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I got hit with a paddle by my (old school - southern - kinda racist) stepdad. It sucked. The rule was it happened every time I lied, and it went up one whack each time. I think I made it up to 6 or 7. The only one I really remember is when I lied for absolutely no reason, and knew all day I was going to get paddled at 6pm or so when my stepdad got home.
Who the hell knows how that affected me. I would never hit my kid with anything. I even think yelling - which my real dad did constantly to me and my mom - is a form of child abuse.
However we're basically a generation removed from this being insanely common. And somehow civilization still plowed ahead. Although you could argue that's what's wrong with the baby boomers.
Anyway I'm all for shaming AP into stopping. But I think there are degrees of child abuse.
My stepdad kinda sucked - but he was legitimately doing what he thought would make me a better person. He also taught me my love of the outdoors and how to work for what you want - which I am insanely grateful for. If my work habits were anything remotely like my study habits, I would be the biggest loser you ever met. I completely owe that to his influence in my formative years (8-14 or so). He definitely gave out much better than he got (which was as dysfunctional as you can possibly imagine). To me that's the definition of heart.
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