When I was eventually caned well it wasn’t so frightening ,( although some of that may have been because Jackie dispensed in my case with the ritual of waiting your turn , and the ‘build up’) or so terrible, so the threat of the ultimate deterrent disappeared for me and maybe for some of my friends also ,as they would have expected me to go to pieces if caned .
The next time the cane was a possibility ( when I got six off the head ) I knew exactly what I was doing and the risk I was running by crossing swords with him on a ‘political’ issue. If I hadn’t been caned previously , frankly I doubt I would have confronted him Sometimes its the fear of the unknown which deters whereas the reality is much more mundane .Once you know the nature of the penalty and how you react, calculation of worthwhile risk is possible.