Posted on 04/20/2007 5:06:55 PM PDT by advance_copy
Alec Baldwin issued an apology on Friday for unleashing a volcanic tirade at his 11-year-old daughter and blamed "certain people" for leaking the rant to US media.
The Oscar-nominated star of "The Departed" branded daughter Ireland a "rude, thoughtless, little pig" in a fiery voicemail message that emerged on celebrity websites on Thursday.
It is the latest twist to the bitter legal wrangling between Baldwin and ex-wife Kim Basinger over custody and visitation rights relating to Ireland. The couple split in 2001.
Baldwin's tirade was apparently triggered by Ireland's failure to switch her mobile phone on for a scheduled call with her father.
"Once again I've made an ass out of myself trying to get to a phone at a specific time," Baldwin says in the message. "I'm tired of playing this game with you. You have insulted me for the last time.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
So many of these angry men, had angry Fathers.
Your BIL seemed to respond to appropriate, loving
correction from your Father, which was a repre-
sentation of our Heavenly Father.
God chastens those He loves.
She can’t respond because she won’t answer the phone.
What fantasy world do you live in? The courts almost always take the mother’s word as gospel.
i’m sorry, but chances are that this is not the first time he’s ever spoken to her like that... who knows what he has said behind closed doors... everything we’ve heard about his temper tells me that he probably talks to her like that on a regular basis...
I used humiliation as the ever-present threat to my children when they were adolescents. Not that I would belittle them, but I would threaten to do something nutty in front of their friends. I never had to make good on it, but they knew I would have.
How true. His father used to come over and beat the crap out of him because the mother couldn’t control him and then she’d lick his wounds. Sickening!
My Dad was a very loving man who brought up 7 boys and 4 girls. Life wasn’t perfect in a huge family but we always knew that we could call our Mom or Dad anytime and they would be there for us. My Dad could surely get his Scottish up, but his anger was short-lived and we all respected him and my Mom equally.
I agree!
In this case Steve, they did not. Baldwin’s words spoke for themselves.
BUT this behavior by Baldwin is one of the reasons mother’s words are taken as gospel. Personally, if I was a man going through a custody battle, I’d be really angry with Baldwin for making my case harder to fight because of his reinforcement of an unfair stereotype.
You have been blessed to have had a wonderful
Father. God is good. 11 children. My my.
I hope he wasn’t implying “certain people” are conservatives. Who else but Basinger would release it? She ain’t no conservative. When I heard this rant by Baldwin I couldn’t believe what a violent egotist he is. It was all: you’re embarassing ME, I have to fly out there, poor ME. ME ME ME... This is just one instance in a long line of violence and verbal assaults by this guy. Basinger just got lucky and caught it on a recording.
Humiliation is not discipline, it does not teach your children the difference between right and wrong. It does not give them the tools they need to stand up to authority, stand up for what is right or believe in themselves.
It simply teaches them not to cross you. It makes you and your whims ruler of their self worth...and leaves them unable to love or trust.
Humiliation, or the constant threat of it, is abuse. Period. Hate me if you want, but if you are proud of that, I am very sorry for your children.
Mine are grown now, not only am I a parent, but during our divorce my ex took my kids on a vacation to see her family in the East, and then HID MY CHILDREN for two months from me. Can you imagine that? The court knew that during our hearings, yet no sanctions, no doubt about custody.
Have you any other assumptions to make about me?
“I probably have anger-related issues that require years of expensive ‘therapy’ that will help me pinpoint my violent nature with the rough manner in which I was potty-trained.”
With all due respect, individuals who focus on whether or not their harsh words are OK are avoiding the question of why it is so important to them to use harsh words, and why it makes them feel better to use harsh words to begin with.
Usually it’s a matter of having learned that behavior, but equally often it’s pretty much the same sense of strength that children (and many adults) experience when they ‘bully’ a less strong individual.
It simply feels really good to ‘let go’ and it serves as a ‘fix’ at the time and is actually rather soothing to the individual who is giving forth with the harsh words. In most cases, there is a sense of ‘calm’ and ‘relief’ that comes over the person after they have ‘let loose’.
During that period of ‘letting go’ they have no sense at all of the effect on the other person, and don’t care. The only thing that matters is that they feel better in the moment - it’s a quick solution to any problem and gives them control over the situation, for the moment.
This behavior pattern has long range effects, on the child and on the parent-child relationship. Most often the parent doesn’t recognize the effect on the relationship because, by adulthood, the child has created at least part of their life that is inaccessible to the parent. (Ireland ‘forgetting’ to have her phone on is an excellent example of a child beginning to distance herself).
Put another way, typically the relationship between this type of parent and the child is very superficial over the long range of time.
The child is warry about what they tell the parent and although the parent thinks they ‘know’ their child, they never really have anything but a surface relationship.
The irony is that the parent doesn’t even know how little they ‘know’ their kid because they never get beyond the ‘effect that kid has on ME’ which Alec Baldwin is a classic example of.
The knowledge that they are building a life that is ‘secret’ from the parent gives most children from this background a sense of strength. They enjoy the fact that, although the parent thinks they rule the child, the child has a ‘secret garden’ into which they never allow the parent.
Hence, there are many, many examples of kids whose parents grow old and never even know about what their kids have accomplished, or the struggles they may have had, because the parents errected a ‘don’t bother me or I’ll explode’ barrier.
This is also frequently the case with ‘kids’ who suddenly do something really crazy and then the parent(s) say “He/she never gave us any trouble”.
I was blessed to have a wonderful father. And I was blessed to have had a wonderful long term relatioship with an equally wonderful man that unfortunately did not end up in marriage, I have to keep in my heart forever! My brothers all adore their wives and children and all have been married for a very long time.
No, she knew how to break his control, though.
I was never the name caller, that was my ex-wife. But if these kids can’t take a name calling without a psychic scar, God help this Nation.
Did you mean to post that to me or to hleewilder?
Wow, do you have it right. Superficial!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.