Thanks for answering, Ivor. I don't agree. In my own experience, the spanking didn't inspire terror, seemed quick but not violent and was never done in anger. I DID know kids who'd had much different spanking experiences.

If I had to say what the differences were between violent and not violent, I'd have to say anger, unpredictability, lingering pain or fear, or outright terror. If one of my parents had screamed at me like I've seen plenty of parents do to their kids in public, I think I would have been more freaked out.