My parents, especially my father, was given to spanking me for misbehavior (or perceived misbehavior) on the spot and spontaneously. I was boy in the '70s, so spanking was more tolerated back then. And my parents were of the impression that I misbehaved a lot, although I can attest that I didnt do it on purpose. Sometimes, the spankings did occur within eye or earshot of others, or at least the prelude to the spanking was.
One time around when I was 6 or 7, I was playing with one of my friends outside. We lived in an apartment complex, and someone else was having a yard sale. Me and my friend were looking through all the cool stuff they were selling, and I found this very cool lantern I really wanted to have. I went inside my apartment to ask my dad to buy me the lantern, and he said no. I kept pleading for him to get it for me, but he said no, that it was just junk, and that was final I went outside again, feeling dejected, and played some with my friend. But I really couldn't resist looking at that lantern on the yard sale table. I really wanted it. My friend was with me at the time still. I again went inside but this time didn't tell my dad anything, but just started looking all over the house for money so I could buy that cool lantern. My friend was still outside waiting for me. While I was rummaging through the house, my dad caught me, and angrily asked me why I was looking for money when he told me no. He was very angry. As was the pattern in my house, spankings came suddenly, and this one did too, My father grabbed me, and suddenly pulled me over to the couch. To my shock, and while I was screaming and crying, my father held me down, pulled down my shorts, pulled off his sandal and wailed on my bottom a bunch of times while I struggled. When he was done, he left me on the couch, and he told me to stay there until I he told me I could get up. I laid there on the couch, in a fetal position, tears running down my face, with me facing toward the cushions of the couch. Shortly after, a knock came at the door. It was my friend, who asked if I could come out and play. I remember clearly my Dad telling him that no I could not, "Carlos is being punished." The couch was close enough to the door that, although my back was to the door and I was facing the couch cushions, I could still see out of the corner of my eye, the open door with my friend there, and he was staring directly at me. I am sure he was outside, and hearing the commotion and my spanking. And now, he was seeing me lying on the couch, after being "punished."
Another spanking happened when we were visiting relatives: my uncle, aunt, and cousins. I accidentally knocked a vase off a table. The vase was undamaged, but my mother gave me a sound spanking right there in front of the family, without even taking me to a private place. I remember we left shortly after, and I was in the car crying from the spanking as we drove away.
Other spankings sometimes occurred sudenly in public.
Other times, although others did not see the spanking, they saw the prelude. One time, I was around 7 or so, and my dad took me to a kid's play put on by the high school drama group. My dad was a teacher at the high school. When we got there, I saw some other kids from my school who were around my age there too. I however really didnt want to be there, and would much have preferred to be at home watching Tarzan on TV. (I remember that well.) I started to pout and complain, and ask if we could go now. My dad finally had enough and grabbed me by my ear, and pulled me by my ear, in front of my school friends, out of the building. On the way out, with him pulling me by the ear, and me crying and grimmacing and physically trying to get loose, we passed by a table with some high school students and teachers . . . I looked right at them as we passed and they looked in amazement at me being pulled out of there by my ear. At home I got a spankiing, and told I could not watch TV for some time. I guess no Tarzan for me.