Where Religion & S&M cross

[neadods]

The childfree groups, of all places, are commenting on the battle to get a 'correction tool' called The Rod off the market. The maker called it safe and the "ideal tool for child training."

Now, I'm neutral on the subject of corporal punishment. There are times when I think a child needs a whop or two, but there are also things that I think should never be used against another human being outside of a well-negotiated scene in an S&M dungeon.

'Cause I saw the picture and, rod-maker dude? That thing is a cane. Safe my ass. If there's one thing they teach you when you're just starting out as a newbie little kinkster, it's how not to hurt yourself when you play with the mean tools. Canes are mean. They're second only to whips as "great ways to get seriously hurt when you play with hitting tools." Worse, that's a flexible cane. Know what happens when you swing a non-flexible cane too hard? An ugly bruise. Know what happens when you swing a flexible cane too hard? Running blood, and probably a scar.

And someone out there made money putting those in the hands of someone who had no training to be used on a child. Hiding behind a Bible to do it. "Suffer the little children to come unto me" indeed.

Let me put it this way - would you be horrified to hear of an adult whipping their child with a riding crop? Because that's what The Rod is - a riding crop, stripped of its protective/cushioning covering and with a soft, cushy handle. Because heaven forbid someone hurt themselves while they're hurting someone smaller than them.

Also, that whole "hand as an object of love" quote? I called bullshit when I first saw "hands must only pet" in a ferret newsgroup and I'm calling louder bullshit now. My hands do caress. My cats know that, and butt against them begging for a scritch. But my hands also pry open jaws to insert medicine, clip claws, run through fur checking for skin problems, lift off the ground. Just as my Mother's hands stroked my hair, patted my back, held me down to iodine cuts, grabbed me and yanked me roughly back from danger. Even if you never smack, sometimes hands have to hurt to help.

And still, after clippings, carryings, force feedings, and shoved-in-carrier-ings my cats nudge my hands for attention.

James Dobson, do you really think children are dumber than my cats?

Comments

[starcat-jewel.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure whether you're agreeing with me or not, so I'm going to elaborate a bit on what I said. You are absolutely right, a beating and a spanking are entirely separate things. Unfortunately, far too many people get away with the former by labeling it the latter. Most of us who were legitimately spanked as children would never consider what these people are doing to be spanking -- they use the term specifically as a tool to minimize it, to make us think that they aren't doing what they are in fact doing, which is beating the shit out of their kids.

My definition of "spanking" is very specific. It involves use of the open hand only, target is the forearm or buttocks, no more than 6 impacts, and leaves no bruises or other marks that last more than 15 or 20 minutes. If you use your fist or any object, if you hit your child in the face or on the chest or upper back or legs, if you hit more than 6 times, if you break the skin or leave bruises, then you are NOT "spanking" your children, you are beating them. And while spanking (under my definition) is not child abuse, beating is.