My first Daddy Rant.
I've been a Daddy for nearly seven and half years now. I've been a Stay-At-Home-Dad for eight weeks. It's only just now that I've come to realize that the American media seems to think that dads are, well... for lack of a better word or expression... fucking idiots.
Homer Simpson is now the ideological father today. You see him not just in his trademarked television cartoon, but in other venues as well. Just take a look at ANY other show on TV that has a father. There he is, the sad bumbling idiot. He's always the guy that can't quite get it figured out. The sympathetic character that barely has enough control over his faculties to not wear a diaper. Cartoons on Cartoon Network. Fox, CBS, ABC, NBC, all those other networks that I seriously can't pay attention to long enough to figure out who they are... they all have shows like that.
Now, the bumbling idiot dad is not new. It's been a growing trend ever since Dick Van Dyke tripped over his hassock. Seriously though, Dads in those shows were breadwinners. They advised, counseled, educated and led. Not to knock the Moms down, but in only one show... ever... was the Mom ever the idiot.
All In The Family.
Even in Married with Children the Mom ran the house.
Now, the more modern shows started depicting Moms for what they were. Strong, intelligent, and often the glue that held families together. But I'm not sure how, or why, the dads turned into Tim Taylors.
Now, I'll grant you, the average dad does do Homer-ish and Toolman-ish things on occasion. We're guys. While I've never tripped over a hassock, I do trip over things and let's just say that some things are inevitable.
I just can't get into family sitcoms anymore because the dad is an imbecile.
Let's talk drama now. The single guys are of course the coolest, sexiest, most awesome dudes on TV. Of course there's a little bit of room for dads. They are often divorcès, tortured souls, or killers. Mostly they are killers. Vile, gross, disgusting, and all too charming.
It's a no wonder that there are moms groups that won't allow SAHDs in. They are totally freaked out.
Thank you Law And Order.
Meh. And people wonder why I watch Zombie movies. You find a dad in one of those, he will KILL everything to save his family.
Now that is a real dad.
I've been a Daddy for nearly seven and half years now. I've been a Stay-At-Home-Dad for eight weeks. It's only just now that I've come to realize that the American media seems to think that dads are, well... for lack of a better word or expression... fucking idiots.
Homer Simpson is now the ideological father today. You see him not just in his trademarked television cartoon, but in other venues as well. Just take a look at ANY other show on TV that has a father. There he is, the sad bumbling idiot. He's always the guy that can't quite get it figured out. The sympathetic character that barely has enough control over his faculties to not wear a diaper. Cartoons on Cartoon Network. Fox, CBS, ABC, NBC, all those other networks that I seriously can't pay attention to long enough to figure out who they are... they all have shows like that.
Now, the bumbling idiot dad is not new. It's been a growing trend ever since Dick Van Dyke tripped over his hassock. Seriously though, Dads in those shows were breadwinners. They advised, counseled, educated and led. Not to knock the Moms down, but in only one show... ever... was the Mom ever the idiot.
All In The Family.
Even in Married with Children the Mom ran the house.
Now, the more modern shows started depicting Moms for what they were. Strong, intelligent, and often the glue that held families together. But I'm not sure how, or why, the dads turned into Tim Taylors.
Now, I'll grant you, the average dad does do Homer-ish and Toolman-ish things on occasion. We're guys. While I've never tripped over a hassock, I do trip over things and let's just say that some things are inevitable.
I just can't get into family sitcoms anymore because the dad is an imbecile.
Let's talk drama now. The single guys are of course the coolest, sexiest, most awesome dudes on TV. Of course there's a little bit of room for dads. They are often divorcès, tortured souls, or killers. Mostly they are killers. Vile, gross, disgusting, and all too charming.
It's a no wonder that there are moms groups that won't allow SAHDs in. They are totally freaked out.
Thank you Law And Order.
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| Do I look like an imbecile? No? Good. |
Now that is a real dad.
Now see I grew up pretty much fatherless. I mean to say my "original" father walked away when I was 4, My step dad became an ex due to his bad behavior towards my brothers and I and the man my mom is married to now which is known as hubby 3 is pretty much a figure in my life but is sometimes removed. I mean I am an adult and it wasn't like we ever bonded.
ReplyDeleteI think its awesome that dads who stay home for a change get to see what its like for us stay at home moms. Granted things are a lot different than they were back in the 50's; life lessons take more than an episode to learn and usually require more explaining to the child for them to understand.
Congrats on making sure that the world knows that men aren't bumbling Homer Simpsons when it comes to the kids, or 50's throwbacks. There is a happy medium. I am glad you can be there for your kids and make sure they know who you are and that you are a very integral part of their life as much as Mom is.
Thank you. Any compliment from a Stay At Home Mom means I must be doing something right.
ReplyDeleteToo many men out there grew up over the last 40 years confused about what it means to be a man. I was fortunate in that my father was there and the most important lesson he taught me was, "Know your priorities."
The key point here is: he was there.
Too many men aren't. Most don't even know why. And while I'm a proud card carrying member of the Asshole Club, there are those who give us a bad name.
I know of a story (those involved shall remain anonymous... for now) where a guy and gal got married. Happy! They went to school. They found careers. They got married. They got pregnant. He decided that married with children really wasn't where he wanted to be and opted out.
He QUIT.
I can barely stand being in the same room with him. The urge to punch him in the nose...
But that would be wrong. Satisfying, but wrong.
You can punch my "dad" in the nose any time you want.
ReplyDelete