To be clear, I don't think beating children and desensitizing them to violence is good, I was just arguing that there's a reason why it has been practiced throughout history. The modern era of relative peace and social order in vast tracts of the world has changed laws and norms profoundly for the better, not least in making such barbaric practices obsolete and unacceptable to most people.
My point was that equating beating/spanking to violence on children (which is sometimes is) is over generalizing. I think the scenario I mentioned exhibits the argument. If not, I'd be interested in hearing why you think not.
