I've been confronting my mother with her dubious parenting skills (abuse) of me as a child. Particularly the beatings I would get with the wooden spoon. Not a light smack but hitting me as hard as she could for as long as she could. One time the spoon actually broke!
Now she sees it as she was only smacking me, because she was beaten herself by her father and with a cane, so in her mind that means that she didn't beat me... Because it wasn't the same. Odd reasoning I know. Then of course there's the bible and the GB actively encouraging parents to beat their children using that awful bronze age scripture.
In my adult life now whenever someone physically (surprises) me I jump out of my shoes and scream. I can't help it it's engrained reaction.
Did you get beaten? How do your parents justify themselves now?