Earlier this week, artist Daniel Vander Ley displayed an 8 foot airbrushed painting of Jesus spanking a red-bottomed little girl with a belt. His point? He told the Tennessean,
“The question I want to ask Tennessee with this piece is ‘Is this your Jesus?”
“Because if Jesus loves the children and he doesn’t spank children, why do we let schools spank our children?”
“It tells a kid the authority figures aren’t there to protect them, that authority figures are there to judge them, to punish them.”
Getting states to stop corporal punishment in schools has become his mission. Tennessee is one of the 19 states that still allows it.
The artist also sells belts with the word "Fundamentalism" on them for $225. So far, no one has bought the belts.
Meanwhile in Maryland, there's a debate going on about this viral video of a substitute teacher using corporal punishment. Many people support this teacher, while others are outraged.