"I was spanked and I turned all right" is not a good argument, it's just defensive first reaction.<p>We all are very emotionally very defensive when the weird things in our culture or era are questioned. As a someone who grew up in 80's and 90's, it turns out that there are so many things that were normal that are now abandoned for a good reason.<p>In Finland where I live, physical punishment of children was forbidden in 1984.
In general things are better now and the new generations are psychologically and socially more adjusted.