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Well, not to be pedantic, but in this case it actually matters - he's being satirical, not ironic. It's not supposed to be ironic. He wants the debate to be abo

Well, not to be pedantic, but in this case it actually matters - he's being satirical, not ironic. It's not supposed to be ironic. He wants the debate to be about the modern penal system, not about corporal punishment. It would be ironic if his intention was to point out how awful corporal punishment is, but that's not his point - it's kind of a given that corporal punishment is generally viewed as barbaric (see the opening paragraph). Corporal punishment is just used as an exaggeration to expose the stupidity of the modern penal system ala eating babies in "A Modest Proposal". It's slightly more subtle than AMP, which is why I inferred you might've missed the point (though I can see that's not the case now, so my apologies) - but for example, if we were talking about AMP and your original comment was: > Is he being ironic or is he trying to justify eating babies? <sentence about why eating babies is wrong> you can hopefully see how I might think you were confused a little.

lotsofcows 13y ago
"it's kind of a given that corporal punishment is generally viewed as barbaric" It's exactly that point that made me unsure if this was supposed to be ironic or not. It is not in anyway "a given" that corporal punishment is viewed as barbaric. Most USAians support the death penalty.
- bronbron 13y ago
  > It is not in anyway "a given" that corporal punishment is viewed as barbaric. The last instance of judicial corporal punishment was in the 50's. It's a given. > Most USAians support the death penalty. Maybe you should look up the difference between capital punishment and corporal punishment. They're not the same thing. Anyway it seems like you've been called out on your reading comprehension and now you're clawing desperately to save face, or you have an axe to grind in general - I don't really care which it is. Either way I'll bow out and let you save face. Read more carefully and/or know the meaning of the words you're typing before you comment next time.
  - lotsofcows 13y ago
    Woah, where did that come from?

lotsofcows 13y ago

"it's kind of a given that corporal punishment is generally viewed as barbaric" It's exactly that point that made me unsure if this was supposed to be ironic or not. It is not in anyway "a given" that corporal punishment is viewed as barbaric. Most USAians support the death penalty.

bronbron 13y ago
> It is not in anyway "a given" that corporal punishment is viewed as barbaric. The last instance of judicial corporal punishment was in the 50's. It's a given. > Most USAians support the death penalty. Maybe you should look up the difference between capital punishment and corporal punishment. They're not the same thing. Anyway it seems like you've been called out on your reading comprehension and now you're clawing desperately to save face, or you have an axe to grind in general - I don't really care which it is. Either way I'll bow out and let you save face. Read more carefully and/or know the meaning of the words you're typing before you comment next time.
- lotsofcows 13y ago
  Woah, where did that come from?