His father is clearly angry and disappointed in his son and his decision to disown him is appropriate. Note, however that he does not explicitly rule out contact with his son. He is keeping his heart open to change. A parent can continue to love their child without publicly expressing it. His father has made the choice to not qualify his statement with an expression of love because at this moment his son doesn’t deserve it. He’s decided that the message his son needs right now is one that is forceful and unambiguous. This is the ‘tough love’ that at times parents need to be willing to dole out. I lay no judgement upon him as a parent simply because he failed to include some public affection that would be to no one’s benefit.
ETA: His statement “I pray my prodigal son will renounce his hateful beliefs and return home” is a clear expression of his heartbreak, love and hope.
whenever I get misty about missing out on parenthood, I guess i would do well to remember that no matter how hard you try to raise decent kids, it can really turn out very very badly. My heart goes out to this grieving dad.
That young man is gonna find it tough getting a decent job.
The 1st amendment means the government cannot abridge free speech. It does NOT mean I can’t smack his punk ass however should he offer a physical challenge which the article clearly says he wants.
Sometimes the wiring is bad. You can only do what you can do as a parent. The dad of the California mass shooter (the college kid in the Santa Barbara area) did everything he could to get his son help and it didn’t matter.
I used to listen to shortwave in the 1980s. It was full of racist nazi goldmongers trying to profit from “the coming racewar” by scaring listeners all over north america.
Now fox and alex jones do that on regular broadcast media. It’s now just a desirable chunk of the GOP demographic.
No. What he actually said is this: “Peter Tefft, my son, is not welcome at our family gatherings any longer.” Which is one of the things I found a bit…unnecessary. The public doesn’t need to know that. It was a message to his son to never come home again.
But whatever. I’m not judging the man. I am completely open to the idea that he might have been absolutely the best Dad in the world and that he loved his boy beyond measure. All that I am saying is I get a coldness in his statement that raises questions in my mind.
Or maybe I’ve just watched East of Eden too many times.
I think about half of these play-Nazis are rebelling against progressive parents. Where else can they go if they want to rebel against the left? Why the right and might as well go all the way and cause your parents as many sleepless nights as possible.
Sorry I edited my comment just as you were posting yours. The biblical reference that the father is making is as clear as it gets. There’s no coldness, just the reality that hate is not welcome at gatherings that should be defined by love. How many people want to eat potato salad and casserole while sitting next to a Nazi?
When one looks at historic precedents of fascist political movements, Trumpism is currently missing one key ingredient: an armed paramilitary force. When I looked at the pictures from Charlottesville it wasn’t the tiki-torch-bearing douchebags that scared me, it was the self-identified “militia” that showed up the next day carrying assault rifles* and wearing body armor.
Currently, these ‘militia’ share certain ideological affinities but they aren’t united or organized nor do they take explicit directions from Trump or other Republican leaders. But we’re just that one short step from where we are to paramilitary violence. Trump talks a lot about his “enemies” in politics and the media. What happens when he says he wishes someone would “do something” about it. You know, like “the second amendment people.”
*It is a fucked up country where it’s legal to parade around with rifles and menace people.
I agree, really. I wouldn’t want that boy at my table either and, believe me, I do not feel sorry for him. I think losing his family is his just deserts.
ETA: @jjwhack I just read your edit that mentions the father’s prayer that his prodigal son renounce his beliefs and return home. I did not see that in the text of his statement here, and it is that sort of thing I was missing. I’ve gone through the article a couple of times and still can’t find it. Is this from an article on the denouncement someplace else? Or am I simply turning into the shittiest reader ever?
Open Carry is insane.
Americans allowed their self-concept to be shaped by post WW II Hollywood.
Gunsmoke, Rawhide, Have Gun will Travel are taken as documentaries and statements of cultural identity.
