# Dear Lynn "Spare the Rod and Spoil the Child" Bodoni: **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 3, 2011, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lynn-spare-the-rod-and-spoil-the-child-bodoni/601752 "2011-11-03T16:12:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Azeotrope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/0ea827/32.png) [@Azeotrope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Azeotrope)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2011, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lynn-spare-the-rod-and-spoil-the-child-bodoni/601752/221 "2011-11-09T15:14:37Z")
Because I have friends who are Eagles superfans and so I root against them at my peril 😃 The week after the Eagles/Giants games are always fun, I can tell ya. I don’t have a problem with the Bears (except for the Eagles stomping) and also pick 'em to win Sunday. ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lynn-spare-the-rod-and-spoil-the-child-bodoni/601752/222 "2011-11-10T00:51:16Z")
> [@Dissonance](#): > > I’d question which of the various and contradictory accounts you’ve given of when you received your education counts as the dark ages, but what would be the point? Yes, it would be just as pointless as you whining on about he/she/it/they in the first place. > [@tavalla](#): > > Nah, I reckon Lynn’s paying her to leap on the grenade and distract attention. I wish. > [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > Obviously my response is going to be shaded by my own interpretation of things, but I do think her comments crossed the line into blaming-the-victim territory. Maybe my particular response to **Zipper** was unwarranted but I’m still upset by \*\*Lynn’\*\*s comment and wish she would account for it. There did seem to be some blaming the victim stuff in there, but I saw it more as thinking out loud about how such things happen and/or what might have set the judge off and/or why there is a video of the incident. As I’ve said, I have not waded thru the other thread to get the full context of her comments, and since the OP doesn’t seem to want to provide any details I still have no real idea of what she may have been responding to. Dunno if she is going to come back and explain any of this - she hasn’t posted in a week so she may be on vacation or something. OTOH, I just had a friend suddenly die on me while I was wondering why she hadn’t answered my latest email, so I’m feeling kinda paranoid. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lynn-spare-the-rod-and-spoil-the-child-bodoni/601752/223 "2011-11-10T01:41:12Z")
Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Kenya, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Moldova, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, South Sudan, Spain, Togo, Tunisia, Ukraine, Uruguay, Venezuela. Anyone want to guess? ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lynn-spare-the-rod-and-spoil-the-child-bodoni/601752/224 "2011-11-10T02:28:30Z")
Every time I read a thread that talks about physical or mental abuse of kids, and hear the sad stories of how people feel they are lucky to be away from their parents, I thank God I have the parents I do. They love each other, they love us kids, and were never, never abusive. Of course we had discipline, and punishments for certain infractions, but it was a “More in sorrow than in anger” kind of thing. I was spanked exactly twice as a child. Once was after I put pepper in the center of a marshmallow I gave to my sister to eat, and once was for walking from the library to the church(where dad was at choir practice) after dark, and without telling him. He got to the library, I wasn’t there, and the cops were almost called because he was afraid I’d been abducted. That time Dad explained why he did it, I got about five swats, and that was it. I love my parents more than I do myself. They’ve been the best a person could have, and if I’d had children I hope I would have done half as well as they did. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lynn-spare-the-rod-and-spoil-the-child-bodoni/601752/225 "2011-11-10T14:46:38Z")
> [@curlcoat](#): > > OTOH, I just had a friend suddenly die on me while I was wondering why she hadn’t answered my latest email, so I’m feeling kinda paranoid. ☹ I’m so sorry to hear that. My thoughts are with you during this time of loss. ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lynn-spare-the-rod-and-spoil-the-child-bodoni/601752/226 "2011-11-10T16:41:42Z")
You wrote: “As I’ve said, I have not waded thru the other thread to get the full context of her comments, and since the OP doesn’t seem to want to provide any details I still have no real idea of what she may have been responding to.” What is the point of responding in a thread if you don’t allow yourself to share the jumping off point we are all referring to? And then saying the OP doesn’t want to provide YOU with the details? Seriously? Read if for yourself, or go away, will ya? ---
**Author:** ![Azeotrope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/0ea827/32.png) [@Azeotrope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Azeotrope)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lynn-spare-the-rod-and-spoil-the-child-bodoni/601752/227 "2011-11-10T17:29:05Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Kenya, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Moldova, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, South Sudan, Spain, Togo, Tunisia, Ukraine, Uruguay, Venezuela. > > Anyone want to guess? 😕 A lot of countries in alphabetical order? ---
**Author:** ![sweet\_chemist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@sweet\_chemist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweet_chemist)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lynn-spare-the-rod-and-spoil-the-child-bodoni/601752/228 "2011-11-10T17:39:28Z")
As a guess from the thread topic and the fact that New Zealand is on the list, I would say countries that have banned smacking children. ---
**Author:** ![Azeotrope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/0ea827/32.png) [@Azeotrope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Azeotrope)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lynn-spare-the-rod-and-spoil-the-child-bodoni/601752/229 "2011-11-10T17:51:48Z")
And you would be right. I googled “countries corporal punishment banned” and the first result was [http://www.endcorporalpunishment.org/pages/progress/prohib\_states.html](http://www.endcorporalpunishment.org/pages/progress/prohib_states.html) ---
**Author:** ![Meyer6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@Meyer6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meyer6)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lynn-spare-the-rod-and-spoil-the-child-bodoni/601752/230 "2011-11-10T19:47:56Z")
> [@Truman\_Burbank](#): > > You wrote: “As I’ve said, I have not waded thru the other thread to get the full context of her comments, and since the OP doesn’t seem to want to provide any details I still have no real idea of what she may have been responding to.” > > What is the point of responding in a thread if you don’t allow yourself to share the jumping off point we are all referring to? She knows full well that responding without understanding context is pointless, and she’ll call other people out on it: > [@curlcoat](#): > > If you are ignoring the context of a comment or post, then you are using what people say how you want to, not how they intended. but she does it quite regularly anyways. She just enjoys getting her rocks off with a little outrage and a good old-fashioned fight. It’s called trolling. I suspect she doesn’t have much else to do with her time. ---
**Author:** ![maggenpye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lynn-spare-the-rod-and-spoil-the-child-bodoni/601752/231 "2011-11-10T20:16:28Z")
> [@sweet\_chemist](#): > > As a guess from the thread topic and the fact that New Zealand is on the list, I would say countries that have banned smacking children. And even at that, parents are still allowed to smack\* in certain circumstances\* (I am speaking only of New Zealand - I don’t know the others); where the child is being violent, putting themselves or others in danger etc. I did read the other thread and the beating that was given out in that case doesn’t fit within the the legal exclusions here, although it very much resembles many of the cases that led to the anti-smacking law being brought in. That wasn’t discipline (IMO), it was rage. I too, would like Lynn to come back and clarify her position. ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lynn-spare-the-rod-and-spoil-the-child-bodoni/601752/232 "2011-11-10T20:41:13Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > I’m so sorry to hear that. My thoughts are with you during this time of loss. Thank you. It was an extreme shock as even she didn’t have any idea it was coming - flu turned out to be aggressive cancer. > [@Truman\_Burbank](#): > > You wrote: “As I’ve said, I have not waded thru the other thread to get the full context of her comments, and since the OP doesn’t seem to want to provide any details I still have no real idea of what she may have been responding to.” > > What is the point of responding in a thread if you don’t allow yourself to share the jumping off point we are all referring to? And then saying the OP doesn’t want to provide YOU with the details? > Seriously? Read if for yourself, or go away, will ya? Did you read what I said to the OP? I don’t know where you got the quote but try post #194 - even if I do wade thru the whole thread, I am not going to know what set him off because I’m not him (or her, I’ve given up on the pronouns at this point and unless I know for sure, everyone is male). In case you haven’t noticed (checks join date - probably not) there are people here who like to go off like rockets over nothing at all, or about one post in the middle of a large thread taking it way out of context, or about something someone else said about something and they weren’t right to begin with ( **Meyer** provides an example of this for you above). In this case, the OP has decided that **Lynn** is advocating beating children and I’m not seeing it from the context he has provided, so I ask for more. Telling me to just go read the thread doesn’t tell me what _he_ thinks shows that **Lynn** is an evil child beating witch. I’m not seeing it from what the OP has provided and I’m sure not going to spend a bunch of time trying to think like him while reading a thread I have no interest in. This whole Pit thread is stupid to begin with - why would anyone at all, especially someone who has been here forever and has some responsibilities to the board, admit in public they are pro-child beating? The reality is probably either the OP is one of those that thinks that a swat to the butt is the same thing as beating a kid, or he has completely misunderstood what **Lynn** said and wants to be a dick about it. Most likely, it’s a bit of both. Unfortunately is appears that **Lynn** is on vacation or something and by the time she gets back, she’ll either not see this thread or just roll her eyes at it, so the OP will never know. ---
**Author:** ![Meyer6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@Meyer6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meyer6)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lynn-spare-the-rod-and-spoil-the-child-bodoni/601752/233 "2011-11-10T21:28:40Z")
> [@curlcoat](#): > > there are people here who like to go off like rockets over nothing at all, or about one post in the middle of a large thread taking it way out of context, or about something someone else said about something and they weren’t right to begin with ( **Meyer** provides an example of this for you above). 😕 How did I ‘go off like a rocket’? I’m not the one posting giant walls of text and spending hours trying to pretend that everyone else is so very confused that they can’t tell the difference between viciously beating a teenager with a belt and swatting a toddler on their diapered bum. I just pointed out that while you chastised **ugly ripe tomato** for taking something out of context and judging it (and incidentally, I’m pretty sure he was making fun of you with that comment), you are only too happy to take things out of context. You do it all the time. You never read the source threads for pit threads, you just wade right in with your wild accusations. How is that not taking something out of context? So please explain to me how I am talking ‘about something someone else said about something and they weren’t right to begin with’ \*. I’d like to hear it. \*Partially I’d like an explanation because that sentence is such a grammatical nightmare I’m actually having trouble understanding what the hell it means. ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lynn-spare-the-rod-and-spoil-the-child-bodoni/601752/234 "2011-11-10T21:39:53Z")
It was your post #222. My post was #226. Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lynn-spare-the-rod-and-spoil-the-child-bodoni/601752/235 "2011-11-10T22:14:29Z")
> [@curlcoat](#): > > Unfortunately is appears that **Lynn** is on vacation or something and by the time she gets back, she’ll either not see this thread or just roll her eyes at it, so the OP will never know. If you believe this, you’re dumber than I thought you were, and that’s difficult to achieve. ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lynn-spare-the-rod-and-spoil-the-child-bodoni/601752/236 "2011-11-11T00:51:53Z")
> [@Meyer6](#): > > 😕 How did I ‘go off like a rocket’? On the off chance that you are serious and not trolling, here is a fine example of why folks should just stop and ask questions and not go off half cocked. I said - > [@curlcoat](#): > > there are people here who like to go off like rockets over nothing at all, or about one post in the middle of a large thread taking it way out of context, or about something someone else said about something and they weren’t right to begin with ( **Meyer** provides an example of this for you above). See those "or"s in there? That means that those are separate things, especially since I didn’t use any "and/or"s. Based on where I place your name, don’t you think I was saying that your post was an example of “about something someone else said about something and they weren’t right to begin with” rather than rockets? > [@](#): > > I’m not the one posting giant walls of text and spending hours trying to pretend that everyone else is so very confused that they can’t tell the difference between viciously beating a teenager with a belt and swatting a toddler on their diapered bum. Well neither am I, on any of that, so good for the both of us. Some of my posts may be long, but that is almost always because I try to include most of the post I am responding to, for clarity. > [@](#): > > I just pointed out that while you chastised **ugly ripe tomato** for taking something out of context and judging it (and incidentally, I’m pretty sure he was making fun of you with that comment), you are only too happy to take things out of context. You do it all the time. You never read the source threads for pit threads, you just wade right in with your wild accusations. How is that not taking something out of context? This again is an example of what I was talking about. If you think any of those are actually true, you are welcome to provide proof. Otherwise, you are just trolling. > [@](#): > > So please explain to me how I am talking ‘about something someone else said about something and they weren’t right to begin with’ \*. I’d like to hear it. > \*Partially I’d like an explanation because that sentence is such a grammatical nightmare I’m actually having trouble understanding what the hell it means. Yeah, it is a mess. What it means is what you tend to do - make some vague accusation like I am only too happy to take things out of context, frequently because someone else said it and you just accepted it as Fact without checking. If I have done that I am not aware of it, and since you cannot ever be bothered to provide proof of any of your accusations, I tend to believe that none are true. > [@Truman\_Burbank](#): > > It was your post #222. My post was #226. > Jesus. Oh gosh, I am _so_ sorry I didn’t remember every little thing of a post I dashed off 15 hours earlier! I do note tho that you apparently couldn’t be bothered to look at the fact that I said “as I said earlier” which might have provided you with more information. Naw, much easier to just be an asshole, such as just pointing out that post was “only” back at #222, and not bothering to address anything else I said. Way to go. :rolleyes: > [@Kolga](#): > > If you believe this, you’re dumber than I thought you were, and that’s difficult to achieve. That **Lynn** might be on vacation, that she might not see this thread or that she might ignore it? If you think any or all of those are not a possibility, you have no place judging intelligence. ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lynn-spare-the-rod-and-spoil-the-child-bodoni/601752/237 "2011-11-11T01:10:48Z")
Clearly, Curlie, I read your posts more closely than you can be bothered to. ---
**Author:** ![Meyer6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@Meyer6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meyer6)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lynn-spare-the-rod-and-spoil-the-child-bodoni/601752/238 "2011-11-11T01:51:30Z")
> [@curlcoat](#): > > See those "or"s in there? That means that those are separate things, especially since I didn’t use any "and/or"s. Based on where I place your name, don’t you think I was saying that your post was an example of “about something someone else said about something and they weren’t right to begin with” rather than rockets? On the off chance that you are smart enough to learn something, let’s review what you said: > [@](#): > > there are people here who like to go off like rockets over nothing at all, or about one post in the middle of a large thread taking it way out of context, or about something someone else said about something and they weren’t right to begin with (Meyer provides an example of this for you above). The only possible way to parse that is: People here go off like rockets over: a) nothing at all b) one post in the middle of a large thread taking it way out of context or c) something someone else said about something blah blah blah You said I was doing c) - ‘going off like a rocket’ over something someone else said. The way you’ve written it, the rocket part still applies to the ‘something someone else said’ part. So I wanted you to clarify exactly how I was ‘going off’, but now I see that your problem is that you don’t know how to construct a sentence that actually makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![Meyer6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@Meyer6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meyer6)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lynn-spare-the-rod-and-spoil-the-child-bodoni/601752/239 "2011-11-11T02:55:51Z")
Oh, and also: > [@Meyer6](#): > > you are only too happy to take things out of context. You do it all the time. You never read the source threads for pit threads, you just wade right in with your wild accusations. > [@curlcoat](#): > > This again is an example of what I was talking about. If you think any of those are actually true, you are welcome to provide proof. Otherwise, you are just trolling. How about this for proof that, at least in this case, you didn’t read the source thread before leaping in: > [@curlcoat](#): > > I haven’t seen the video in question, nor have I looked at the linked thread, so for all I know the kid was abused and/or **Lynn** condoned it (which I seriously doubt). Seriously, it was one of your first posts in this thread. As for you taking things out of context, I would say that jumping into a thread without a single clue about its background qualifies. And it’s certainly not the first time you’ve done it. ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lynn-spare-the-rod-and-spoil-the-child-bodoni/601752/240 "2011-11-11T03:29:58Z")
> [@Truman\_Burbank](#): > > Clearly, Curlie, I read your posts more closely than you can be bothered to. :rolleyes: Yeah, forgetting when I posted something means I don’t read what I post closely. > [@Meyer6](#): > > On the off chance that you are smart enough to learn something, let’s review what you said: > > The only possible way to parse that is: Really? Are you completely serious here or just trolling? I really cannot believe that you can only see one way to parse that (and of course it has to be a way that isn’t how I said I intended it to be…) Now, I can easily see how you interpreted it that way but when I more or less politely told you that it wasn’t meant to be that way, do you really need to ask like an asshole over something as stupid as this? > [@](#): > > Seriously, it was one of your first posts in this thread. As for you taking things out of context, I would say that jumping into a thread without a single clue about its background qualifies. And it’s certainly not the first time you’ve done it. Yes, it was one of my first posts in this thread, not the first. If you will notice, my first post was in regards to the overreactions of some of the other posters, and what you quoted (without including that which would show exactly what I am about to say) was in response to people making wild assumptions and overreacting any time anyone even maybe might be questioning the way they raise their kids. To wit - > [@curlcoat](#): > > All I’ve seen are the posts in this thread and if all of the responses are based only on the OP, you all are doing your usual over reaction. The posts here are the same ones I see any time a poster appears to step out of the “right way of thinking” - part feeding frenzy and part illustration of either immense stupidity or willful misinterpretation. If you all weren’t raising kids, it would be funny. See how clear that is? Nothing to do with the other thread or the video, but you want to pretend it was. _That_ is taking something out of context. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lynn-spare-the-rod-and-spoil-the-child-bodoni/601752.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lynn-spare-the-rod-and-spoil-the-child-bodoni/601752.md?page=13)