My take on THAT video

Sometime last week, Tommy Jordan from North Carolina in the US uploaded a video on youtube where he rants about a post his daughter shared on Facebook in which she disrespects and curses him and his wife (her mother).

In the video, he sits on a chair reading out loud his daughter's post before responding to her in front of the camera. He had also brought her laptop with him and shortly before the video is over, he teaches her a lesson by taking out a handgun and firing nine bullets into the laptop. The video went viral on youtube and sparked debates on Jordan's parenting skills. Many praised him for his 'tough love' approach while detractors stated that he was just another psycho with a gun who went too far (predictably, these critics were chided by many to just be rebellious teens or 'weak' parents who think Jordan was too harsh).

Me personally, I'm on Jordan's side. Perhaps ranting about your daughter on the internet and then shooting her laptop was a bit of an over-reaction but I can totally understand why he did it. We've all been in that situation where we didn't see eye-to-eye with our parents but any kid who disrespects their parents outright, especially on the internet, is an ungrateful little prick who deserves to get slapped across the head. In this case, Jordan chose to return the favour and then some. I'm not saying that the way he went about the situation was the right solution but I can totally see why he did what he did. Heck, if I were a father myself and I found out my kids did something like that to me you'd better believe they'd be in a world of hurt over it.

You know, some countries around the world are considering on outlawing the spanking of children and some parents have gone to jail for spanking their kids. I think that's just a load of bull. While I don't approve of beating up on children and think that any parent who does such a thing should be beaten up themselves, spanking your kids if they've done something beyond the pale, and provided that it's nothing more than a stern but gentle tap, is ok. I don't consider that beating up on a kid, more like letting them know loud and clear that what they did was totally unacceptable. I've been there myself. When I was a kid I got a few light whacks on the backside or on the hand if I really screwed up and I turned out just fine. And my father used to tell me stories of how kids back in his day would get whacked with a cane or a shoe when they misbehaved, not just at home but also at school. And guess what? He turned out ok and so did most of the people he knew. So come on with that nonsense!

Tommy Jordan's vid, while outrageous and extreme, shows that there are parents out there who refuse to let their kids walk all over them. Seriously, just because they're kids does not give parents an excuse to let them do as they please and whenever they do something wrong, they need to face the consequences and learn to be responsible for their own actions.

And as for this crap about outlawing the spanking of kids, all I have to say is 'HARDEN UP, PEOPLE!!!!' The day you start getting too soft on kids is the day they start thinking that they are untouchable and so another self-destructive little troublemaker is born. If you aren't prepared to play bad cop when necessary and discipline your kids whenever they cross the line, then don't have any! It's that simple.