look..what joe did, we don't know. one side calls it discipline, the other abuse. he got his nine kids out of the ghetto and into a good home and gave them careers...it should've stopped THEN. if it didin't, then it's a shame and he shouldbe ashamed. but the past is past
Discipline? I don't buy that, sorry. I don't like going into my reasons for this belief for personal reasons, but at the end of the day no father should beat their child to enforce discipline ... ever. Beating is not an excuse, and should never be mistaken as disciplining.
There are many, many ways to get through to a child, and beating and ridiculing them is not any of them. The more a child is beaten, the more it fears the abuser ... regardless of how much the abuser believes they are installing "respect" into the child.
My father was the perfect example to me in what NOT to be as a man, and his time will come eventually. I've grown up to be a responsible, respectable man with a beautiful wife, my own home, two cars, a great job, and a fantastic dog. We plan to have children soon, and I cannot wait to become a father and give them the childhood I didn't have. I ensured I grew to be everything and have everything my pathetic excuse of a father could not and would not.
In that regard I can relate to Michael greatly, the only difference is that I managed to use the experience positively and grow as a person. And, of course, I didn't have the pressure of being the worlds greatest entertainer on my shoulders.