were and weren't spanked -- there's no
way you can tell, looking at a single individual, what they "might
have been" had they been raised better. So the next time you're
tempted to say, "My parents gave me all the whippin's I deserved and
I'm fine; I don't understand what the fuss is about!", think about
that.
Thursday the 21st of July, Mary noted:
Hurray for Rep. Marzilli and all those who want to end the violent practices of spanking and hot-saucing children!
I don't know why people are getting so excited about a bill that is so sensible and only stipulates a possible fine, no jail time. I mean, if someone is spanking a child in the morning, slapping them in the afternoon, hot-saucing them and whipping them with a belt in the evening, they deserve to pay a fine!
Let's move forward in society and use our heads when it comes to children. Let's not listen to myths anymore when it comes to child-raising, it's just too risky. "Might makes right" is a lousy lesson for children to learn. G.W. Bush was spanked a lot by his mom Barbara, look how "compassionate" (and honest) he is! We have to face the facts, folks - children learn what they live. Let's raise them compassionately and without violence. Then they'll be more compassionate to themselves and to other people. Children become adults, all adults used to be children, I guess a lot of adults forget that!
