J's mom talked all four of her kids that way when angry. Yelling and insults. She is much MUCH mellower now but it definitely scarred them.

My dad smacked us when we were horrible, but no insults or put-downs from either parent. I consider myself lucky--not that we didn't have knock-down drag-out fights. You did NOT want to be in a room with me and my mother when I was 14 or so. Oh, the shouting and drama and flouncing from the room to go play records at a loud volume. I was such a pain.

I did not know that Bligh had more than one mutiny under him! Talk about a black mark on one's record. First time, shame on the mutineers, but second time --!

Few parents would ever come off as even fit to have a child, if their low moments were taped and made public.

Or we might all suddenly go, "Hey, check that out, parenting is hard! I too occasionally fail, and may stop dunking my head in battery acid every time I do." ...It never ceases to boggle me the perfectness (and ideological) standards to which popular culture holds parents. Like, you know when a toddler has a meltdown on public transit, and half the traincar is disgusted with the parent? What they really should be thinking is, "This is the price we pay for the species not dying out. What do I have in my pockets -- a snack? a paper clip? Some colorful paper? -- that can help that poor parent out?"

Seriously, a rant like that is never an isolated incident. It's too long and vitriolic.

Seriously -- that's not always true, even if though was true in your experience. Do I think it's likely in this Baldwin thing? Actually, I do, but I just can't know, because I don't know them, and because I know it's not always true. I'm not even speaking personally about my own experience as a parent (my kids are pretty darned good, and still young), but I'm thinking of people I know to be good enough parents that I'd leave my own kids with them, but who have had a hideous moment or two in their parenting history.

Some parents are generally emotionally abusive, but most ordinary parents I know have had moments where they have totally lost it on a kid (particularly as their kids get older) -- wrongly and unfairly and feel ugly, afterward. In my opinion, it sort of ties into what you said earlier -- when you (correctly, imo) pegged his verbal onslaught as an insult. There are parents who lose at roughly the Baldwin level (name calling, or not) once or twice in a kid's lifetime, are ashamed, and know they were wrong. There are other parents who do this most times things don't go their way, because they have their own issues, and some weird sense of entitlement.

Cheney's in town today to speak at Brigham Young University's commencement. There are protests planned. Al Jazeera English is in town. And I've suddenly realized that the crosshairs of some of the world's whack-a-loons are tracking to settle over my town.

I want this day to be over and that man away from me and my commute.

Mormons and Cheney and Al Jazeera, oh my!

Be careful, I hear if you get too close to Cheney you'll get all cold and feel like you'll never be happy again.

I get a mental image of Cheney giving the commencement speech in Jon Stewart's penguin impersonation.

I get a mental image of Cheney giving the commencement speech in Jon Stewart's penguin impersonation.

Oh, I would pay good money to see that....

Cheney's getting an honorary degree, too. But first he meets with the Mormon Church leaders in Salt Lake.

Like, you know when a toddler has a meltdown on public transit, and half the traincar is disgusted with the parent? What they really should be thinking is, "This is the price we pay for the species not dying out. What do I have in my pockets -- a snack? a paper clip? Some colorful paper? -- that can help that poor parent out?"

Or on a plane...I live in fear of sitting next to the asshole who is going to spend the flight giving me the look...mostly out of fear that i might verbally assault him/her if pushed too far.

The image of Stewart!Cheney makes me laugh. (Stewart!Cheney makes me think of Stewart/Cheney which is scary indeed. Eww..brain bleach!!!)

I don't know what to make of the Baldwin thing (although if he was someone I didn't like I imagine my view would be much more clear cut). I think Cindy has it right though. We can't really judge from that one message whether he's a shitty parent or was having a shitty parenting time right then. And I agree with everybody saying the worst villain is the person who let it go public. That poor girl.

On a much lighter note...remember when the World's Tallest Man saved those dolphins in China? My band wrote a song about it. I'm sorry I can't share the song at the moment (for, I can safely say, it does ROCK) but I do have some pictures from our first performance of it:

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