Daughter Fails GED - Father Goes to Jail!

I really like this story - you must read it here: Man Jailed After Daughter Fails GED

First - let's all just stipulate that all parents are responsible for their kids and that certain laws are applicable regarding that responsibility - and that not all parents do a very good job of supervising their kids, etc, etc - generally ending with the sentiment from some self-righteous soul "That's what's wrong with this country today - good-for-nothing 'parents' and their criminal kids - I support the judge 100%."

Having stipulated the above - a few points are worth considering: 1) the price of gas and the housing collapse have nothing to do with parenting and 18 year-old GED-failing daughters. Those actual issues have everything to do with self-righteous, border-loving, greedy 60 year-old white men - who seem to love rules and laws, particularly those pointed at the lower 'un-washed' classes, as long as those laws aren't applicable to them. If I were pressed - I'm certain I can find a privileged elected official somewhere in this country with a truant, trouble-making son or daughter - and they aren't spending 180 days in jail because of them.

Of course, two wrongs don't make a right - however, if you believe that one principle that this country stands for is equality (it's in our founding documents), then you can't support the inequitable application of law - or, I suppose you can, but then you'd be a hypocrite.

No doubt, the father in this case, by law, is responsible for his daughter. What I find particularly disturbing about this case, though, is its representation of the loss of all proportion - actual jail time for a parent of a stubborn, academically challenged juvenile/now adult, committing no other crime than failing the GED? Fairfield must be such a crime-free place that they have plenty of room in their jails such that they can imprison hardened criminals such as this father!!

A few other points to consider - the father, employed at his current job for 15-years (read that part carefully, for all of you that want to blame this on the coddling welfare-state) has raised a second daughter that is exceling in school. Obviously the man is not a saint - but he's working and trying to do the best by his kids as he can - so put him in jail - threaten his job - deprive his other daughter of his presence????

A law that allows juvenile courts to hold parents accountable is a good law - a statute that allows a judge to incarcerate a parent in this type of situation - it is an out-of-control statute. The judge, acting radically paternalistically, has decided he knows what is best for this 18 year old, and that is to get a GED - "and as incentive, I'll jail your father until you do." It's irrelevant that the judge warned the father before hand - "make sure your daughter passes the GED, or you're going to jail." How do you compel someone to pass a test? I mean, really, you can study with them, drill them, discipline them, etc - but when the proctor says, "pick up your pencils," they're pretty much on their own! To even have threatened the father with imprisonment was inappropriate. To hold that, "he was warned," some how justifies the sentence - that's just flawed thinking. I'm going to do something unjust to you if you don't do this (this being something out of your control for the most part), then when "this" doesn't happen - I told you what I was going to do, and now it's justified because you didn't make "this," happen - "you were warned." Typical irrational thinking of the far-right.

If you agree with the judge's decision about jail time for the father - then you are living in the wrong country and the wrong political system - paternalism belongs to monarchy - and jailing family members belongs to tyranny.

There is no rational justification for the judge's actions regarding the incarceration of the father - none - all of it is just emotional, hyper-righteous moralizing. It sounds as if the judge has jailed the sole bread-winner of the family - creating now a possibility that the judge has cost me some tax dollars to subsidize the baby's health, etc - if you want a cost/benefit analysis of the judge's action.

THAT is what's wrong with this country - hundreds of thousands of self-righteous white folk running around wanting to tell everyone else how to live a 'moral' life - and then pointing to the law to back up their ridiculous positions.

The message boards regarding this story are lit-up, as one might expect! Most troubling is that none of the commenters seem to question the jail time. They all want to figure out exactly who is to blame - the father, the daughter, the mother, the baby (oddly!), and then JAIL that person!! JAIL IS NOT AN OPTION FOR THESE CASES!!!! It's unlikely that Brittney, or whatever her name is, is going to be a Nobel Laureate (though Einstein was a truant in childhood) - jail in this case solves nothing!!!

What other issues are taking place in that courtroom???? Scary.