I lied to my parents

Am I the only one that thinks the tone of Facebook has changed over the last few years? I mean many have learned the hard way the obvious lessons about drunken photos and political fights; yes there still things in modern times that one should consider keeping to themselves. But what about all of the causes we need to know more about? Does anybody really think that showing me a photo of a mangled puppy is going to do anything other than piss me off? The action I will take is probably not what you had in mind.

I saw a post the other day of a cute, and obviously very happy, little black boy. Smiling for the camera, he could have easily been from the family album of several of my friends. But he was not. It was a shared post with a caption that stated “If you don’t share this you are a racist”. Not only did I not share it, I no longer have to concern myself with other posts from this person showing up on my page. I don’t get it…and I’m not a racist.

But one that got my goat today was a very popular post with hundreds of thousands of likes and almost twenty thousand shares. I read many of the comments only to discover that on this one I was an island. It concerned one of the most basic functions that we all deal with every day; parenting. It was a photo of a man standing beside his daughter in a public parking lot. The girl was leaning against a car holding up a hand painted sign that read “I lied to my parents”. He must have seen the video of the man shooting his daughter’s computer.

Maybe the man should have been holding up a sign that read “I’m such a terrible parent I need you to help me raise my daughter”? Poor fella, he is obviously out of his league with this child. Maybe his boss should make him stand in front of his job and hold a sign that says “If I lay out of work one more time I’m going to get fired”? Or better yet, pull his pants down in the break room when he’s late! I’m not sure embarrassment is a good deterrent for crime, but I’m damn sure it’s not a good parenting skill!

I’ve been punished by my parents and I’ve punished my own child. I was spanked a time or two and my daughter has been as well. This was not a common occurrence, but when there was no other choice it was done in the privacy of our own home. I believe that it was effective. To do in public, what should be done in private, sends a message that does far greater damage than a few taps on the backside. It sends the message that there is absolutely no one you can trust. You will never learn to do the right things from someone you can’t trust.