understood ...

I can understand why you are so upset. There was considerable abuse in that video, and Judge Adams' disrespect for his daughter was clear.

The point of my post was not to excuse such behavior, but to remind everyone that this sort of behavior is quite common and accepted by large parts of society. Moreover, in much of the world this would be considered an example of leniency, and the daughter would be considered more worthy of blame than her father.

In terms of physical abuse, there is, sadly, much worse happening every day - and many of the alliances to end such abuse depend on the inclusion of communities that strongly believe in the necessity of corporal punishment but are willing to make a distinction between such punishment and abuse. If we lose sight of this distinction these communities will walk away from the table, and perhaps even strengthen resistance to actions taken to curb abuse. They will view child savers who preach against physical abuse as unreasonable interlopers who don't understand the importance of discipline in a child's life, much in the same way as pedophiles view child savers who preach against sexual abuse as unreasonable interlopers who don't understand the importance of love in a child's life. Both groups oppose actual abuse, but feel that the campaign that is ostensibly to end such abuse is actually something quite perverse - a campaign to separate children from the people who care most about them in the world: in the one case, child lovers who give children the love and self-confidence to be independent adults, and in the other case the parents who care enough for their children that they are willing to be perceived as the bad guy so that their children will be prepared to be independent and responsible adults who respect the rights of others.

In either case, I am surprised at the outrage over this case (across the web) simply because there are so many better examples to be outraged about. At some point, it is difficult to maintain one's outrage, as sufficient causes for outrage are simply too common.