Saturday 11 February 2012

Dad Shoots Laptop



As unconventional as it might sound, Tommy Jordan did what he thought was appropriate. So many people let their kids get away with all kinds of stuff but he took the initiative to assert his right as a parent. If you read his fifteen-year-old daughter's rant on Facebook, you'll see the reflection of many kids in our society today -- downright brats who feel entitled and don't give a crap about their parents or authority. In her rant, she bemoans doing simple chores like unloading the dishwasher, cleaning her room and pouring coffee for her parents -- and demand she be paid for her work.

When I was her age I had to do chores around the house; my mom made me feed the chickens, clean the barn, tote water to the house, sweep the living room, polish the silver, take out the garbage and clip my dad's toenails. (Ew!) I had to do all of this and not once did I ever complain; I understood I was a child and that my parents worked hard to provide for me, so I wanted to help -- I knew I had to! --; I never demanded I be paid -- never questioned if I was a slave -- never felt pressured to pitch in -- or feel the need to be insolent and embarrass my parents online!

Kids do chores, that's the way it's always been. It's not a demand, it's a lesson: our parents are teaching us responsibility and solid work ethics.

Here is a worthy analogy I found online, from a guy named David Harris.



Tommy Jordan is like any other hard working American out there. He works hard to provide for his family. Yet, like many other teens (including most of us at that age), his daughter Hannah doesn't appreciate (or understand), the lesson he is trying to teach his daughter. Her main focus of her rant on her FaceBook page was about doing "chores".

We start teaching children about the "Real" world when they are young. We teach them to obey police officers, to follow the walk/don't walk signs, to respect others, and to try to mold them into productive members of civilized society.

However, in today's society, the lessons of our grandparents and great grandparents are no longer taught. We don't teach our children to say yes sir, no sir, yes ma'am, no ma'am, please, thank you, you're welcome and excuse me.

Tommy Jordan, gave his daughter everything she wanted, a laptop, a cell phone, an IPad, and other luxuries that some of us would like to be able to afford to give our children.

At the same time, his daughter Hannah is of the mind (like many of us were at that age) that everything should be given to me, because you are my parents, and you should pay me to do the chores around the house.

When we give our children chores, we are instilling in them the idea of work ethic. Chores are not punishment. They are a learning tool designed to teach us from an early age, that if you want things, you have to work for them.

Now, Hannah didn't want to work for the things her father had already given her. She wanted to be paid for the chores. She failed to realize she was already paid for the chores. Her payment was the love her mother and father gave her in buying her these luxury items.

At the end of the video, when Tommy Jordan put those nine 45 caliber slugs into the laptop, I'm going to be honest, I cheered. Because the father was showing his daughter that what she has been given is not a right. It is a privilege to have these items and if you don't use them wisely you can lose them.

Food for thought

David Harris


A lot of people are criticizing Mr. Jordan's  parenting, some have even called him a lunatic. What do you think?

28 comments:

yikici said...

His choice of punishment is a tad too harsh (in my opinion); however, I can understand why he did what he did.

This is a sensitive topic to broach at the best of times. I do think children brought up these days do not appreciate and understand the values of life & society; no doubt these are due to a combination of various factors such as bad parenting, influential friends and the media (all forms) amongst others. I could write sooo much more; but I do not have the luxury of time today and well, not everyone would like what I say about this topic, so I'll ssshhh.

A great post, thank you for sharing. :)

T.D. McFrost said...

Very well said, Yikici.

I think his methods and ways are a reflection of his environment. He seems to be a southern type of man, and they always do things over the top. In a round-about-totally-almost-irrelevant sort of way, it can be likened to Germans and beer. For us, three beers is enough but for them three to six is just happy hour. We call that alcoholism but for them its who they are--its how their living environment shaped them. This father can't help be who he is and, as long as the child is not hurt, I'm fine with it.

Kyra Lennon said...

I am in two minds about the whole thing.

Every teen complains about their parents from time to time, and perhaps she was in the middle of a meltdown and felt the need to rant. Admittedly, ranting on Facebook was not a good idea, but sometimes the words need to come out. Now, this one girl is being demonized for something that might have just been said in a fleeting moment of anger.


On the other hand, perhaps these are the kind of things she says all the time. Parents do seem to fear their children these days, and it's great to see that some parents are still happy to take charge and make it clear to their kids that they don't get to be horrible and still have everything they want.

While I respect that he stood up and refused to let his daughter walk all over him, I think he overstepped the mark with the way he did it. :)

T.D. McFrost said...

I guess shooting an electronic device is a tad overdoing it, huh? :)

Kyra Lennon said...

Well, I might have just thrown it out of the window ;)

T.D. McFrost said...

LOL, ya. Or, better yet, no internet access!

A lot of kids these days would die without Facebook.

Kyra Lennon said...

Honestly, I don't know how well I would cope without Facebook! :p

T.D. McFrost said...

I have never been on Facebook. I'll join the bandwagon when I have a reason, like a book deal or something. I know that if I join Facebook now, I'll be fired! I usually take time out of my work hours to do all sort of stuff, including blogging, so imagine if I had Facebook!

Lord have mercy! :D

Kyra Lennon said...

Haha, it is quite addictive! Do you not tweet either?

T.D. McFrost said...

No. Twitter scares me, it looks so confusing.

Kyra Lennon said...

It's not so difficult, and not quite as addictive as Facebook :D

Anyway, I should quit hijacking your comments lol! Have a great weekend!

T.D. McFrost said...

Not at all. You think I'd continue to comment if I wasn't enjoying your company?

But if you must go I understand. Have a great weekend too!

Kyra Lennon said...

Well, that is a good point. But sometimes people reply just to be polite!

I'm actually doing nothing this evening, aside from a few edits on my WIP. :D

Bess Weatherby said...

Interesting. Sometimes I want to shoot my own computer.

I'm stopping by from the campaign. We're both in the fantasy group. As soon as I saw your banner, I knew we just had to be friends!

Bkloss said...

I love that you blogged about this, and I whole-heartedly agree with you. This age seems to be one of entitlement, and I grow more and more aggravated every time I see it.

Okay, so every teen complains about their parents. I did, too. But if you're willing to put things out on the internet for the world to see, you better be willing to suffer the world's consequences - even if it is public humiliation. You've just done that to your parents, why shouldn't they have a right to give it back?

Anyway, even though I probably wouldn't go as far as shooting a computer (though the argument can be made that, since he purchased it, he can do whatever the heck he wants with it), I was encouraged seeing a parent take a stand.

Not that I have an opinion on the matter.

BTW, as someone on here said, you SHOULD get a facebook!!! :)

Also, nice profile pic!

Nick said...

I didn't actually watch the video, but I read the rest of the post. There are some great points in there. I'm fifteen, and I'm still in the process of learning work ethic. The more I do chores and help my parents out with things they ask of me, the more mature (and happy, surprisingly) I become.

This post nailed that on the head.

Rebekah Loper said...

I love that video! (Stopping by from the campaign, by the way - I'm in both the YA and Fantasy groups.)

I completely agree with how he dealt the situation (though I personally wouldn't have chosen the route of shooting the laptop).

I'm 26, it wasn't that long ago when I was that girl's age. I NEVER considered ranting to my friends online about having to do chores. I ranted, yes, but never about things that I understood were my responsibility because I was a part of that family.

When I was 16, I wasn't even allowed to drive, because I was to scatter-brained. I was homeschooled, and pretty much responsible to make sure - on my own! - all my schoolwork was completed. I did algebra THREE TIMES of my own free will because I didn't understand it.

I was actively involved in 4-H. I regularly volunteered for 4-H events, I helped clean out barns, I gave tours to school children, and I picked up trash from the side of the road.

I didn't get paid for any of it. I'm so glad I wasn't. Now I know what my work is actually worth - a lot.

Talli Roland said...

Seems a bit extreme, but I can understand why he did it. I agree that children need to understand societal values.

Jocelyn Rish said...

I thought it was pretty funny. If I had a kid, I probably would have locked up the laptop or sold it rather than destroying it. However you could see the hurt and anger as he talked, so I think he really wanted to make a point. And he did. :-)

Saying Hello from the YA Campaign group.

Miranda Hardy said...

I made my two children watch this video a few days ago. They are 12 and 16. The 16 year old helps around the house and completes every task I as of her, no complaints. She truly appreciates all I do for her. My son, on the other hand, currently has all his electronics taken away because of his behavior in school.

While I watched that video, I understand the frustration he has gone through. Would I go to that extreme? No. But, he is a product of his environment and that is they way things are done there. I think I'd probably donate that laptop to an underprivileged child in need. Luckily, I haven't needed to, but I would if ever given a reason to.

Creepy Query Girl said...

I did see this video and I'm not surprised how much controversy it has gotten. Actually, I think you can learn more about certain mentalities from the general comments section than from the video itself. A really interesting case. Personally, I think it took balls to see his daughter's punishmen through and it set a good example for others. You don't need a gun to 'stick to your guns':) Looking forward to your post for the origins blogfest!

Anonymous said...

That guy's my hero...he made his point, removed the offending hardware, and all without lifting his hand to his daughter. A very creative solution in my opinion.

I'm a fellow campaigner and I just stopped by to say hey...and found this very interesting discussion. I don't write fiction--I blog--but I want to learn how. I am looking forward to what you have to teach me!

Anonymous said...

Hi T.D. Stopping by from the campaign. Love the video. Don't think it was over the top at all. Children aren't afraid of consequences anymore. And most don't respect their parents or anyone in a position of authority.

I'm called the mean one in the family because I don't coddle my niece. I make her pick up whatever mess she made and I have her help me around the house when she's here. She wants to make cookies? Fine, but she's helping wash the dishes afterwards. And TV? Only an hour in the morning and at night (if she spent the night). If she's here a few hours, no computer or television, we're outside doing something.

Glad to meet you! Can't wait to see your campaign offerings.
Melanie

T.D. McFrost said...

Bess: Hi, so good to meet you!

Barbara: A lot of young people don't have proper discipline. Therefore, they feel as though their actions have no consequences. In my generation, if you couldn't even stand in a room where grown folks were speaking, unless invited, and only so that they could compliment your attire or your cute looks. My mom had "the look", it was like fire in a stare, once we saw that we knew to back the hell up. LOL

Nick: Hey buddy. Once you've done chores on a regular basis, you kinda get used to it. The only time you'll hate it is if you have to be somewhere -- like at the water park with your friends, or at the movies. At least that's when I disliked it. But I mumbled to myself, did the thing, kissed mom goodbye and went on my way.

Rebekah: Hi there. I've never seen that name spelled like that. Super cool!

I agree with you 100%. I also wanted to mention that I hate Algebra. I just hate math in general. I would die if I had to do it 4 times! The thought of it makes me dizzy.

Oh, and one last thing: GO TEAM YA/ FANTASY!

Talli: Hi, so very nice of you to drop by! It feels so good to have a celebrity comment on my blog. :D

Jocelyn: Hi there!

His daughter cut him deep and he wanted her to feel that pain. I think if he were crazy, he might try and physically hurt his daughter, but he didn't.

Which groups are you apart of? If you're on team YA/ Fantasy, then GO TEAM!

Miranda: Your sixteen year old sounds amazing! You did a really good job with both your kids, so kudos! :D

Creepy: Ya, these comments have been incredibly vast and I want to thank each and everyone for being so honest. You guys rock!

Cindy: Hello there! I'm flattered you think so highly of me. Thank you so much for the kind words. I already followed your amazing blog and I hope to see you again. :D

ryan field said...

I don't have kids. I'm not getting myself into trouble (it happens to me a lot...lol), but I always love your posts. You always choose interesting topics.

Spanj said...

Excellent! If only more parents put their foot down with their kids!

Visiting from the campaign, nice to meet you!

Anonymous said...

Stopping by from the campaign. Interesting post. I don't think he should've shot the laptop (all that money wasted)but the daughter definitely deserved punished.

Donna Amis Davis said...

Hi T.D.

Very interesting site you have here. Loved the story of how you got started writing. Greetings from a fellow platform campaigner.

This is such an interesting discussion. I applaud a strong father who tries to instill values in his daughter. So many parents seem to be afraid of their kids.

What if he did pay her for her chores, then charged her for her room and board, and all her living expenses? Minimum wage multiplied by the amount of time the chores should take, subtracted from her share of the food, her percentage of the rent or mortgage, insurance, gas, utilities, clothing, 'cleaning woman's' wages, and so forth. She would be in huge debt to her parents.

By the way, I'm an old lady (57) and if I could learn Facebook, and begin to start getting a handle on Twitter, surely someone as young and bright as you can!

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