I was hit regularly and I was completely messed up. My parents never once hit me to protect me. They hit me because they were angry and felt they could take their aggression out on me. And I don't mean to say, "Oh it's not that bad because I was beaten." Because I know that the abuse I faced does not justify abusing anyone else.

I think we can agree that children are people too. They are people who we have an intimate connection with and feel we need to protect. I have hit an adult, and I don't feel I was wrong. My older sister tried to commit suicide once. She was in a craze and tried to run away and drive while overdosing on pills and alcohol. I wasn't strong enough to hold her down and call a hospital. I slapped her across the face and told her she needed to stop. She calmed down and I held her and we got her help. She is my best friend, I love her. Is this the same thing as randomly slapping my boss across the face? I feel that relationship and context are important. And obviously you can't go around smacking someone over everything. But I do think there are times when things that aren't normally okay are acceptable.