Punishment or Abuse??

As I child when I behaved badly I would get a "spanking" for it. I was terrified of her black belt and swore I would never spank my child as a punishment. I made this statement when I was around the age of nine but since then I have realized her way of punishing me has had a positive impact on my life and I plan to raise my children the same way. But this is not the case for everyone. Two of my roommates constantly talk of how they will never beat there children and for good reason as they came from abusive homes. There is a fine line between discipline and abuse but in my opinion strict discipline can have a positive impact on a child. I think discipline crosses the line into abuse as soon as that child fills fear, and a lack of love. When the authority over them has taken his or her control to their advantage and has no reason for disciplining their child and has no care for their safety and feelings. As I have heard stories from my roommates they were constantly in fear of those that abused them, and the feeling of anger and hatred was mutual between them. Honest and loving parents will know as soon as that line has been crossed and their actions afterwards decide the case. For example one of my teachers this semester told our class how she would spank her child but after one incident she felt she spanked him to hard. So she called child services on herself to inform them and sat down to talk to her son afterwards. Those parents who abuse their power with no remorse, no love, and no care in the world are the ones who abuse their children.