In Reply to: Re: the spanking controversy posted by Jo on October 13, 2006 at 22:44:14:
You know that is one of my first sellouts to my own self that I made after joining the family, that makes me recognize that what i then viewed as unquestioningly following the Bible was in fact brainwashing. Innocuous, but more effective than the worst highschool peer pressure.
I was raised with frequent threats and spankings, but as a teen in the 70's I formed ideas of my own regarding corporal punishment being wrong... the right way to be giving children respect and choices and love and acceptance above all. THis changed of course tho when i joined the family. In one of the first homes i lived in at age 17, i remember hearing a child get a severe spanking as a punishment, it was long and hard and the boy was crying and crying, and i was in anquish. I went out on the back porch and put my head in my hands, it was so contrary to how i believed. Up till then that is.
I recognised, that there was a conflict between what i was feeling and being in the family, and after a half hour or so of torment, i surrendered unquestioningly my belief that spanking was wrong, assuming of course that the family way was right, WHATEVER it was.
Sadly, even tho i was in the group only 3 years, i carried that 'spare the rod' belief into my post family parenting years and certainly have some regrets of my early highhanded dealings with my (then) young children.