I read with utter shock, dismay and disgust of the arrest of a Rock Hill father concerning the “beating” of his child. As I read the article I kept asking myself if the actions of this father were any different than those that my father would have imposed had I gotten into trouble while in school.

A spanking, even with a belt, is not a beating! And forcing a child to walk around the backyard with a book bag full of weights in order to “break (the boy) down mentally and make him too tired to act out” ... well that’s just pure genius.

I would sincerely hope the judge in this matter would commend rather than condemn the father for his actions. The main difference lies instead with the actions of this child (whatever they were which was not stated in the article) as when I was in school. I just plain didn’t get in trouble.

Even though there was discipline at school then, and it apparently is nonexistent now, the consequences I would face at home would be far greater than any a school administrator could delve out. A retired Navy Commander, my father expected us to keep our rooms clean and indeed even had white-glove inspections that were half in jest but also half serious.

The local father should not only be congratulated as far as I’m concerned but also should be made superintendent of our schools. If I myself had children, he would be more than welcome to discipline them. With more parents like him our society would benefit greatly, adolescents wouldn’t be killing their grandparents (another recent local case) and instead would be toeing the line like we did as kids!

Jeffrey Hoover

Rock Hill