Parents Are Calling the Cops to Supervise them Spanking their Children

As WPBF reports, a Florida father said he wanted to discipline his daughter by paddling her, but did not want to break the law, so he called the Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office to come supervise.

The man’s 12-year-old daughter got into a heated argument with her sister Monday, and the father wanted to discipline his daughter, according to a deputy’s report. A deputy came over to his house, supervised the discipline, and determined it was within legal bounds and that there was no crime, and left, authorities said.

Although it may sound bizarre to some parents, the sheriff’s office has received several similar requests in the past. Undersheriff Noel Stephen said he has personally supervised approximately 12 spankings.

“It happens,” Stephen said. “It’s definitely not something we advertise to do, and even though law enforcement has been willing to help out in this situation, watching a parent discipline their child is something that’s done only when a deputy has no other calls to handle.”

Stephen estimated that he alone, has supervised 12 spankings.

In Florida, corporal discipline of a child is not considered abuse as long as it’s done by a parent or legal guardian and does not result in harm, according to state law. In fact, corporal punishment is legal in all 50 states.

The very idea that someone thinks they must ask permission from the state in order to discipline their child is despicable.

Although this author believes that the act of spanking teaches children that violence is okay in a loving relationship, is an easy way out of actual discipline, is repugnant, and is a causal factor in making children more aggressive later in life, the manner in which parents interact with their children, is personal and private, and most assuredly no matter of the state.

Obviously causing physical harm to a child is child abuse, which can be argued as a separate issue.

However, the very idea that a person should have to rely on an institution, who owe their very existence to the monopoly they hold on the initiation of force, to supervise the private familial act of discipline, speaks volumes as to how much today’s society has aligned itself with the dystopian fictions of the past such as Huxley’s Brave New World, or Orwell’s 1984.

To those who think that calling the cops to supervise you disciplining your children, and to the members of the state who condone it, the Free Thought Project would like to issue the following bit of advice.

1984 was not an instruction manual. 
Read more at http://thefreethoughtproject.com/nanny-police-state-parents-calling-cops-supervise-spanking-children/#bOrew3cX9Opx3zp2.99