Dad, laptop, and a .45


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I can't disagree with anything he did. I was a selfish, entitlement-driven kid at that age as well, though not to that extreme. I needed tough love from my parents because when I look at it now, they were beyond the point of being right in what they did to teach me the realities of life.

I probably wouldn't have handled this in the same manner that he did, but I can't disagree at all. If she didn't take her argument to the internet, mabye he wouldn't have reacted this way. If she hadn't used Facebook as the podium of her rants, maybe he would have kept his answers in the home where they should have been.

Because she made the matter public, a public answer is appropriate, and there is no question what he saw was the problem. He didn't engage in the emotional aspect at all. He saw the problem, he addressed the problem, and now the ball is in her court. Actions have consequences, and that's an important lesson for everybody to learn, teenager, adult, or whatever.

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Yeah, I would love to be a fly on the wall in this kid's bedroom to see what kind of reaction this has garnered. The only thing that I was really worried about is if this daughter ends up ostracized by her peers and she takes it upon herself to commit suicide or something. I'm sure her friends - at least her facebook friends - are taking sides one way or another...

This has become a topic for our FHE. And it was really interesting how my 10-year-old kid's prayer that night included, "and please, Heavenly Father, don't ever make me forget to be grateful for everything my parents have sacrificed for me...". It would be interesting to see what he says in his prayers when he turns 16...

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I am a cynic. Not by nature but the Internet has made me one. I don't believe it is real. If it had been in the moment that he went out and did it, then yes. This was all set up with tripod for camera, etc.

Just my cynical view. Did she deserve his response? Yes. Was it real? I don't believe so.

Ben Raines

I don't know what the camera with a tripod has to do with it being real. The story is about a dad who read his daughter's post on facebook publicly blasting her parents and created a video response that he intended to become just as public. Yes, you'll need a camera - with a tripod if you don't have anybody to hold the thing - to create a public video response.

I think it is real. I don't see the point in ruining a laptop for grins and kicks. A teen-ager or an early 20's guy... eh, maybe. But an old fogey like that dude? I don't think so.

Besides, the dad - Tommy Jordan - has been beseiged by interview requests by national news agencies which, to me, gives credibility that the event was not just a "pretend video". Mr. Jordan declined all requests stating that he has already said what he needed to say.

Video Of Gun-toting Dad Blasting Away At Daughter's Laptop Goes Viral | Fox News

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Does no one feel any pity at all for this poor little girl who has to suffer horrible parents who want her to learn basic life skills that might help her to be decently self-sufficient in the future and who was denied an historically-proven necessity such as a laptop?

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Does no one feel any pity at all for this poor little girl who has to suffer horrible parents who want her to learn basic life skills that might help her to be decently self-sufficient in the future and who was denied an historically-proven necessity such as a laptop?

A laptop is a necessity? Not buying it.

Or is my sarcasm detector on the fritz?

Edited by Dravin
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Does no one feel any pity at all for this poor little girl who has to suffer horrible parents who want her to learn basic life skills that might help her to be decently self-sufficient in the future and who was denied an historically-proven necessity such as a laptop?

Uhm... no. But, she can have this laptop:

Posted Image

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Does no one feel any pity at all for this poor little girl who has to suffer horrible parents who want her to learn basic life skills that might help her to be decently self-sufficient in the future and who was denied an historically-proven necessity such as a laptop?

Thou art given room to wonder and question for thou hast no children to suffer through :P

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Somewhere in our grand republic, a city attorney is trying to figure out if this guy can be nailed on Domestic Violence in the Presence of a Child, or Unlawful Discharge of a Firearm within City Limits, or something similar.

Beneath the "awesome!" factor, I guess I'm a little bothered because this guy doesn't strike me as being very calm and collected. His reaction is based in emotion--I've defended, in criminal proceedings, a lot of guys who hadn't gotten any more unglued than this guy is--and he's shooting a gun. If he had done the exact same thing in his child's presence--rather than simply videotaping himself doing it and then making sure the child had access to that video--he would definitely be in a heap of trouble right now.

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We don't have all the facts of what this girl's life is like. We get one view here. Assuming it is accurate this is my opinion on the situation.

I didn't take his video as an emotional reaction. Was he emotional? yes, who wouldn't be after being insulted that way by your child? However, there is a difference in reacting emotionally (as in no thought for what you are doing) and expressing emotion in the reaction. He seemed to have really thought out what he was going to say and made sure he didn't do it in the presence of his child (which I agree is a problem and would have seen as a threat to the child like "you're next"). He made a point, he made sure she understood how much she hurt her parents, he taught a lesson. He seemed very collected and thought out to me, having done it in a safe way.

On that note I don't agree with how he went about it. I would not have done what he did. But I agree with his intention and what he was trying to teach her. I would rather see more parents teaching the lessons (even if I don't agree with their methods) than what we have now with parents not teaching the lessons. So I support what appeared to be happening in the video more than I'm against it.

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Pyromaniacs: Some Thoughts on Guns and YouTube Scoldings as Parenting Tools

This gentleman summed up exactly how I feel about the whole issue. I understand the fathers frustration and anger.

I think he breached the sanctity of the father-daughter relationship in the very same way she did by delivering the rebuke so publicly. As much as I enjoyed seeing him plug that computer, and as good as it must have made him feel to show her up in front of her posse (and the rest of the FaceBook world), it would have been infinitely better—and a finer example to her—if he had delivered that admonition privately

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I agree, but once more, she was the one to drag the disagreement into the public. This has the potential of even teaching her friends something; If you want private matters to stay private, don't post them online.

I agree that there was a better way to handle it.

I agree that he reacted emotionally.

I agree that shooting the computer was over-the-top.

However, from his own comments, it seems he tried the 'better way to handle it' before and it didn't work. It seems she is *shocked gasp* a teenager after all.

sure he reacted emotionally, but his reaction was not driven by emotion. Humans are emotional beings. When it comes right down to it, they do govern our actions no matter how hard we try to become Vulcan. The most important emotion I saw was love for his daughter. He knows her potential and he knows she's capable of far better behavior, just like the rest of us were when we were rebellious, lazy, and whiney teenagers.

and finally, shooting the laptop was theatrical, but it hammered the point home without question. He bought her the laptop, he repaired the laptop, he upgraded the laptop...and it's used against him in this way? From all appearances the young woman is, at worst, guilty of being the prototypical ungrateful lazy teenager. She doesn't seem to be a troublemaker, or go out looking for ways to be rebellious. Heck, she could even be getting great grades in school and have a strong college potential.

It seems there's a well-known saying about the sin of ingratitude, but I can't recall it right now. If she isn't working for her own money to buy what she wants, then she owes everything she owns to her parents/stepmother. It's not a horrible thing she's done, but what she did needs to stop, and since she didn't stop it herself, it was stopped for her.

Seems I know another parent that lets things work that way as well, and we haven't seen him since birth.

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