Sunday, March 30, 2014

Dad of the Year

Could the dad in this video going viral be any more of an a-hole?



It made television. So it has to be viral somewhere if not this particular video.

But the dad really said these words in response to his son's disappointment? It's okay? You had the same reaction as I did, bud? It's all right?

Is the dad serious?

Look at the daughters. They move away from the cake with unsure looks as if they don't know what they are supposed to think. They should have had the freedom to shriek with glee, as little girls do.

What a special memory they have, now.

I have a son and a daughter, and I love them each the same. The idea that a father would tell his daughters that their gender is something that you cope with as a second-best outcome is horrible.

I'm horrified that the father would voice his disappointment--and then capture his opinion on video. If that father really had disappointment, he should have taken that thought to the grave unspoken--and certainly unfilmed.

And I'm horrified that he kept recording when his son had a melt down. Really? You want to save that memory? Oh, but it went viral. You were on TV. It's okay, then. You get 15 minutes of fame.

I'm sure the father and son will love their new sister.

The son is young. Give him a break. He doesn't deserve to have this reaction preserved forever, defining part of him this way.

I won't draw broader conclusions about the father, either. He surely loves his son and daughters with all his heart. In time, he'll probably feel guilt for the rest of his life for uttering those words for all the world to hear.

The father never should have voiced his disappointment and should have destroyed that video rather than upload it to the web for permanent storage.

Sometimes people just act stupid.

UPDATE: Huh. Twelve hours later and I notice the video was taken down. Sometimes stupid fades, I guess.