Jennifer H. Willard

February 13, 2012 - BlogSquad,

I’m not a parent yet, so I fully know I don’t understand the challenges associated with raising children.  Let alone teenage girls.  However, I was one once (so I completely empathize) and was also raised in a very strict, German family where the term “five figure salute” might ring a bell for some. And, where the word “switch” to my great grandmother was a thin, flexible branch that could NOT break and was brought out when someone misbehaved. NOT, the audio/video processor we all manufacture, install, and use in our AV professional lives.

So, you’ll have to forgive me for busting at the seams laughing AND being 100 percent supportive of North Carolina dad, Mr. Tommy Jordan, who took out a full cylinder of his .45 revolver on his 15 year old daughter’s laptop.  This was in response to her going on Facebook and throwing out what she thought was a private missive about her parent’s to her friends.  About how horrible her parent’s were for making her do… her chores.

Needless to say, the video and the episode has gone viral.  It’s garnered the usual suspects of responders– CBS, Child Protective Services, and about a million people who have no idea who this man is, but, are ready to tar and feather him in the town square for being the world’s worst dad.  Here’s the thing– this is guy is incredible smart.  Not just as an IT professional, but, as a man with traditional values which are very much being lost in our society.

We live in a “New World Order” where anyone can take to social media to start rumors and assaults that more often than not have no truth to them. Where as, this dad used that to deliver a 21st century grounding in the medium our world– and his daughter–operate today.  Brilliant.  As he said and as I am sure most people can relate, none of his daughter’s earlier transgressions or punishments seemed to be having any long-term behavior change before the actions he took.

IMO, it’s all too easy to sit at our computers and throw things out while not fully understanding the impact of our words (or maybe some do). The art of timing, tone, and just plain conversation is lost in the cyberspace of always on.  And, then just as fast, we walk away and move on.  Or, we leave things in silence knowing there’s so much more to be said because we’re busy, unsure, uninterested—who knows? What we don’t stop to consider is there is still another person on the other side wondering what we meant.  The one thing that has not and will NOT change is we are living beings that have all the same feelings and thoughts we had when all we could do was sit and talk to each other.

And, more importantly, this dad addresses the damage Facebook and Twitter can and is having on our societal morals because how we feel in that moment will change.  But, unlike a letter which we usually give much thought to,  our cyber words live well beyond our feelings and can easily take on a life of their own.  Our children especially are unaware and not cognizant enough to understand this.  (See Dad’s last comment #16 about lessons learned)

Going back to not being a parent, I understand times are different than when I was raised. And that’s my point.  When I was told to go outside and play, we’d climb trees we weren’t supposed to, sneak on farms, and get into all sorts of mischievous in our neck of the woods.  It’s just our neck of the woods was a lot smaller and less likely to be picked up on by someone who had no clue or business in our personal family space.

And, can I say my favorite slide is #11- Yeah, Ms. Jessica Mason-Everret, I’m talking to you.  THAT is just making me bust out loud because he handles my whole point in such a hilarious and well-said manner!!

At the end of the day, this man seems to come across as a genuine, down-to-earth, caring, and thoughtful father and man.  Whether he knows it or not, he is exactly the kind of man that raised me and the values I think that make our country so great.  I hope we always hold onto that no matter how technology changes.