And add to that:

"You do not have the right to stand idly by while your child rampages through a public place like a psychotic midget."

and

those words conjure up images of a loving family

Yes. They do. A parent that doesn't control their child either doesn't care about said child's development into a functioning member of society, or is so dumb that they should have had kids in the first place.

Any parent who must resort to beating a child is probably the cause of the child's misbehavior in the first place.

Do the species a favor and don't breed until you actually learn something about children. Some children are difficult by nature. My parents raised three kids in more or less the exact same manner. One was (and is) difficult, refused to do what he was told, and totally screwed up his life. Another (me) was similar, but turned out quite well-behaved, thanks in no small part to a few good spankings at appropriate times. (The third was brain-damaged by meningitis at an early age, and isn't really apropriate for comparison.) Physical punishment works.

I will not propose an ammendment, because an ammendment is unneccessary. I believe that children have the same rights to life, liberty, and happiness as adults. And if an adult grounds a child, for good reason, "depriving" her/him of liberty, a "reasonable" child will realize why he/she was grounded. If he/she pursues the "violation" of his/her rights in court, a "reasonable" court will rule in favor of the parents, who were acting in the child's best interest. Why should adults be entitled to more rights than children?

The "family unit" of this nation has functioned for over 200 years without clarification from the government. Frankly, the less "clarification" from the government on the most personal insitution in our lives, the better.

P.S. You do not have to worry about me "breeding" any time soon; I will not do so until I am married, and marriage is probably 10+ years down the road for me, if ever.

[ November 14, 2001: Message edited by: Raw Cadet ]

"...you know, Omega, there's a phrase you might want to look up. It goes something like "paranoid arrogant fuckwit who has more chance of ejaculating to the moon than he has of ever convincing a girl that he's a viable prospect for marriage." -- September 16, 2000 10:23 PM.

[ November 15, 2001: Message edited by: Malnurtured Snay ]

quote:

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The fourteenth ammendment says that NO ONE in the United States can be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. Take away candy? Unconstitutional. Make 'em sit in the corner? Unconstitutional.

---

Talk about interpreting the Constitution.

And wrongly too.

Just for your referemnce, the appropriate section of the 14th Amendment reads:

quote:

---

Section. 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens
of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life,
liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

---

Everyone's got a base personality. It's like their OS: the software that comes pre-installed. But most, if not all, of it can be changed, either by environment or by purposeful effort. You start as one thing, and may or may not change to something else. All depends.

Well, if your parents raised both of you the same way, then even in your own family your "(don't) spare the rod . . . " method only has a 50% success rate, and that is if we discount your younger sibling.

Um... why are all of you assuming that the third is the youngest? Just because I MENTIONED him third...

As for the success rate, he could have been punished more and it would likely have helped. Remember, I was a much easier child.

You conveniently forgot to quote my statement regarding my obedience to non-violent parents.

Part of your ingrained personality. More difficult children can require different approaches.

Any "reasonable" child would do the same, without violence.

Find me a reasonable child, and I'll find you five that aren't.

In that case, the nature of that difficulty should be addressed, be it biological, chemical, or emotional, by professionals.

Oh, OK. So we should just drug kids instead of diciplining them. Just so we're clear on that.

a "reasonable" court will rule in favor of the parents, who were acting in the child's best interest

It's still a violation of rights. By your standard, the government can take away everyone's guns, and keep them from going to church, and claim that it's in their best interest. It would be absurd to claim that as a legal standard.

Why should adults be entitled to more rights than children?

Because children are not mentally capable of handling the responsibilities of adults. If children had the same rights as adults, children could own and carry guns. Children could also not be punished by their parents. These are obviously undesirable.

Frankly, the less "clarification" from the government on the most personal insitution in our lives, the better.

Hang on. I'm telling the federal government that it CAN'T interfere with family issues. That seems to be exactly what you want. And yet you're complaining? You're not making any sense. Heck, you're the one advocating that kids should be drugged or sent to therapists instead of diciplined.

I fail to see how degrading the physical act of love, a process by which another human being may created, by derogatorily referring to it as "breeding," could make one feel intelligent.