Maybe I was an oddball, but I behaved ten times better for my mother who never hit me than I did for my father who used to get after me with a belt for stuff like not cleaning my room after being told several times and getting D's on my report card. I HATED him. My mother, on the other hand, would look sad and pitiful and sometimes she'd cry and I'd do anything for her. To this day she still says I was an angel of a small child.
I do think spanking can be necessary for things that could really harm the child. Like if a child goes out into the road and you tell them to come back and they don't, then you should put the smack down. But these parents who spank their kids for stupid things like whining in the store or saying a "naughty word" piss me off. That's why there are so many violent people in the world these days. Too many parents teach their kids that the best way to deal with something that bothers you or makes you a little angry is violence and that's just not right.