My siblings & I ( proper posh sounding ) were smacked occasionally, but only when we needed really for doing something quite naughty. I'd say overuse of spanking as a form of punishment just shows a lack of parental control / knowing how to effectively deal with a poorly behaved or moody child, but a spank here & there is perfectly acceptable I believe; not that you'll convince the human rights nazis who want all punishment banned, whether its done in home or in public ( just let the little sods scream, shout and misbehave without being able to stop them... yeah, good idea
).
Side note: did you see that the vatican tried to blame the paedo-priest scandal on homosexuals? Religious types eh?...