National Organization of Women v. National Football League

[GenuineRisk]

Dell, the culture often changes first, and then the law follows. Biden just gave a talk to Today about that very thing- he was asked about the Violence Against Women Act, which is now barely 20 years old, and how the culture changed first, to make the law possible (and it was ardently opposed by quite a few conservatives). First, I seriously doubt, if you look back at NOW's advocacy that you'll find silence on the subject of punishment for domestic abusers, but that said, pushing to change the culture of the NFL is probably more beneficial to the actual women getting the sh*t kicked out of them.

Likewise the NFL player just indicted on hitting his kid with a switch (I'm sorry I don't know the name; I don't follow the game of sports all that closely, other than horse racing). Chances are, he's innocent in the eyes of the law, because the law gives great leeway to parents to beat their children (we lag far behind other first world nations in that respect). It's a cultural thing that needs to be changed, and then the law will follow.

The best response I read yesterday, to people who say, "My parents spanked me and I turned out fine" is, "No, they just turned you into a person who thinks it's okay to hit little kids." (full disclosure: my mother used spanking as a disciplinary tool. She died when I was ten and my brother eight and his only memories of her are of her hitting him)