In a society where violence was tolerated because it was considered just and right to administer such violence, it should be no surprise to anyone that that right to administer violence gets usurped by bullies.
In a society where punishment is administered physically, it should be no surprise that bullies seek to do the same to those they consider lesser or weaker than themselves, for whatever reason.
As children model the behavior of the adults around them, the only way to break the curse of the bullies is by demonstrating that there is a better way than the tawse, brute force or the fist.
We recognized that criminals could not be treated like that when first (and bizarrely) we outlawed corporal punishment before capital punishment; soon we finally recognized that hitting kids did nothing good for them at school. Society will always have scofflaws and psychopaths. Perhaps one day, educators and psychologists will be able to understand and help.
I’m not talking about those exceptions. I ‘m talking about the every day violence that was administered to kids across the nation for decades, because kids didn’t read, perform their duties, listen to the teacher, … whatever meaningless reason that led to a teacher’s assault on their person, their education.
In short, do not glorify the tawse for the reign of abuse that rained down on the hands of kids across the country. It is not warranted, except to be remembered as a form of abuse that we now abhor, an assault on our person, and on our human rights (Article 5 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights).