To Beat Up or Not To Beat Up (My Son)

I don't have one one, and I never will, beat him that is, but not anymore because of some moralistic position, but simply because it isn't popular anymore, and therefore unnaceptable. I used to think it monstrous as a child the thought of beating up a child, but that's because I was one, it wasn't an educational stance, it was fear, I didn't want to be physically mistreated, as in school recess. But in hindsight my mental abuse was much graver, both in home and at school. I was never beaten in school, some kids kicked some balls at me occasionally but nothing serious, what I dreaded was the constant unknown "Will I get hurt today? Will they feel like hurting me?" The momentary pain of a football hitting your back at high speed is nothing compared to an entire day of anxiety. In grade 10th there was a guy who tormented me a whole year with the threat of violence, but without actually hitting me. As such, this was the worst year of my life. Which brings me back to the father. My father never came close to hitting me, but his shadow, his powerful presence always had a looming threat to it, to the extent where it passively affected decisions in my life. I would make choices based on the shadow, without it wordily ordering me anything. Constrast this to my close friend's report: his mother beat him when he misbehaved until the eventual age where she could no longer overpower him. Bukowski recounted the same. What happened for both of them? The threat was actualized, the authority figure was exposed for his littleness and powerlessness. Transferring the "power of the father" to the son perhaps before his manly maturity is reached, when he gains physical strength, which can be as young as 16 years old for a man. Zizek also demonstrates the opposite situation, that of power being present, even well into adulthood precisely because of the fact that it remained as a ghostly threat. This is me. This is the mother from "Everybody Loves Raymond".
Now strangely this makes a compelling argument for beating your children, and in fact, not doing so only became the law since the late 20th century, meaning it works since the dawn of Man. While in my case I remain(ed), as a non-abused child, unassertive and childish possibly well past my formative years under my parents' wing, my friend although possibly prematurely, started his adulthood at that point, getting a definite advantage over his pampered peers in terms of becoming his own authority. It was his first moment as an adult, his first salary, his moving out.
Where does this leave us? With a choice. Punish your child's wrongdoings with violence aware of the fact that his eventual overcoming of you into an adult and a "new father", or watch as your child grows into an adult while inside still being a scared little kid haunted by your specter. As he himself fathers a child without yet being "the father". This choice is of course moot as in the developed world, child services will take away your children in response to physical disciplining so your role is to stand and spectate your child's development as youwait for him to blossom into a spineless loser.