More on the negligent parent front

We've had this discussion before. And here we go again. It's getting worse, y'all, not better. And it's going to continue to get worse, not better. Call me what you will (I've likely been called worse by better), but there's simply no way in hell that I'd ever, in a million years, place any of my children in a situation like that, including the boys but especially the girls. Indeed, as I've said several times before, I don't consider it one of my parental responsibilities to go about destroying their natural defense mechanisms endowed in them by their Creator. Quite the opposite.

Speaking of which, I learned only yesterday that we have a group of workers, of Mexican descent, working across the way in our neighborhood. Apparently one of them had the idea the other day to stop his vehicle and talk to two of my daughters while they were walking to a friend's house about a block away. To which the girls beat a path back to the house. But the larger point is that apparently the individual in question is looking to get his *ss in a sling.

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Another bludgeoning waiting to happen

What did I say the other day about worthless parent-figures who indulge and actually encourage unacceptable behavior from their children? Something about their bragging about how head-strong or strong-willed (re: undisciplined) their children are, as if to say that (1) this is a quality unique to that particular child (Newsflash: it ain't!), and (2) that being a strong-willed, disrespectful, unruly, assertive smart-mouth is a particularly laudable quality for a five year old to possess. But then of course, if these people thought otherwise they would have nipped that little problem in the bud long before little Grace turned five.

Well, anyway, apparently this sort of thing is so commonplace today that they actually pay people to write columns to the effect, letting all of the other negligent parent-figures off the hook for abrogating their authority and creating ungovernable monsters then turning them loose on a semi-conscious society. Here's a snippit from the article in question:

In the end, it's all for naught. Sooner or later all of us fathers of daughters arrive at the same place: time is fleeting, and our precious little girls are leaving, and too soon, and more than likely on the arm of some scheming longhair who isn't good enough for our angel and doesn't have the sense to know that the bill of a baseball hat goes in the front.

In all actuality this type is very likely perfectly suited to your little angel. You know, the same precious little girl who at five years old had already begun to borrow lines from her mother's playbook:

Like all fathers, I don't want to be left behind, but looking back I realize that Grace had already begun to pull ahead when she was about 5 years old. I was a Mr. Mom back then, and she got mad at me one day because I stepped on her My Little Pony or some other egregious act. She yelled: "Daddy, you're stupid!" I sternly [TM: yeah, I bet] told her that sort of behavior was just not OK and she needed to say she was sorry. She put one hand on her hip, looked me in the eye, and said, "I'm sorry you're stupid."

What?! You didn't realize that little Gracie picked up that attitude towards you from her mother-figure? What planet are you on, man?!

By the way, when's the next big horrorcore rap concert, ummm, dad? Not to worry though. I'm sure you'll sternly inform Miss Gracie that horrorcore rap music is bad, bad, bad. Just before she, hand on flinched hip, looks you square in the eye and informs you that you'll be taking her or she'll find herself another ride. After all, she's sorry you're too stupid to understand that she likes what she likes and that's all the justification she needs for doing it. But your stupidity ain't her problem now is it.

Best of luck to you, sir. You're definitely going to need it.

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Departing rant

We'll be leaving shortly, going out of town for the next several days, during which time I'll be away from the computer. We should be back at home around Tuesday of next week, but nothing's written in stone. It all depends on whether we get everything done in the allotted time frame, which depends on other unknown factors. But anyway...

This whole situation with Emma Niederbrock and her parent-figures bothers me intensely. I can't put out of my mind what pitiful excuses for "parents" Emma's mother and father truly were, right up to the point that they got sixteen year old Emma and themselves bludgeoned to death by a twenty year old crazed lunatic killer wannabe that they did not even know yet brought into the fold like he was some kind of trusted member of the family. But I don't rightly know which is more pitiful -- Emma's parents and their idiotic, head-in-the-clouds attitude towards parenting, or their defenders who say that manipulative teenage girls can be completely uncontrollable.

I know a little bit about this myself. Being the father of three daughters, among which are one teenage daughter and another pre-teen daughter. Not to mention that my home is like teen and pre-teen girl grand central station at times, very often in fact. Not to mention further that I work with teen and pre-teen girls on a regular basis in a coaching capacity. I know all about how they manipulate (or attempt to manipulate), not just their parents but other authority figures in their lives, including yours truly. I know all about it, believe me. What they don't know is how I turn that to my and their and society's advantage.

You can't fool a fooler, as they say.

I discuss the parental ineptitude of Emma Niederbrock's parent-figures a bit in the comment section of this post. In point of fact, not only were they inept parents in spite of all their credentials and achievements, they were inept adults. Which isn't by any means uncommon in today's world, but these people were an exceptional case in point. I'm interested in your thoughts.

P.S. My wife had to listen to this stuff half the night last evening. I thought I'd try to spare her some of it today. But somehow I don't think I've quite got it all out just yet.

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