Posted on 12/14/2001 3:21:12 PM PST by Dr. Octagon
WASHINGTON, D.C — One of the messiest areas of the law is divorce and child custody cases.
"Legal Notebook" guest, Stephen Baskerville, says that fathers are more often than not treated no better than criminals. Baskerville is a professor of political science at Howard University in Washington DC, and a spokesman for Men, Fathers and Children International.
Host Tom Jipping said to Baskerville, "In some of your writing, I´ve seen a contrast between fatherhood and fathers, particularly in terms of things that the government does. We see a lot of public relations talk about supporting fatherhood, and then, of course, you do a lot of writing as to the way fathers are treated. Distinguish fatherhood versus fathers."
Baskerville said, "It´s an important distinction. Fatherhood has become a buzzword for the government. Increasingly there is awareness of the importance of fathers -- I think it´s reaching general knowledge that fathers are important to children, that many social pathologies – most social pathologies today – result from fatherless homes, fatherless children. And the fathers are very important not only for the upbringing of their children, but for our social order as well."
Jipping said, "To me, some of the most interesting newer work in that area, not just kind of divorce generally, or broken homes sort of generally, but specifically fatherless homes -- that to me is some of the most interesting social science research that´s been done -- and not just by what you might consider conservative activists or something. There are lots of folks at your prestigious universities that are coming to the same conclusion."
Baskerville noted, "That´s right. What´s not being realized, though, is what the cause of this problem is. The assumption that is often unstated is that the fathers have abandoned or deserted their children. This is almost never the case. There´s no solid evidence whatever that large numbers of fathers in this country are simply abandoning their children. There is very solid evidence that fathers are being thrown out of the family systematically by family court, primarily."
Jipping asked, "Do fatherless homes also result from marriages not taking place – is the family simply not forming, while the mothers have the kids and the kids just stay with the mom?
Baskerville answered, "That´s true. And those cases are much more difficult to document when there´s never been a marriage in the first place. But even in those cases, most of those fathers have court orders either regulating when they can see their children, or ordering them to stay away from their children altogether."
Jipping asked, "Is there specific research on what portion of the broken homes, or the fatherless homes, result from these different causes, whether it´s [that] simply no family forms in the first place, fathers abandon their children, or the category we´re talking about here, which is intervention by family courts and fathers being ordered out of the home."
Baskerville stated, "Well, if there´s a marriage, then there is documentation -- we know who files for the divorce. And in most cases, when children are involved, it´s almost always the mother, two-thirds to three-quarters of the time. So in those cases, we have solid documentation that fathers very seldom voluntarily divorce when their children are involved. For the non-married cases, it is difficult to document. But there´s no reason to assume these fathers love their children any less. If you talk to those fathers many of them will tell you -- almost all of them will tell you -- that they desperately want to be with their children and to be active parents, and they are forcibly kept away."
Jipping mentioned an article he read in the Washington Times, on September 19, of an author, Judith Wallerstein, PhD who has been studying the effects of divorce, and has a new book out, The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce, a 25 year study, documenting what divorce does to family and children.
Baskerville said, "I think we´ve been denying this for many years now, that divorce is, in fact, harmful for children. I don´t think there´s any question. In many ways, divorce is kind of a conspiracy of grown-ups against children. And this is especially the case when it´s only one of the parents who want the divorce."
Jipping asked Baskerville if he agrees with the author of the book that at the time of the divorce itself, it´s really about problems and the effects that that has on the mothers and the fathers. But, the effects on the children are much, much more long-term and occur decades later.
Baskerville agreed, "Absolutely. For a child, the most terrifying thing is to lose a parent; the fear of losing a parent is horrible for a child. And also by the institution of forced divorce, we´re sending a lot of very harmful and destructive messages to children. We´re showing children that the family and the state are in effect dictatorships, in which children can be ripped apart from their parents for no reason, or for any reason, and they don´t have to have done anything wrong, or their parents don´t have to [have done anything wrong]."
Jipping asked, "We hear the phrase ‘no-fault divorce´ is that what you mean by forced divorce – is that what that becomes?"
Baskerville replied, "Absolutely. This was this deception that was brought [with] no-fault divorce. The idea was that this would be for mutual agreement -- you could have a divorce without a contest. What, in fact, it has become is [what is known as] unilateral divorce. And 80% of the divorces in this country are unilateral. They are over the objections of one parent. And that becomes even more when children are involved."
Jipping questioned, "So, does no-fault divorce really mean, under the state laws that govern the stuff, a divorce by only one of the two spouses for whatever reason that spouse chooses, not specified reasons?"
Baskerville said, "Overwhelmingly that´s true. And what´s even more shocking is that the parent that divorces is almost always the parent who expects to get custody of the children. A study by the University of Iowa found that the expectation of getting the children was the single most important factor in deciding who files for divorce."
That is the reality of the situation. Children deserve both parents, and fathers deserve equal rights.
And fathers are not heartless ATMs, even if feminists want them considered such.
End male-bashing gender bias!
in reality, fathers, men in other words , tend to make their children and the mothers of their children the TARGETS... or how many more times do you need to read how an angry man decided he needed to kill his children and their mother just to make a point?
Listen....let's be honest....men are the dominant species...not better....not more valuable...just the dominant gender....and with that comes RESPONSIBILITY.....a large , large portion of today's (yesterday's) evil in the world lies at the feet of men....the wars...the starvation...the enslaveing of people...this is man's doing...
oh how I wish that my gender had the smarts and the pride to not put up with it...to not become appendages to men....but that is our biology....as much as I dislike it....we are the nesters and the nuturers...we are not the ones to set cultural policy...we go along, as we have always done....
so make up all these phony-baloney evil arguements against women ...how WE are to blame...how WE want divorce...it's absurd...
I come from two living parents that have been married for over 50 years, and my hubby of 26 years has parents alive that are also married for over 50 years...we feel like we are anachromisms....
you want to stay married?...try friendship first...companionship....similar values....and it doesn't hurt to come from stock that believes in fidelity and marriage...
The state has no business or interest in marriage. Like everything else they touch, they lower standards. And yet the right is begging them to continue overseeing God's domain because a few gay people might think they have the right to get married.
That's a fact, and the reason for it has been addressed at some length on this thread.
Also, the majority of infanticides, per the 1994 Justice Dept report, are commited by women. 55%.
Baby-killer Andrea Yates is being defended by Texas NOW feminists.
The family court system is anti-father.
Your post stereotypes men. Wrongly. Virtue or lack thereof is 100% irrespective of gender.
What I'm for is a complete end to gender bias. It could be argued that 200 years ago, custody cases were biased in favor of men. In 2001, they are biased in favor of women. Both situations are wrong. I seek equal rights.
Arriviste, or " old money ", dear ? : - )
Since this isn't a peeing contest, I'll just leave it at that. ROTFLOL
Look at all of the male whinging / female bashing / the rich are evil posts to this thread. Historically speaking, MEN got the huse, property AND children, when there was a divorce, until quite recently. If girls and boys didn't shack up / have one night stands rior to marriage, and the culture didn't accept easy divorce, there would be less of it. If people didn't voew " relationships " of every kind, as " disposable ", today, and actually WORKED at them, there would be fewer divorces. If people didn't engage in extended adolescence, sometimes into their 50's, today, there would be fewere divorces. THIS IS NOT A SIMPLE TOPIC, NOR ONE WORTHY OF GLIB, JUVENILE REMARKS !
Reread this entire thread. Then reply to me. Oh, and IF you don't like my style ... T-O-U-G-H !
No law will ever be passed that is not flexible. Thank the ACLU and the democrats for that!
Does that make you a fellow Mensa member?
It's hard to plow through the vitriol, capital letters, and wild generalizations long enough to get to the points.
Historically speaking...anti-father liberalized divorce has been instituted for 30+ years. Look at what has happened to society in the exact same time pereiod: crime, teen pregnancy, drugs...
The time periods don't coincide coincidentally.
It's cause and effect.
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