Letters to the Editor
-
Right on
I am completely astounded and impressed by this article! Finally, someone has said parents don't have to be perfect. I get so sick of reading about all these celebrities who have babies and say "it's wonderful" 'I'm in heaven" "it's what I always dreamed of". I am a mom and I love my girls, but having children was not at ALL what I dreamed of or expected. It was (and is) a crazy tornado and once you think you've got the hang of it you just realize that you DON'T.
I was also not as worried about Alec Baldwin's phone message as I was about Kim Basinger's authorization to release it. We don't know what has happened in this situation -it's personal and it should have been kept that way. But for Kim Basinger to use her daughter as a pawn IN THE MEDIA in her personal divorce/custody case it sickening to me. She obviously does not have her daughter's best interests at heart.
Personally, I try never to raise my voice to my children, treat them with respect, etc. However, my husband has no qualms to raise his voice and speak harshly (although typically wouldn't call the girls "pigs", maybe "you look like a pig, go brush your hair")
Who do you think these kids respond to and go out of the way to behave in front of?
Aside from that, sometimes kids need to be spoken to harshly - ESPECIALLY by parents - if parents think it can do them some good. I do not think that Alec Baldwin sounded like he was trying to be vengeful - I only think he was reacting to something that his daughter had done by letting her know how he felt about it. Maybe he was a jerk about it. I don't think that makes him a criminal. I think he would have been more of a jerk if he ignored her and made no effort to contact her at all.
-
Finale theory
"I'm kind of wondering at what point Salon writers, who are presumably among the hipper, more sophisticated people around, are going to figure out that all these big celebrity oh-so-shocking shockers are PUBLICITY STUNTS, timed to coincide with drumming up RATINGS. HELLO. The 30 Rock finale is this Thursday, so it's time to grind out some guaranteed media interest in Alec Baldwin -- or should I say, Alec Baldwin's CHARACTER, who is, COINCIDENTALLY, a thoughtless little pig!
"Same dumb crap as Trump/Martha, Trump/Rosie, various actors getting in minor little "legal" troubles that just happen to coincide with their movies about to come out, etc., etc., etc."
I totally agree with your theory, especially regarding the Trump and Rosie saga. But I tend to think this Baldwin thing is not a stunt because of the potential humiliation and stress it might put upon his daughter Ireland. Maybe I'm naive to say this, but I doubt that even the most narcissistic, publicity-hungry actor would want to subject their children to such scrutiny. Well, I hope so anyway! I do agree that the timing of the incident is suspicious, though.
-
Heather's value system
The things Heather thinks it's okay to treat sarcastically:
child abuse
rape (only of men, sorry)
The things Heather thinks it's not okay to treat sarcastically:
addiction -- she covered that HBO special on addiction without the least bit of sarcasm
So now I wonder how she'd handle a child abuser who only rapes male addicts.
Since addiction is involved, doesn't that mean she'd be forced to treat the child abuse and rape seriously?
-
I guess Heather's values are also America's values
To be dead serious about addiction and then joke about prison rape.
Alas, that is a reflection of mainstream American values. After all, we consider drug addiction such a serious threat that we don't mind at all making drug addicts sleep in locked cages with convicted rapists.
I guess I should stop complaining and get with the program and go out and verbally abuse someone's child today.
-
Sick of this "Anonymous" Character - They Add NOTHING
Except excessive whining and general sour grapes to any conversation thread.
Is there an "ignore" feature for really lame posters who waste space trolling?
-
Do your job, DeeGeeOh
And we won't have a problem. But I don't consider children exempt from the rules of human conduct, and if you won't bring yours to heel, don't bitch at me when I do.
If you're grown up enough to bear children, be grown up enough to raise them. Otherwise you've got no scope for complaint when other folks do what you are unequipt or unwilling to.
-
Alec Baldwin's Michael Richards/Mel Gibson moment
I've long been a big fan of Alec Baldwin's acting, but this incident is going to cloud my enjoyment, to say the least, of any future performances. Yeah, I'm a parent, I know we all lose it from time to time, but still, it's hard to put this particular piece of nastiness out of my mind.
One lesson: Don't lose your temper on the record, any kind of record, or your outburst might end up as evidence in the court of public opinion, if not a court of law.
-
same spine tingle as when I finished Heller's Something Happened
Great stuff. Reading those last couple of paragraphs I experienced the same spine tingle/shutter/emotional thingy that I experienced when I read the last couple of pages of Joseph Heller's 'Somthing Happened.' I didn't see it coming. Loved it.
-
Cut him some slack
Great article!
When I became aware of this episode, and subsequently heard the tape, I was not the least bit surprised. Nor was I particularly outraged. Being the father of a now 20 year old daughter, it brought back memories of the terrible early teens (11-15) that my wife and I now look back on with no small amount of relief in having behind us. Listening to Balwin, I could almost hear myself reacting to some dumbass thing that my daughter pulled as she did her best to work through the tribulations of her adolescence. But, I also remembered the many other sitdowns that we had where I took the calm, measured "good parent" approach in explaining to her the errors of her ways. My experience was that sometimes you have to let the little darlings know, in no uncertain terms, just how pissed off you are.
Just because you do lose it every now and then doesn't make you a bad parent. Having lived through it myself, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Bassinger releasing the tape to the public, on the other hand .......