Dear Editor:I would like to express my disgust at the November 16th opinion piece by Mike Barnacle attacking Ron Goldman for putting an anti-spanking law before Brookline Town Council.
Perhaps Mr. Barnacle thinks he is witty as he derides a childless man for opposing corporal punishment. There are plenty of intelligent adults who oppose corporal punishment because they know it is wrong. Hitting anyone is wrong – be it a colleague, neighbor, wife, or child. And hitting in any form is not, as Mr. Barnacle asserts, as harmless and funny as playing Game-Boy or eating sugared cereal.
A victim’s age should not be an excuse for violence. If Mr. Barnacle had written anything deriding corporal punishment of women (just a little – a few calm smacks to, you know, keep her in line – not a “real” beating or “real” abuse), there would be an outcry. Just last century wife abuse was regarded, for the most part, as the kind of private family matter Mr. Barnacle insinuates hitting children is today.
Your nation and mine need to live up the UN Declaration on the Rights of the Child, like more than a dozen other first world countries, and stop condoning child abuse. As the mother of three small boys, I hope that day is soon.
Sincerely,
Karen Murphy Corr
North Vancouver, BC
Canada
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