To spank or not to spank

I just watched something on TV and apparently this is one of the things parents still can't seem to agree on: Should spanking be part of raising your children or not?

I don't hear alot of arguments FOR spanking.
The most used is "Well, sometimes it's just needed!"

I'm wondering why it's sometimes just needed? It must be because the parent can't find another method of getting their child to behave a certain way.

To me, hitting is a sign of weakness. When people get into a regular fistfight, it's usually because words weren't good or effective enough.
And so instead of finding another way of dealing with it, it breaks into a fight.

The same goes for spanking your child, words aren't effective enough, so a spanking takes care of that.

It is in no way fair, because the child has no way of fighting back.

It is also not really teaching the child good morale. It may effective in the moment, but does it teach anything?
It does.
It teaches that is ok to hit someone that is smaller than yourself.
It teaches that if you can sort things out with words, hitting is an ok alternative.
It certainly doesnt teach the child to try to find another solution to their problems.

No, spanking does not necessarily raise violent people, but it certainly doesn't prevent it either.

There ARE alternatives to hitting your child. I realize you can't talk to a child the same way you talk to an adult, but you can explain to them that it makes you feel bad when they do something and that you would like them to do this or that instead. If they are to young to understand that, then they're too young to understand and reason why they're being spanked aswell.
At that age it'll require alot of patience, yes, but wake up; its part of parenting!
The child does't have to be very old before it can understand other measures of deciplining.
Such as taking away something the child likes for a period of time. TV, computer, favorite toy...
Or giving the child a timeout.

There are better ways of making a point, than by hitting!

I don't see any good reason to hit, especially not a child.