Thirty Days of Blogging: Day 15

I don't know what to think of this whole Adrian Peterson thing.  On the one hand, the images and stories of his child-rearing methods are undoubtedly disturbing.  But on the other hand I doubt his methods--unsavory as they might seem to many people--lie so far beyond the pale of what's expected, or even common, especially within the African-American community.  Of course I have only anecdote and second-hand knowledge here, but isn't it more common, in black families, for children to be severely punished for transgressions?  And if that is so, if 'whoppings' of the severity we see depicted on TV now w/r/t Peterson, are common, then why is Peterson alone the one who's being made an example of?  Because he's an athlete?  I don't know.  Is the point to effect a widespread change in parenting disciplinary methods, across the entire US?  Or just to make an example of one person, so that we can all feel good about how enlightened WE are as parents, because we don't use corporal punishment?

I'm not suggesting, at all, that I find Peterson's methods anything more than appalling.  But I find, in this widespread condemnation, an element of smugness and superiority that's off-putting.  Too, I'm not sure what purpose it all serves.