You know the concept of rape culture? I think we have a child abuse culture that’s remarkably similar. In said child abuse culture, sure, child abuse is bad, but we will deny each specific case (real or hypothetical) actually constitutes child abuse. Maybe it’s because that’s not abuse, it’s actually good discipline. Or maybe because that parent is a bit strict, but abuse is too strong a word. Or the kid provoked them, and the kid just needs to learn to handle the parent’s anger better. Or because, look, the parent was stressed, overwhelmed, everyone makes mistakes (true, but when they make that mistake on their pet, it’s a felony with jail time and excuses aren’t made for their behavior). Or, that’s not abuse, because, see, kids have accidents and get hurt (again, true, but make sure the study in question actually had faulty methods before dismissing it on the basis of faulty methods). Or… and on and on and on. And we’ll create structures and rhetorics that keep institutionalizing child abuse (eg. “parental sovereignty”).
And yeah, ugh, the South. Plus, there’s all that humidity.