Dad Takes Gun to Daughter’s Laptop and Posts Video of it on YouTube

We’ve all seen bad behavior on Facebook. Most of the time, it’s from the younger set – kids who haven’t quite realized yet that anything they post online never really goes away, it’s always floating around in cyberspace somewhere. That they need to be very careful about what they post. It’s the parent’s responsibility to teach their kids how to act responsibly online, and especially on social media sites such as Facebook.

A recent example of bad behavior came in the form of a YouTube video that went viral. The father, Tommy Jordan, was updating his daughter’s laptop when he came across some highly negative items on his daughter’s Facebook page about himself and the girl’s mother. While I in no way condone her behavior online, it’s what he did in response that I find completely disturbing and unacceptable. He takes the time to sit down — cigarette in hand — to make a video reading the post from his daughter, addressing each point. Then, after he finishes doling out her punishment, he proceeds to take his gun and shoot her laptop ten times.

Comments from people who have viewed the video ranged from total support given to the dad – many of these people are dealing with raising teenagers themselves and cheered him on. Many expressed the desire to do the very same thing to their own disrespectful offspring. Others – myself included – could not have been more disgusted at the immature and childish video response to the Facebook posting.

Of course the daughter was not being respectful posting her rant about her parents. She didn’t want him to see it, he was snooping. She didn’t take responsibility for her behavior and she should have realized that posting something means you can’t take it back. But her father’s reaction – demanding she respect him and her mother, couldn’t have been more off the mark. The way he responded lets me know that he doesn’t respect his daughter either. If he respected her and had always treated her as such, she would have grown up with respect for him and her mother as well, and it would have showed in her actions – no matter how much teen angst she was going through at the time. Demanding respect just because you are the parent doesn’t work.

Ironically, Jordan agrees with the “what you put out there stays out there forever” sentiment, although that didn’t stop him from his own bad behavior. Here’s what he had to say: “We’ve always told her that what you put online can affect you forever,” he said. “She’s seen first-hand through this video the worst possible scenario that can happen. One post, made by her Dad, will probably follow him the rest of his life; just like those mean things she said on Facebook will stick with the people her words hurt for a long time to come. Once you put it out there, you can’t take it back, so think carefully before you use the Internet to broadcast your thoughts and feelings.”

It’s the parent’s responsibility to set an example in everything for their children – online behavior included. Applauding this man’s bad example doesn’t do anything positive. His video certainly won’t help his relationship with his daughter. Playing out your issues with your child over the Internet is  terrible judgment — too bad he didn’t take his own advice.

Have you seen the video yet? Check it out here and tell us what you think.