What would you do if your teenager posted a note on Facebook essentially calling you a tyrant and saying she’s tired of being your slave? I would be horrified, but since my children were grown before the advent of social media, I really can’t say for sure. One North Carolina dad who faced this situation chose an act of dramatic retaliation that got the attention of more than 28 million people. Tommy Jordan is an internet technology professional who discovered a profanity-laden note posted on his 16-year-old daughter’s facebook page, in which she complained about onerous chores like sweeping and making beds. Because it was her second social media offense, he got so mad that he video-taped himself reading her note aloud and ranting about it. He then shot her laptop with hollow-point bullets and said that if she wants another one, she’ll have to buy it herself. Jordan uploaded this video to YouTube and has since become famous, or infamous, (depending on one’s perspective) for his foray into what some would call “extreme parenting.”
The High Calling talked to Laity Leadership Institute senior fellow and child psychiatrist Allan Josephson, M.D. about the video. Josephson said the reason it has gone viral is because it taps into the frustrations many families in our culture feel. The immediacy of social media is a problem, but the underlying one is more fundamental. …
Read the rest at TheHighCalling.org.
Image by Jenny Huey. Sourced via Wikimedia Commons.
