In Defense of 'Deadbeat' Dads

ifeminists / FoxNews.com ^ | August 4, 2004 | Wendy McElroy

[buzzyboop]

A July 25 Justice Department study reveals that 6.9 million people — one in 34 adults — were on probation, parole or incarcerated in 2003. This record-breaking figure has prompted calls for the removal of nonviolent offenders from the system.

If that happens, the first offenders to be removed should be "deadbeat dads" imprisoned for defaulting on child support they cannot afford to pay.

[buzzyboop]

(Fathers') continued incarceration comes close to establishing a de facto debtors' prison — an institution supposedly abolished more than 200 years ago by President Adams.

[fooman]

just another word for 'slave'

[jtminton]

There are few things more criminal than not caring for your children.

[jojodamofo]

EXACTLY!! "Get a job, b**ch!!"

[fooman]

hillary! will take things from you. Send in payment or we will cage you!

[mtbopfuyn]

How many prisoners on death row are taking up space?

[GMMAC]

"There are few things more criminal than not caring for your children."

Well for a start there's a lot more well-documented evidence that maliciously poisoning a child's mind against a (usually non-custodial) parent and (or) denying a child an emotionally, mutually-loving relationship with a parent (generally along with the child's entire paternal extended family) meets most ( other than liberals and feminists) people's definition of child abuse.

The real criminals, aside from the custodial parents who practice these forms of abuse, are the corrupt, morally bankrupt judges, lawyers and assorted "professional" hangers-on who make up what's become a "family injustice industry" which ignores this child abuse while its members line their pockets at the expense of the emotional well-being and fundamental human rights of children.

The left's obvious weapons of choice in its campaign to destroy families are the so-called "family" courts and its related efforts to promote gender bigotry and animosity between the sexes.

However, if you're looking for those who universally agree with the present status quo in alleged "family" law, you need look no further than NOW's website.

[jtminton]

denying a child an emotionally, mutually-loving relationship with a parent (generally along with the child's entire paternal extended family)

If a parent isn't providing for the child's needs financially (food in the stomach, clothes on the back), what makes you think they are interested in an "emotionally, mutually-loving relationship" anyway?

The best way to do away with the "family injustice industry" is to make it unpleasant for parents who don't pay their child support. Simple as that.

[narby]

The best way to do away with the "family injustice industry" is to make it unpleasant for parents who don't pay their child support. Simple as that.

How about we make it unpleasant for parents that seek to break up families, no matter what sex they are.

The status quo where mom gets the kids and the check simply for the asking has to end.

The current no-fault divorce laws are damaging in the extreem. The way to cure it is to force the instigator of the split to do the leaving and paying.

[jtminton]

The way to cure it is to force the instigator of the split to do the leaving and paying.

Seems fair enough to me.

[GMMAC]

So, on your home planet, there's no such thing as injustice and gender-bias in the "family" courts and unlawful access denial and, if there were, none of these things would be harmful to children?

Whatever you do, don't let the facts referred to in the article or any of the supportive arguments and issues raised in my comment interfere with your blatant misandry and (or) preconceived notions.

Just keep denying the obvious and seeing fathers primarily as wallets - you'll fit in well over at NOW!

[Orlando]

I know about Child Support and the unfair anti-male family court system(s), and I'd seen the damage and death of families in our inner-cities. It's a system now in control and run by SS type male-GOD haters , and I can prove it.
Just look at the body count, 70-75%+ of the black fathers are now missing, DEAD, Broken, and in Jail, and the latino
are not far behind, and our white brothers are just behind us. We are being destroyed slowly from within. Here's a thread I started in gopusa.com and mensnewsdaily.com title:

'Child Support Causualties'

http://www.gopusa.com/cgi-bin/ib3/ikonboard.pl?s=9bc6cf4675124c849f19ef438a2a893a;act=ST;f=11;t=5167;st=0


The prefect attack

[camas]

how about the case where the "father" proved he was not the father (DNA) but the judge said he still had to pay.

[jtminton]

As the son of a father who paid his child support for two children on time, and the father of two step-children whose father has never paid a dime of the child support he owes to their mother, I feel qualified to say that if a father does not support their child(ren), they have no right to see them. It's not the kids fault that the parents split up/never married, but the fact of the matter is, it costs money to raise a child.

True, fathers should not be seen as wallets. But if they can't afford children, don't have them because they are going to have to be fed one way or another. When you start saying that a father should have full access to a child without any financial responsiblity, what's the motivation for that father to take that financial responsibility?

I will agree with you that the system is biased towards mothers, but I would be presenting the same arguement if the word 'father' was replaced with 'mother'.

[ladyjane]

The way to cure it is to force the instigator of the split to do the leaving and paying.

It's not that easy to figure out who really wants the split. It's just like dating when one person wants out but doesn't have the courage to say so and proceeds to behave in an obnoxious way. Many times it's not clear even to the parties involved who really really wants out.

[jtminton]

how about the case where the "father" proved he was not the father (DNA) but the judge said he still had to pay.

I don't agree with that at all. It's sad, but the burden is then on the mother to figure out who the real father is.

[buzzyboop]

Thanks for the reply GMMAC.

Putting your child's pictures on your profile is well and good but... when things may not go as well, we'll see it works the same way.

[hopespringseternal]

Many times it's not clear even to the parties involved who really really wants out.

I'll go with "The first one to hire a lawyer" for $50, Bob.

Getting a divorce is inviting the government to manage your family life. A sane person would resort to that only in the most extreme cases.

[GMMAC]

"The current no-fault divorce laws are damaging in the extreem." - BINGO!

"The way to cure it is to force the instigator of the split to do the leaving and paying." While identifying "the instigator"* will surely get into a lot of he-said,she-said nonsense, it can be readily documented that women, not men, initiate roughly three quarters of divorce proceedings in most jurisdictions.

* besides habitually not enforcing their own child access orders, the "family" courts are also notorious for turning a blind eye to blatant perjury and abuse of process that would result in jail time or severe sanctions in virtually any other judicial process.

[Orlando]

That thread on gopusa.com was locked just the other day, becuase MANY people in charge don't want you to know the real truth about what SATAN's Army is doing to families in the U.S.A. and the free world. It's sad that there are people out-there and control, that hate fathers and males and use the childrens excuse's to destroy the good souls.
I like that thread, and i was trying to shine the light on our situation. I was hoping maybe somebody in power would see and read the data and my story.

vet out, and father of a USMC son.
God help us