PBS' "Breaking the Silence" Not Ready for Prime Time

October 16, 2005 | Carey Roberts

[CareyRoberts]

Propaganda pieces normally contain an indisputable kernel of truth, which is then artfully embellished with innuendo, distortions, and half-truths. By that standard, the upcoming PBS program, Breaking the Silence: Children’s Stories, doesn’t even qualify as good fiction.

The program is so larded with Leftist fantasies and sweeping stereotypes you begin to wonder if producers Dominique Lasseur and Catherine Tatge thought they were doing a special for Sesame Street. A nice bedtime story wouldn’t be so bad, except this tale targets fathers and families.

Breaking the Silence leads off with this whopper: “One-third of mothers lose custody to abusive husbands.” That outrageous statement contains two falsehoods.

First, divorced fathers win custody of their children only 15% of the time, so the one-third figure is obviously suspect.

Second, women are known to be just as abusive as men. As a recent report from the Independent Women’s Forum notes, “approximately half of all couple violence is mutual…when only one partner is abusive, it is as likely to be the woman as the man.” [www.iwf.org/articles/article_detail.asp?ArticleID=815]

Continuing its mean-spirited dissing of dads, Breaking the Silence goes on to claim that children are “most often in danger from the father.” Apparently the producers never bothered to read the recent report from the US Department of Health and Human Services which reveals that the majority of perpetrators of child abuse and neglect are female. [www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/cb/publications/cmreports.htm]

But the real objective of the PBS fusillade is to whitewash the problem of Parental Alienation Syndrome. Divorcing parents – usually mothers – sometimes try to turn the children against the other parent. If the mother can claim that the kids are refusing to talk to dad, she is almost certain to win child custody.

John Gray, PhD, author of the best-selling book, Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, describes women he has seen who “will do all sorts of things to prevent the father from taking charge of the children, then they’ll turn around and say the father doesn’t participate.”

The problem of brainwashing moms is well-known to lawyers, attorneys, and psychologists. I’ve seen this problem myself, and the long-term effects on children can be so profound that I consider it one of the most pernicious forms of child abuse.

But the rad-fems want to keep the lid tightly sealed on PAS, since it is one of their most effective ploys for excluding fathers. And gaining child custody is a mother’s meal ticket to many years of tax-free child support. So Breaking the Silence does everything to discredit PAS, calling it “junk science” and a psychological “invention.”

To lend the veneer of scientific respectability, the producers brought in Joan Meier, a law professor at George Washington University. But Meier brings her own set of credibility problems. In a recent interview, she made this claim from left field: “batterers are twice as likely to contest as non-batterers. And they often win sole or joint custody.” [www.washingtontimes.com/familytimes/20050709-104258-3244r.htm]

Maybe Meier was suffering from a brain cramp that day. Or perhaps she was thinking of Clara Harris, the Texas woman who fatally battered her husband by driving over him with her car. Just seven months after her murder conviction, Harris was granted custody of her two five-year-old boys.

So why would PBS engage in this wanton abuse of truth? The answer lies in the broader feminist crusade to overturn the Patriarchy. Get dad out of the picture, they say, and the children will grow up to be more enlightened human beings.

But research proves the opposite is true. Countless studies show that kids with absent dads do far worse on a broad range of academic, social, and psychological indicators. [www.fatherhood.org/fatherfacts.asp]

Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda minister, is credited with the concept of the Big Lie. Repeat a falsehood a thousand times, and it becomes the truth.

In 1935, the Big Lie claimed that Jewish bankers and businessmen were wrecking the German economy, which necessitated their forced removal from society. Seventy years later, the Big Lie would have you believe fathers constitute a menace to women and children, so their exclusion is necessary as well.

This coming Thursday at 10pm, the Public Broadcasting Corporation is planning to air the latest incarnation of the Big Lie -- unless they hear from viewers like you. Contact your local PBS station at www.pbs.org/stationfinder/index.html .

Because even Big Bird needs a daddy’s hug.

[TrailofTears]

first

[Termite_Commander]

Good article.

[taxesareforever]

Do we expect anything less from the Pro Babble System?

[taxesareforever]

Do we expect anything less from the Pro Babble System?

[Panic in the Streets]

And what really gets me is that we're forced to pay for this crap.

[TrailofTears]

These people are the reason that there should be no monies given to any public broadcasting organization from the government. Try being a single dad of four sons. They diss me all the time. It is amazing, either they suspect that i cannot do the job at all, or they diss me cause im mr. mom.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Why bother with facts when you are funded by the government and don't give a rat's ass whether anyone watches you or not?

[hh007]

Could you provide a link to the source of this article?

[Gator61]

First, divorced fathers win custody of their children only 15% of the time, so the one-third figure is obviously suspect. Second, women are known to be just as abusive as men. As a recent report from the Independent Women’s Forum notes, “approximately half of all couple violence is mutual…when only one partner is abusive, it is as likely to be the woman as the man.” [www.iwf.org/articles/article_detail.asp?ArticleID=815]

I can attest to this form first hand experience. My ex-wife was...well lets just say she has some mental problems that lead to violent outbursts. Fortunately she was smaller than me and she did little harm. But when I got my fill of it and called the police I spent the night in jail.

Lots of legal fees and a great deal of psychological testing later I did end up with custody of my children. But it wasn't easy. My lawyer and other friends in the legal profession told me that my case would have been as slam dunk had I been a woman. As it was it took me nearly 3 years and every thing I owned.

[drt1]

What's new about this and what 'Silence' is being broken? It is common knowledge that men are violent, mean spirited and vindictive. Women, on the other hand, are altruistic, selfless and, above all, victims of the men. /sarc

At least that's what has been being promulgated since the 60's movements by NOW and their ilk. Still wondering what silence they are referring to.

[calrighty]

BTTDAMNT

[FlingWingFlyer]

Why is it that EVERYTIME these Liberal jugheads create an "earth-shattering" and "chilling" piece of garbage about the brutality and chaos being perpetrated by mean, white Republican men against the poor, the children, the wymyn and the trodden down, they call it "Breaking the Silence?" Don't these jugheads have an original thought in their empty skulls? Why not call it "Breaking Wind" or some other cool, original title like that?

[Time4Atlas2Shrug]

"And gaining child custody is a mother’s meal ticket to many years of tax-free child support."

Although I agree with many of the statements in the article, this particular assertion is utterly false. When one pays their bills or when a single parent pays for things a child needs, the money used to pay for such items has been previously taxed. When a parent pays child support, he or she is paying for the same thing that the parent with physical custody is and he is only contributing to the rearing of the child. Many people are not properly informed and view child support (I received $300 month) as an award.

Why should a single parent pay taxes on the absentee parent's contribution to financially raising a child? Does anyone know how much it costs to raise a child including child care expenses (I paid $120/wk. for babysitters) when the single parent works. When a parent with visitation only directly contributes to the child's financial needs for a couple of days per week (my son's father left for Florida, seeing him for only a few weeks per year), should the custodial parent pick up the rest of the expenses?

Unfortunately, a child cannot effectively live with two divorced parents.

This article also does not address the statistics of fathers who abandon the family vs. mothers who do. I'd be interested in seeing those figures. If these issues are not addressed honestly we cannot move forward as a responsible society that keeps families together.

Men have had the importance of their roles in the home as the head of the family diminished and have thusly been relieved of the responsibility that accompanies such a role. Leaving a difficult situation can only be made easier when your role seems unimportant. This is especially prevalent in black communities and cannot be ignored.

[Mr. Rational]

Another fine product of France is Dominique Lasseur

http://www.tatgelasseur.com/pages/who_lasseur.html

[Mr. Rational]

No agenda here ... Mary Kay Ashe Foundation's Only Strategic Goals -

"• We are committed to eliminating cancers affecting women by supporting top medical scientists who are searching for a cure for breast, uterine, cervical and ovarian cancers.
• We are committed to ending the epidemic of violence against women by providing grants to women’s shelters and supporting community outreach programs. "

I guess it was hard to decide how they wanted the data presented. I'd really expect a straight analysis from this group.

PBS - Maybe their new slogan should be "we'll present anything for a $."

[Bullish]

This reminds me of why I never ever tune in to PBS anymore.

[zeugma]

But the real objective of the PBS fusillade is to whitewash the problem of Parental Alienation Syndrome. Divorcing parents – usually mothers – sometimes try to turn the children against the other parent. If the mother can claim that the kids are refusing to talk to dad, she is almost certain to win child custody.

John Gray, PhD, author of the best-selling book, Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, describes women he has seen who “will do all sorts of things to prevent the father from taking charge of the children, then they’ll turn around and say the father doesn’t participate.”

The problem of brainwashing moms is well-known to lawyers, attorneys, and psychologists. I’ve seen this problem myself, and the long-term effects on children can be so profound that I consider it one of the most pernicious forms of child abuse.

I'm currently experiencing this first hand. I haven't seen my kids in more than a year now, and the process of trying to assert my rights has cost me over $15K this year. This is evil shit, and the courts are nothing but tools to guarantee endless fees to lawyers and everything surrounding this industry.