And here is what is going on in Dad's world now... HILARIOUS!! Being hounded by the media, the public and social services. Looks like Tommy is a mobile veterinarian in North Carolina with lots of local community support!

Tommy Jordan

Well, I agree that shooting the laptop was wasteful, and personally, I'd just give it away (if there are any other parents out there tempted to shoot out their child's expensive toys - pm me. I'll give you my address. I still have a flip phone, no lap top and no ipod. It's a pathetic existence).

Still, after reading the link thetalady provided (particularly his response to the questions some media outlet had sent him) and watching the video - I like the guy. Wouldn't have made the same choice, but he didn't sound like a nut case, dysfunctional dad either IMO.

Maybe between teaching and parenting I've spent entirely too much time around teenagers. :rolleyes:

I agree.

I can understand why some people are turned off by how the guy handled the situation (posting a Youtube video to address a family issue), but I'm not sure why everyone is so upset about him shooting the laptop. He destroyed property that he purchased. So what? I didn't finish my lunch this afternoon, but no one yelled at me because some starving kids in Africa could have used the scraps of my tuna fish sandwich that I ended up throwing away. I say he can do what he wants with his own property.

At least shooting it was quick and to the point...

http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_u...?v=dN3v0drnTdQ

iAgree. After reading his responses, including how his daughter reacted, I think he's probably an okay if not slightly....er...temperamental father. And I really respect his posts to the media that he's refusing to go on talk shows because he's not interested in capitalizing off of this.

That is complete bullcrap. I am sick and tired of people putting their lives on the Internet and then claiming that they do not want the media and potential capital (either public praise, public humiliation, or money) that comes with it. If he did not want this to be all over the public domain and to be invited on talk shows and so forth, he would have punished his daughter in private. Creating a video and a facebook page makes him the same Internet-crazed idiot that he depicted his daughter as. She talked about her family on the Internet and he...talked about his family on the Internet. Same thing.

He should be hounded by the media and public and social services. You get what you pay for.

As far as I am concerned, the issue here is not the wasted laptop. It is just a laptop. The issue is that the father is a hypocrite who would use a gun in this context and who does not know how to discipline his child. I think he is a loony. He needs to contact those parents who played the kissing game with their children at the Minnesota pep rally and form a Loony Parents Bookclub.

They are discussing this on the morning news and showing public opinions. The responses are mixed which includes people like myself who think he is an idiot.

His response? LOL. He says he would do it all again and his wife, daughter, and family are fine with it. He says THEIR opinion is all that matters. :rolleyes: Then why in the hell didn't you just do this in front of their watchful eyes? Why did you do this for the public to see? You wanted to make a public statement and now you are pretending that the private is all that matters? Shut up.

In the original video, there is a large building in the background that looks like a school, dorm, something ... There is also vehicular traffic on the roads behind him. Discharging a firearm in an unprotected place, with no protection against ricochet, no safe area in case of a rogue shot, etc. and no life-or-death situation (the only time, IMHO, shooting without safety gear is reasonable) is irresponsible.

What he does with his own property is his business, I agree, though I think there were much better choices that would also teach lessons.

Well, then, Sydney, you've got a real treat in store for you! I used to joke that kids lose their brains when they hit 13 and don't get them back until they're 20 (or much later, for some).
You haven't lived until you've had the pleasure of living with and disciplining a teenager, one of God's most self-centered, illogical, and antagonistic creations. Yeah, we were ALL that way once. Ask your parents, if they're still on earth, if you don't believe it! (And then give them an extra hug for letting you live!:p)

I think Dad may have needed to cool off 24 hours before posting the video...but maybe he already had. I think maybe he should have picked up an older laptop to shoot...but maybe he did. I don't know if the area he's in has laws against discharging firearms, but maybe he's not in such a location.

In short, I really don't know enough about the situation and the reasonings behind the video to judge. So I'm not going to judge.

A few months ago, National Geographic published an article about how teenagers' brains are different from adults' brains. Turns out they pretty much DO lose their brains for a few years!

actually, the time frame of "brain losing" is quite a bit longer than that. I just attended an all day intensive workshop at Barrow Neurological Institute on Neuroscience and Cognitive Development. Turns out that the female frontal lobes don't fully mature until the 20s, and the males, even later. There's actually a plateau in development that kicks in around 15-16 and persists into the early 20s. Evolutionary explanation: raging hormones = procreate, procreate, procreate!

Simplifying, of course, but it sure helped me understand the "idiocy" that is exhibited by freshmen (both male and female) and why it's so much easier to interact with juniors and seniors.

True...some males, not until their 50s!:D

I am going to dust off my "holier than thou" hat and say that instead of destroying such a nice computer, or any for that matter, perhaps the best solution would be to take his daughter down to a local homeless shelter or youth club where kids don't have the luxury of a laptop, and donate it to them.
Then he could proceed to make her pay for it back and go on with the video and other disciplinary actions.
This way she not only learns her lesson but someone more deserving gets the computer.

I agree 100%


Yes, they are all that, some days, rarely, in my experience. But using a gun in a disciplinary action is just beyond what I consider reasonable.

Agreed...it seems pretty ridiculous. He just wanted attention (and got it).

Let's see . . . indicators of abuse . . .

-Displaying weapons
-Destruction of (victim’s) property
-Humiliation (of victim)
-Monitoring and controlling the victim