Facebook Teen’s Father Shows Some Tough Love

The guy has no $ mgmt skills. He should stop smoking and should've sold the laptop,
 
Just to note for those of you that have never done it, it can be extremely satisfying to destroy a piece of technology (or anything else for that matter).
 
Perhaps instead of shooting a laptop and putting it on Facebook, this guy should be finding out why his daughter is acting out. Teenagers are rebellious and unruly by nature, but if it's as bad as he's making it out to be, then he needs to find out what's causing it and get her some help. By pulling a childish stunt like this, he's ignoring the real problem, and if he keeps this up I wouldn't be surprised if he never sees his grandchildren.

Everyone swears that the generations that come after theirs are going straight to hell, but that's an overreaction. My dad goes on and on about how screwed up my generation is, but he seems to forget growing up in the 60's. My grandmother pulled the whole "get a switch off the tree" on him and my aunts and uncles, and he ended up being in a motorcyle gang, doing his fair share of drugs, living a rather wild lifestyle well into his 30's and, having 7 children by 5 different women, and don't let me get started on my uncles, both of whom had problems with drugs and alcohol and one of whom ended up spending 6 years in prison for selling drugs. Fast forward to myself and my brothers and sisters who weren't disciplined/punished anywhere near as harshly, and we all lead productive lives with none of use having any problems with drugs or alcohol, and none of use have ever been in trouble with the law.

Teenage rebellion and acting out is nothing new. You had the hippies in the 60's, rock & roll in the 50's, and don't let me get started on the Roaring 20's. Teenagers will act this way for all of time no matter what punishments are devised and no matter how many electronics are shot.
 
Damn dude, over react much? You could have just taken the laptop.

Congrats on alienating your kid. Doing nothing would have been better than that.
 
TheWeazmeister said:
Dad got visit by CPS
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-57376595-71/police-visit-facebook-dad-who-shot-daughters-laptop/
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lol Sounds about right. I thought the guy was alright in the video until he whipped out his .45 and started shooting the laptop... it's almost as if that was a completely inappropriate and borderline insane way to react to the situation. I mean, to be fair, there is a difference between shooting your laptop at the range because it broke and shooting your teenage daughter's laptop to teach her a lesson.
 
TheWeazmeister said:
Dad got visit by CPS
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-57376595-71/police-visit-facebook-dad-who-shot-daughters-laptop/
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And the cops actually praised him and are using the vid on their school speaks.

He also got a visit from a social worker, who interviewed the daughter, and found A-Ok because even said daughter admitted that she was at fault.


Also prior to doing that he had talked with his ex, and she was A-Ok and even asked for him to put "one bullet in for her"... and i think that the Linda she called a "cleaning lady" was actually her step mother, from the way he went livid at that exact point.
 
Revdarian said:
And the cops actually praised him and are using the vid on their school speaks.

He also got a visit from a social worker, who interviewed the daughter, and found A-Ok because even said daughter admitted that she was at fault.


Also prior to doing that he had talked with his ex, and she was A-Ok and even asked for him to put "one bullet in for her"... and i think that the Linda she called a "cleaning lady" was actually her step mother, from the way he went livid at that exact point.
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I thought he said it was someone he'd done some work for and was paying them back by cleaning their house.
 
One

good dad. Simple equation. He paid for it, guess who it belongs to.

2nd. Texas, where ass whoopings still get handed down. Cops praise and CPS cheers. Sounds like she knows she f'ed up bad.

ps, up to 22 million views. Posts are coming in at about 10/second!! lol
 
figgie said:
One

good dad. Simple equation. He paid for it, guess who it belongs to.

2nd. Texas, where ass whoopings still get handed down. Cops praise and CPS cheers. Sounds like she knows she f'ed up bad.

ps, up to 22 million views. Posts are coming in at about 10/second!! lol
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oops!!

NC not Texas! My bad!
 
Lol @ the liberal hippies crying about how must be the kind of guy that beats his daughter or wife or whatever. If more parents had a backbone like this guy our youth wouldn't be so f'ed up. Period.
 
shoota said:
Lol @ the liberal hippies crying about how must be the kind of guy that beats his daughter or wife or whatever. If more parents had a backbone like this guy our youth wouldn't be so f'ed up. Period.
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x1000

I have a nice broken in 2" leather belt for a 34" waist. Not as threatening as my dad's 2" leather belt for a 44" waist! lol
 
shoota said:
Lol @ the liberal hippies crying about how must be the kind of guy that beats his daughter or wife or whatever. If more parents had a backbone like this guy our youth wouldn't be so f'ed up. Period.
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Maybe kids wouldn't end up fucked up if their parents weren't imbalanced and egotistical megalomaniacs with serious anger issues that they pass on to their children. Engaging in petty, vengeful, and childish behavior while ignoring the root cause of the problem is no better than doing nothing about it.

Seriously, kids today are no more fucked up than they were 30, 60, or 100 years ago. I'm sure people from this guy's parents generation would have complained about him and his generation being fucked up. Teenagers will always feel this way about their parents. Call it growing pains, call it teen angst, it's just a part of life just as much as it is for an old person to slow down and forget things.
 
Lord Nassirbannipal said:
Maybe kids wouldn't end up fucked up if their parents weren't imbalanced and egotistical megalomaniacs with serious anger issues that they pass on to their children. Engaging in petty, vengeful, and childish behavior while ignoring the root cause of the problem is no better than doing nothing about it.

Seriously, kids today are no more fucked up than they were 30, 60, or 100 years ago. I'm sure people from this guy's parents generation would have complained about him and his generation being fucked up. Teenagers will always feel this way about their parents. Call it growing pains, call it teen angst, it's just a part of life just as much as it is for an old person to slow down and forget things.
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I actually agree with you for the most part. But I still think kids today are becoming more and more entitled and I believe stern actions (not anger) is the way to go.
 
mope54 said:
What happened between the time you were 4 years old (when you supposedly knew right from wrong) and now (when you lack basic social skills)?
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I'll take the bait and answer your question since you asked so nicely.

I have perfectly fine social skills, thankyouverymuch. Most people that I meet don't have a problem socializing with me and I've met quite a few people during my travels.

Did I answer your question to your satisfaction?
 
Simply said:
The central struggle of parenthood is to let our hopes for our children outweigh our fears.
- Ellen Goodman
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teach at a young age, let them learn as they grow. there will be hiccups along the way
 
This has gotten a great deal of exposure. Just saw it on CBS news. I hope other teenagers learn from this.
 
With the amount of support this fool is getting, it is no wonder so many kids are messed up.
 
shoota said:
I actually agree with you for the most part. But I still think kids today are becoming more and more entitled and I believe stern actions (not anger) is the way to go.
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What do you mean by entitled? That's a very broad and vague statement.

If you mean that we don't want to do hard work, then I can certainly address that. As I previously stated, I'll be 29 in June, and while growing up, I distinctly remember being told repeatedly by my parents and teachers: "Stay in school, you don't want to end up washing cars for the rest of your life." "If you don't get good grades, then you'll end up flipping burgers" "Without college, you'll be nothing more than a waiter or a bus boy"

And now, despite what's been pounded into their heads since elementary school, kids are called entitled because they don't want to wash cars, flip burgers, or wait tables. Well, what do you expect. Starting with my generation, we were all told that those jobs are for idiots and failures. When you throw in the fact that we live in society where we are judged not be who we are or what we do, but by what we own, and the problem is further compounded.

I think it's very respectable for someone to work as a janitor or a clerk at a convenience store or a garbage man and earn an honest living. People who do those jobs deserve as much respect as doctors, engineers, and CEO's, but out society judges people by how much stuff they have. As a result, younger people don't want to do those jobs because of the stigma that it means that they're idiots and failures who don't have shit

This is why I don't see the occupiers as entitled hippies. Like myself, they were told growing up that if you want success, you go to college and get a job, and that any other path like waiting tables or washing dishes means that you're a failure. For that, I don't blame them. They did as they were told, but the end result is no, in fact, as they were told. They've got every right to be pissed off.
 
wra18th said:
This has gotten a great deal of exposure. Just saw it on CBS news. I hope other teenagers learn from this.
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You hope that they learn that when someone steps out of line and bruises your ego that the appropriate response is to act like a megalomaniac and do whatever it takes to enact some payback?
 
I find the responses about how angry, childish, etc the father is to be hilarious. Childish and acting out of anger would have been to shoot the laptop then and there.. then post it on facebook. This father took the time to plan this out, spend almost 7 minutes on camera going over her post, then making a point with the gun.

I remember as a kid having a black-and-white TV that I spent way too much time watching. My parents yelled and yelled at me to because I was busy watching TV and playing the Atari 2600 on it when I was supposed to be doing chores. In the end, my dad took me and the TV out to the dump (we lived out in the country, the dump was a 30-foot ravine on our property) and made me personally toss the still working TV in (breaking a working set) as punishment for ignoring my parents, while telling me it was his TV, he bought it and "allowed" me the privalege to use, which I had abused. End result same.. equipment my parents purchased and owned destroyed and lesson learned.

I wonder what the responses would be if instead this dad had forced his daughter to shoot the laptop? I know CPS would probably through a fit at that... and probably the cops too for allowing a minor to handle a firearm :rolleyes: (I grew up shooting guns by the time I was 8).

Personally, I like the idea that if she wants to act childish on facebook.. let the world see how childish she is by posting her naked baby pictures and other embarrasing things online. Of course, can't do that because you get CPS and Police down on your head also :rolleyes: Nothing embarrasses a teenage girl more than a video of her dancing around the living room in her panties at 3 years old... for all her classmates to see.
 
farscapesg1 said:
I find the responses about how angry, childish, etc the father is to be hilarious. Childish and acting out of anger would have been to shoot the laptop then and there.. then post it on facebook. This father took the time to plan this out, spend almost 7 minutes on camera going over her post, then making a point with the gun.

I remember as a kid having a black-and-white TV that I spent way too much time watching. My parents yelled and yelled at me to because I was busy watching TV and playing the Atari 2600 on it when I was supposed to be doing chores. In the end, my dad took me and the TV out to the dump (we lived out in the country, the dump was a 30-foot ravine on our property) and made me personally toss the still working TV in (breaking a working set) as punishment for ignoring my parents, while telling me it was his TV, he bought it and "allowed" me the privalege to use, which I had abused. End result same.. equipment my parents purchased and owned destroyed and lesson learned.

I wonder what the responses would be if instead this dad had forced his daughter to shoot the laptop? I know CPS would probably through a fit at that... and probably the cops too for allowing a minor to handle a firearm :rolleyes: (I grew up shooting guns by the time I was 8).

Personally, I like the idea that if she wants to act childish on facebook.. let the world see how childish she is by posting her naked baby pictures and other embarrasing things online. Of course, can't do that because you get CPS and Police down on your head also :rolleyes: Nothing embarrasses a teenage girl more than a video of her dancing around the living room in her panties at 3 years old... for all her classmates to see.
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Then it's no wonder that you view this behavior to be acceptable.

Destroying a laptop and posting a video of it on facebook to publicly humiliate someone is behavior that should be expected from a teenager, but not from a grown man.

As a grown man and a father, he needs to realize that doing what's best for his daughter is more important than getting revenge for his bruised ego, and in doing what he did, he failed miserably.
 
Nice 1911 there. I don't see the need for using hollow points. Same result with cheaper FMJs, a destroyed laptop. Exit holes may be bigger with HPs. Looked like a POS laptop anyway. She can get a job for a month, and buy her own laptop.

While his method of punishment seems unorthodox, it's his choice. I won't judge him. It's not so much as he wanted "revenge", he did this as a punishment for his daughter's actions, and believed this was the best way to do it. Hey, at least he didn't beat her within an inch of her life.

If a child acts our of line, and the parent disciplines that child, is out out of revenge? Really?
 
Lord Nassirbannipal said:
Then it's no wonder that you view this behavior to be acceptable.

Destroying a laptop and posting a video of it on facebook to publicly humiliate someone is behavior that should be expected from a teenager, but not from a grown man.

As a grown man and a father, he needs to realize that doing what's best for his daughter is more important than getting revenge for his bruised ego, and in doing what he did, he failed miserably.
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Feel free to parent your way... I'll feel free to parent mine. I believe he was trying to teach her a lesson about humility. Maybe not the absolute best way... but each person has to make their own way through life and parent their children as they feel is appropriate.

Ideally you teach your children proper respect from an early age and don't have to deal with a lack of it during their teens. Some children.. that doesn't work. I'm the oldest of 5 kids, all of them raised the same way.. with 5 different outlooks on life. Sometimes a lesson in humility is required.

It's bad enough this girl was whining about her life in a public forum/area, but to try to hide it from her parents, there is no excuse. Try growing up where you have to get up at 5 in the morning to feed the livestock and do chores before going to school, then get home in the afternoon so you can mow the yard, check the livestock, plow/plant/harvest the crops.

Sometimes a little tough love is the best thing for children, instead of always trying to be their best friend. Too many parents go down that path where they always want to be the "cool" parent. I'm not saying your children need to fear you, but they do need to know who has the ultimate authority in the household. Looks like he has already had issues with his daughter in the past and warned her. When warnings don't work, things have to be taken up a notch. Yes, he could have just taking the laptop away, but ultimately it is his equipment and his decision.. and honestly who are we to judge how he handled it?
 
I still don't know why the father was compelled to smoke on camera and then flick the cigarette on the grass.
 
farscapesg1 said:
Feel free to parent your way... I'll feel free to parent mine. I believe he was trying to teach her a lesson about humility. Maybe not the absolute best way... but each person has to make their own way through life and parent their children as they feel is appropriate.

Ideally you teach your children proper respect from an early age and don't have to deal with a lack of it during their teens. Some children.. that doesn't work. I'm the oldest of 5 kids, all of them raised the same way.. with 5 different outlooks on life. Sometimes a lesson in humility is required.
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After watching his actions because he was butthurt about a facebook video, I don't think that humility is his strong point, and neither is controlling his anger. AGain, it's not hard to see where the daughter gets it from.

=It's bad enough this girl was whining about her life in a public forum/area, but to try to hide it from her parents, there is no excuse.
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It's typical teenage behavior. Nothing more, nothing less. No matter what actions a parent takes, teenagers will always act this way. It's a part of that particular phase of life.

Try growing up where you have to get up at 5 in the morning to feed the livestock and do chores before going to school, then get home in the afternoon so you can mow the yard, check the livestock, plow/plant/harvest the crops.
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Try having to walk 15 miles in the snow, fight off bears and wolves on the way using only a spear, and drag bricks up a hill to build a tower every day. That's neither here nor there, nor does it justify what he did.

Sometimes a little tough love is the best thing for children, instead of always trying to be their best friend. Too many parents go down that path where they always want to be the "cool" parent. I'm not saying your children need to fear you, but they do need to know who has the ultimate authority in the household. Looks like he has already had issues with his daughter in the past and warned her. When warnings don't work, things have to be taken up a notch. Yes, he could have just taking the laptop away, but ultimately it is his equipment and his decision.. and honestly who are we to judge how he handled it?
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Considering that his daughter's behavior hasn't stopped, it doesn't look like that mentality is working. Trying to pound into a teenager's head that you have "the ultimate authority" is about the worst thing that can be done. Nothing makes a teen want to do something more than their parents telling them not to. This girl clearly has some issues regarding her relationship with her father, and that's the real problem here, not "ultimate authority." Publicly humiliating her is only going to make that problem worse.

If he doesn't want to be judged, then maybe next time he shouldn't shoot a damn laptop and put it on facebook. That's the price you pay when you air your dirty laundry instead of keeping your family affairs public.
 
tuksonrider said:
Nice 1911 there. I don't see the need for using hollow points. Same result with cheaper FMJs, a destroyed laptop. Exit holes may be bigger with HPs. Looked like a POS laptop anyway. She can get a job for a month, and buy her own laptop.

While his method of punishment seems unorthodox, it's his choice. I won't judge him. It's not so much as he wanted "revenge", he did this as a punishment for his daughter's actions, and believed this was the best way to do it. Hey, at least he didn't beat her within an inch of her life.

If a child acts our of line, and the parent disciplines that child, is out out of revenge? Really?
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I might be wiling to give him the benefit of the doubt had he kept this private, but the fact that he posted it on facebook to publicly humiliate her shows that the man wanted to get her back because his ego was hurt. The man let his ego and his anger get the better of him, and in doing so, he failed.

Again, it's not hard to see where the daughter gets it from. This man and yourself may see this as discipline, but the daughter isn't going to see it that way. All she's going to remember is that her father, with whom the relationship is already strained, publicly humiliated her.
 
Lord Nassirbannipal said:
I might be wiling to give him the benefit of the doubt had he kept this private, but the fact that he posted it on facebook to publicly humiliate her shows that the man wanted to get her back because his ego was hurt. The man let his ego and his anger get the better of him, and in doing so, he failed.

Again, it's not hard to see where the daughter gets it from. This man and yourself may see this as discipline, but the daughter isn't going to see it that way. All she's going to remember is that her father, with whom the relationship is already strained, publicly humiliated her.
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Didn't she start by publicly trying to disrepect him on her facebook page? Perhaps him pointing out the error of her ways in an obvious manner would teach her something that grounding and more traditional ways has not.

What kid is going to see any type of punishment as "discipline". Wouldn't grounding her or confiscating her laptop also be seen as some "retaliation".

Do you honestly beleive that having absoluetly no rules and no consequences for one's actions is fine? I mean, heaven forbid we discipline a child because it might strain the relationship.

He did not raise his voice. He did not hit his daughter. He didn't really seem all that angry to me.
 
tuksonrider said:
Didn't she start by publicly trying to disrepect him on her facebook page? Perhaps him pointing out the error of her ways in an obvious manner would teach her something that grounding and more traditional ways has not.
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Publicly disrespect him on her facebook page? Are you saying the number of people reading her teen angst crap is in any way comparable to the number of people who visit youtube?

Do you honestly beleive that having absoluetly no rules and no consequences for one's actions is fine? I mean, heaven forbid we discipline a child because it might strain the relationship.
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When did he ever say she didn't deserve discipline?

He did not raise his voice. He did not hit his daughter. He didn't really seem all that angry to me.
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Right. He just shot her laptop, read her letter out loud, and posted it on Youtube. Nothing wrong with that.
 
This is still going eh? This is a fine example of why you don't talk about parenting with other people.
 
farscapesg1 said:
I know CPS would probably through a fit at that... and probably the cops too for allowing a minor to handle a firearm :rolleyes: (I grew up shooting guns by the time I was 8).
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You can fire a gun at any age. See: Second Amendment.
 
Lord Nassirbannipal said:
After watching his actions because he was butthurt about a facebook video, I don't think that humility is his strong point, and neither is controlling his anger. AGain, it's not hard to see where the daughter gets it from.

It's typical teenage behavior. Nothing more, nothing less. No matter what actions a parent takes, teenagers will always act this way. It's a part of that particular phase of life.

Try having to walk 15 miles in the snow, fight off bears and wolves on the way using only a spear, and drag bricks up a hill to build a tower every day. That's neither here nor there, nor does it justify what he did.

Considering that his daughter's behavior hasn't stopped, it doesn't look like that mentality is working. Trying to pound into a teenager's head that you have "the ultimate authority" is about the worst thing that can be done. Nothing makes a teen want to do something more than their parents telling them not to. This girl clearly has some issues regarding her relationship with her father, and that's the real problem here, not "ultimate authority." Publicly humiliating her is only going to make that problem worse.

If he doesn't want to be judged, then maybe next time he shouldn't shoot a damn laptop and put it on facebook. That's the price you pay when you air your dirty laundry instead of keeping your family affairs public.
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You didn't read any of the Facebook posts explaining what happened after, did you?
 
Lord Nassirbannipal said:
I might be wiling to give him the benefit of the doubt had he kept this private, but the fact that he posted it on facebook to publicly humiliate her shows that the man wanted to get her back because his ego was hurt. The man let his ego and his anger get the better of him, and in doing so, he failed.
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No it doesn't. It shows a man who is frustrated with his daughter and doesn't know what to do. Ego didn't play a role in this at all.

Again, it's not hard to see where the daughter gets it from. This man and yourself may see this as discipline, but the daughter isn't going to see it that way. All she's going to remember is that her father, with whom the relationship is already strained, publicly humiliated her.
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And she damn well should remember it. If the lesson is forgotten, it wasn't a good lesson.

More importantly, she will hopefully understand why he did what he did in even just a year or two, perhaps more but perhaps less. If she holds a grudge against him for shooting something she didn't own until her grave that would be a very sad tale indeed - one that is quite unlikely, fortunately.
 
Discipline is important, and the girl should have been disciplined for what she did.

The way in which this guy went about it - however - showed an extreme lack of maturity, and it really didn't set a good example for his daughter.

Grounding her and taking away the laptop would have been very appropriate.

Now - instead - the lesson is, that whenever you are pissed at someone, throwing a hissy-fit and shooting or breaking something like an immature asshole is the way to go. This is akin to the cliche stupid domestic dispute which results in public tossing of dishes from a house...

IMHO this guy just isn't mature enough to seal with children, his own or others.

Those of you who take the line "well, she started it", etc. really don't understand parenting at all. There is no tit-for-tat in parenting. It requires you to be the adult in every situation, the bigger man and suck it up and not get butthurt and seek revenge, but rather take action with one thing in mind - what is best for the child.

If anyone here seriously thinks this was best for the child, then you have some real problems.
 
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