[dillywho]

I agree that all the facts are not in and that everything on here (and other forums) is strictly speculation. Maybe the "child" is 17...which is under the age of 18, as described in the paper. Maybe the mother walked away because the son totally disrespected her and not his dad so she let him handle it. How can they have 4 boys and this is by all appearances that any "abuse" exists? Point is, we don't know for sure.

People were so fast to defend Zimmerman and say that Martin should not be being called a child because he was 17 and "big". Either 17 is a child or it isn't....can't have it both ways.

My parents practiced corporal punishment when my brother and I were growing up. We sometimes had bruises and switch marks, too. (We even had to go out and pick our own switches and they had best be good ones, too!) None of which were permanent or life-threatening "injuries". We simply learned what was and was not acceptable behavior and "mouthing off" was definitely not acceptable! Nor was lying, stealing, not doing what you were told, etc. We were definitely loved and had no doubts about it, but we had limits and consequences when those limits were breached. We both became successful, respectful, and respected adults who brought up our children to be the same. You would be hard-pressed to find a kinder, gentler soul than my brother. Our self-image remained intact, as well. It did not teach us to be violent, either. We were taught to search for the good in others and to remember that any board always has two sides, just as any story.

My dad had guns but we both knew better than to touch them under any circumstances! We were not allowed to play with his hat(s) even. He never went anywhere without a hat and it was removed the minute he entered our house or any other building. He never served in the military (too young for one war and too old for the other), ALWAYS stood for the National Anthem and the flag. His hat immediately came off then, too. Unfortunately, that is so often not taught nor practiced anymore.

Sorry for the rant, but I still try to follow my parents teachings and see things from more than one angle. Were they perfect? Absolutely not, but they always had our best interests at heart. One of the hardest things I ever did was have surgery without my mother there because she had died the year before.

Little humor here: My dad once cut down my mother's rose bushes because I fell into them and got hurt. He also got rid of their chickens the same day the old rooster attacked me. He covered my body with his when a plane crashed in the alley in back of our house because he thought it was coming right into our house. That, my friends, is love.