Posted on 04/30/2008 12:08:11 PM PDT by PercivalWalks
Los Angeles, CA--Several thousand protesters have written, faxed or called Fox News executives to protest its launch of a new reality show called Bad Dads. According to Reuters, in Bad Dads child support collector Jim Durham "functions as a sort of 'Dog the Bounty Hunter' for tracking deadbeats...It's ambush reality TV."
Fathers & Families, the American Coalition for Fathers & Children, and Los Angeles journalist/radio commentator Glenn Sacks have partnered in a campaign to ask Fox to cancel Bad Dads. Fox's Los Angeles-based producers have decided to launch this Los Angeles-based show on "deadbeat dads" despite the fact that the California Department of Child Support Services itself recently admitted that the overwhelming majority of "deadbeat dads" are the product of problems and abuses within the child support system. According to the California Judicial Council, 80% of California child support debtors earn poverty level wages.
Dr. Ned Holstein, M.D., M.S., Executive Director of Fathers & Families Holstein, says:
"According to US Census data, noncustodial mothers are 20% more likely to default on their child support obligations than noncustodial fathers. There is absolutely no reason to name the show Bad Dads when the average noncustodial father is more likely to pay his child support than the average noncustodial mother."
Sacks explains:
"The worst part about Bad Dads is the way it publicly humiliates children of divorce by depicting their fathers as not loving or caring for them. These children did not volunteer to be humiliated on national television."
ACFC President Dr. Linda Nielsen, a Professor of Women's Studies & Education at Wake Forest University, says:
"Most kids who are too young to realize that 80% of divorced dads pay their full child support. This show may lead them to have negative opinions of divorced fathers, and those opinions could damage their relationships with their own dads."
Another problem with Bad Dads is that studies show that the arrearages for which "deadbeat dads" are pursued are often erroneous. For example, a recent Massachusetts audit found that the arrearages were incorrect in 92% of that state's cases.
Missouri Child Support Auditor Susan Montee recently said that the way child support arrearages are calculated in Missouri is "extremely sloppy...a total inattention to making sure these numbers are right."
Moreover, Bad Dads glorifies the role of private child support collection agencies, even though these agencies often exploit and deceive custodial mothers. In fact, women's advocates, including the National Organization for Women, have repeatedly condemned these agencies for mistreating women. Durham, the central figure in Bad Dads, has often been singled out by women's groups as a perpetrator of these abusive tactics.
Holstein explains:
"In general, the Fox network has usually been fair to fathers. This show is an unfortunate exception, and we hope Fox will soon understand this."
Glenn Sacks, http://www.glennsacks.com/foxbaddads/ [Note: If you or someone you love is faced with a divorce or needs help with child custody, child support, false accusations, Parental Alienation, or other family law or criminal law matters, ask Glenn for help by clicking here.]
If he loses his job, get another job. Your first priority is to feed your child and after your child is feed you can feed yourself.
Same thing about any bill, taxes, credit cards, whatever.
You owe it, you pay it. No complaining. No bankruptcy.
Especially taxes. You don't like the taxes in the US, move to another country.
I can't stand these complainers and deadbeats.
“If a male is going to make the decisions to have a child with a woman, than he needs to also accept responsibility for that child.”
Demonizing the male is so old school. It takes two to make a baby and both need to be responsible. Under current law the male does not get equal protection under the law. The woman is nearly always given preferential treatment. But its ok, cause its FOR THE CHILDREN.
I grew up with a dead beat dad. Seeing something like this on TV would not have helped me a tiny bit. People need to work on their marriages and make them work.
Good point, Kent.
And if she hides the child away for 2 1/2 years, while the courts do nothing, then what?
BTW, why is it only his responsibility to earn money to feed the child? Because she does the cooking?
What about the many fathers who have committed suicide because of being denied access to the children, while at the same time having their lives ruined by the ex-wife who doesn't want to give up her pre-divorce "lifestyle".
What about the kids of those fathers?
And yes, Fox could also do a show on mothers that live a great lifestyle off of their ex husband's child support and they could also do a show on dads who claim they cannot pay child support but can manage to pay for a fancy sports car, high maintenance girlfriends and a huge home.
And yes, Fox could also do a show on mothers that live a great lifestyle off of their ex husband's child support and they could also do a show on dads who claim they cannot pay child support but can manage to pay for a fancy sports car, high maintenance girlfriends and a huge home.
Those are nice little smug comments without any knowledge of the plight of those that have been screwed by the courts. How would you like to have the court take 100% of your pay to give to a vindictive spouse whose only goal is punish you? Think it couldn’t happen? It does and it shatters lives.
I remeber a man I knew a few years ago...
He was a deacon at a church, and had a son out of wedlock with another woman.....
when the child was 6 months old, he finally showed up at her work to give her his very first installment of child support. A whole $200.
He is telling this to my ex-husband (husband at the time) while I am in the room.
His voice gets agitated and he says, “Yeah, I dropped it off to her, and you know what? She didn’t even say ‘Thank you’....”
I turned around and butted into the conversation by asking him this:
“Really? Did you THANK her for feeding your child? Did you thank her for clothing your child? For changing diapers, sterilizing bottles, taking him to the doctor, aranging child care for every outing or work shift?”
he says- “Hell no, that’s her job.”
Go ahead and bash women who don’t use child support to your liking. But the men out there who abandon their children in many many ways, let alone financially pales in comparison to women living it up on child support.
those eeevil mothers who cook every meal, do every load of laundry, every trip to the doctor or dentist, to get groceries, give every bath, kiss every nightmare away, and every boo boo, wipe every tear.... go ahead, defend dead beats by pointing at some woman’s bad behavior....
geeshk... grow up....
you make men look bad when you defend this crapt...
a woman livin’ it up on support but is THERE for her kids, PALES in comparison to abandonment you fool.
this is not an assault on MEN- it is an assault on BAD MEN...
geeshk
And for the record, I was homeless while my ex bought a new $400,000 home with my support money. Yes my kids have nice house to live in but look what it's done to their father. I would reply that you need to grow up and look at the facts before throwing generalizations and insults around.
Its called fornication and God has had something to say about that. The problems are a consequence of sin in the life of those two individuals and all three, INCLUDING the child suffer. Like it or not the innocent suffer the consequences of the sins of the wicked, it's been that way since the dawn of time. There are also many instances where the woman is a jerk too.
really?
well for the record—
I mowed lawns and scrubbed toilets, while putting myself through school (4.0 GPA), and raising 3 kids on my own- with NO SUPPORT while raising 2 PRE-schoolers ON MY OWN!
been since 2001, and have never received a DIME!
What I WON’T DO is defend your wife.
Anecdotal evidence from me: My wife's mother bailed on her when my wife was 16...even though she had legal custody. Just dumped my wife on her father. Never paid a dime of any form of child support and she hasn't been heard from since. My wife is now 31.
Not saying your ex-wife did, but I've known women in that case that get live in boyfriends and refuse to marry because the child support and/or alimony gets cut off. In one case I know of even the live in boyfriend didn't have a job and lived off the ex-husband's support.
That is a scam in of itself.
I agree 100%
But these kids deserve to be cared for by both parents.
I have had dealing with Mr Sacks.....we kept in touch for a while about 4 yrs ago...
I was in total support of his cause...but then I soon realized that he was not seeking fairness or justice....at least of all did he care about the kids.
He told me how he would advise men on learning the name of their child’s teacher before the court dates.
Can you image? I can’t.
I cannot IMAGINE not knowing the name of my child’s teacher. He didn’t care if the guy was a decent dad or not... it was about beating the woman.....so I finally stopped supporting him and keeping in touch with him...
there are other things- but no need to rant...
I cannot stand going to the women’s church socials- all they do is bash their husbands. I hate that... ridiculous behavior-— unholy behavior......one thing to confide in a close friend- another thing to publicly bash your husband to a group of people.....
I LOVE MEN— but I have no patience for BAD ones, and am disgusted by men who defend the BAD ones- especially by whining about bad women...
geeshk- neither sex owns the market on being good or bad....
this show will do a lot good for a lot of kids....many men will think twice before they abandon their kids if they think they could end up on TV...
You know— In PA, men who are two weeks behind have their names published in the newspaper.....
how much you wanna bet they don’t have 80% of dads in trouble like CA does?
I apologize. This is obviously a very sensative subject. I understand that your situation is far too common. Many women don’t see the other side though and it’s shows like the one Fox is working on that perpetuate the stereo type. BTW, I pay my ex over $3,000 a month and she chooses to work part-time.
It is a sensitive subject.
I don’t believe the target of FOX is to berate men. The diea for a show like this has been out there for at least 8 years...I believe Lifetime was seriously considering it at one time....
many TAX payers are VERY interested in seeing this problem taken care of— and one sure shot way to HELP nip it in the bud is to make people think twice— because they might end up on TV....
btw-— I have 2 lovely daughters - you interested in adopting them?—
LOL
j/k
;-)
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