Bingo. I think about the same thing with spanking and other forms of physical violence initiated on children. When a kid “acts up” in a public place, say, he won’t stop crying in Walmart because he wasn’t allowed to get the Spider-Man lunchbox, and his dad hits him and tells him to shut up…it’s perfectly fine. But if an adult committed the exact same act against another adult (even if it were the same two people…and the offspring just happened to be 18 years or older), you’ve got cops being called, and assault charges.
From this article:
Some questions really don’t have two sides. “Is it okay to do something to your child that would land you in jail if you did it to a stranger on the street?” is one of those. You can phrase it other ways too – like “Is it okay to hurt a child because it serves your immediate goal when science shows it can lead to long-term harm?” But there is still just one answer.
And yet, we keep seeing it presented as a disagreement.
In my opinion this is actually one of the most aggregious offenses committed that is still not only legal, but considered perfectly acceptible. The aggression is bad enough on its own…but then you have to throw in the size, authority, and emotional differential…it’s downright evil. This is one area Molyneux is actually useful, as there aren’t many aggregating and publicizing this information and viewpoint:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONNRfflggBg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjxXuDYdBzY
Just like the government could “improve” the market outcome of children working by enforcing laws against child labor, eh?