The first e-mail response to today's column, from someone named Scott (no full name or return address), presents the standard reaction of parents who think slapping or spanking a kid is justifiable, and not a violent act. You can read it below. It never ceases to amaze me -- how we think hitting a kid is OK as a way of making a point when doing the same to anyone else is considered a crime. And, according to this e-mailer, you can slap a kid for bad behavior that might be a figment of the parent's imagination.

"Yesterday, today, and tomorrow some of the most loving, caring, nurturing fathers have or will give their seven  year old son a slap on the butt for some real or perceived misbehavior.   A slap on the butt is very different from beating a child."