OPINION: Slum boys suffer the pinch of police brutality every election cycle

The common denominator for men and women of my generation, born before 1980, was that no one was above a good beating. Our parents were from the school of hard knocks. They swore by the words: “Spare the rod and spoil the child.”

I grew up knowing my parents' wrath came from a place of good intentions. The punishment was structured and one even got to fetch the cane that would be used to inflict pain and deliver a lesson. When disciplining was over, the recurring question would be “what did you learn?” That is what good parenting entailed.