Exactly... spanking is a fear motivator... your kid grows up knowing that if they misbehave they'll have a sore ass for a few hours and this will make them think twice about what they're about to be doing.
I agree with this. In the UK, they are looking at making slapping / spanking, whatever you want to call it illegal as a way if disciplining your kids.
Nowadays, there has certainly been a shift in the culture of how kids are disciplined, be it at home or at school. I realise that slapping / spanking wasn't as prevalent when I grew up as it was for the older generations. However, I did get slapped on the bum a few times when I was a kid. Whilst it was more the threat that it was going to happen than it actually happening that was the deterrent for bad behaviour, my parents did actually see it through a couple of times to reinforce the fact that it wasn't an empty threat. Over all, I believe it worked and I certainly didn't grow up as a delinquent like some of the kids nowadays.
I believe a reason why there are many more delinquent kids, and acts of physical violence by and amongst the younger generations is because the kids aren't disciplined the way that they used to be. In schools, the teachers can't even raise their voice to discipline a kid because it is seen by the Powers That Be or rule makers that this could be a detrimental influence to the kid. Hence, the schools are reliant on the parents teaching the kids what is right and wrong, although again, the disciplinary powers that parents have are much less than they used to be.
Also, the world is a much smaller place than it was. I grew up during the advancement of computers and the internet. For example, I remember when BBC Micros and Acorn Computers were the best you could get at school. At home, we had a 386. The internet did not exist at the time.
People grew up in communities where the only external influences you had was on the TV or read from newspapers. Now, kids can read / watch all kinds of weird sh*t on the Internet.
I'm not trying to slag off the internet or computers; I'm just saying that it can be influential to a young impressionable and undisciplined mind.
Ultimately, I think the government has to recognise that something needs to change, otherwise we are going to have even more youngsters falling off the rails.
I now don my flame suit
Edit: Christ, it makes me feel old (I'm 29) making this post, although I do think it has gotten worse in the last 10-20 years.
Maybe it did happen when I was younger, but you didn't get to hear about as much as you do now, becuase the media coverage is much better now than it used to be.
Edit 2: Spelling and grammar.