Community poll forum: Would you have done that to your daugther's laptop?

NO, absolutely no. Never teach a child that the way to win a confrontation is with a gun. Dumb *ss hillbilly redneck. And I was born & grew up in NC, so I can say that What was HE drinking?

No. A classic example of lousy parenting. Why blame the child for its poor behaviour when you were the original instigator. Treat a human with dignity and respect and you will get it back in spades. The guy probably had issues with his parents and is just passing the problem on......

I don't know if I would have shot the laptop physically like he did. It was something he or him and his wife had purchased. Therefore it was his property and it is his choice to do what he did. I would have formatted it and sold it rather than destroying it. It is the point this made though so I understand it. The child was obviously a repeat offender here as well so lets not forget that. She had just come off of being grounded for a similar incident from what it sounded like that involved the same thing (Facebook post's she thought no one would see and she would not have to answer for). The one thing about all of this that I think more people need to realize is that if you put it out there it is then public period.

Most kids/teens do not realize this it seems. If it is recorded you will have to deal with it sooner or later, and everything on the net is recorded as well as recoverable. So not only could you have to pay for it, it never goes away after posted on the web.

Either way it was his child and his property as his child lives in his and his wives house and everything then is community property whether gifted or not. If I am your legal guardian everything that is yours is also mine!

Yes, laptops and ANY non living this is an appropriate target.
There needs to be a law that forces social networking sites to require a valid credit card as proof of age. Under 18? NO ACCESS PERIOD. Also, take away all cell phones from those underage. They don't need them. What they DO need is a lot more homework. Maybe they will become smarter in life later on?

Destroying a laptop, regardless of the cost is the father's right to do so. it is his property. It teaches at lease one valuable lesson to the kid - DAD IS IN CHARGE AND NO MORE LAPTOP.

Everyone whines about the cost of the laptop. I can see what your real concerns are for - the laptop, not the issue. And certainly not the kid.

I would care if it cost a million dollars. If it got the point across then I would do what I had to. A permanent point. Anyone concerned about the laptop is pretty much unconcerned about real issues. Laptop can be replaced. The life lesson for the kid cannot.

If we follow what you say and the child is past the point of no return then by your reasoning he should have killed his daughter. Something is not right. And teaching the kid it is ok to vandalize things was not the dad's message. The message was to repect authority and COMPLY. DAD IS IN CHARGE. The kid is NOT. He should take her out to a deserted island for a while. Let her learn to appreciate what dad give her. She would have to learn how to survive without electronics and internet, as well as respect authority.
I figure after about 3 years she might have learned her lesson.

Might have used a 14lb sledgehammer instead(might)lol.
Think I would have educated her in her use of words and talked through the problems with her.

My dad did that to me once (with records). Having her destroy it could have been effective. However, I still don't think that the laptop should have been destroyed. It was an overrreaction. Save the "big guns" (no pun intended) for serious situations. This situation wasn't as serious as people are making it out to be. I know it was extremely frustrating, but it wasn't really that serious. People are reacting to the father's feelings, not the facts of the situation.

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Are you kidding??? Just because someone owns a gun does not mean they are dangerous! It is his right to do whatever he wants with his own property. Sure he could have use anything else to do the job. But why condemn him for a gun? I am glad to live in a country where people can own guns. It lets us shoot all kinds of targets. There is no legal action necessary, appropriate or otherwise.

If you take guns away from the people then the criminals will be the one's who have the guns (government criminals included). Why is everyone go gun-a-phobic?

I disagree on the respect issue. ALL Judges do not deserve any respect. They are crooked and immoral creatures and have not earned any respect. BUT if you disrespect a judge, what do you think is going to happen to you?

I demand respect from my kids. If they don't like it they can hit the road and don't let the door hit them in the caboose on the way out.

I do commend you on your lifetime of hard work though. And I agree about the loss of core principles. The idiot social workers & lawmakers who listen to the psychobabble junk spewed out by doctors is where the problem lies. And moronic parents who think that little johnny and suzie can simply be reasoned with are in a fantasy world. Follow one ancient book and guess what? Parenting problems just seem to dry up and blow away.. The book begins with the letter B

Fathers, provoke not your children to wrath. The Bible presents a balanced view that both sides have responsibilities to the other.

I totally understand Hannah's parents reaction to her Facebook post. I don't know that I would have destroyed the laptop but I definitely would have taken it away. And the cell phone and anything else that would have afforded Hannah easy access to the internet. People need to understand that posting on Facebook or any other social networking site is like printing something on the front page of the New York Times. It is PUBLIC no matter what privacy settings you may be using. Eventually it will get back to just about everyone who was not supposed to see it in the first place.

As to Hannah. She sounds like millions of other spoiled, over indulged teenagers who lack common sense and good judgement. The over indulgence is, at least in part, her parent's responsibility (you guys did give her all these toys and internet access, right?) Being spoiled and over indulged does not, however, excuse Hannah's irresponsible, callous, and just plain stupid behavior went she posted that vitriolic rant on her Facebook wall. What did she think would happen when her parents (the people who feed, clothe and support her) read that trash?

This family may benefit from some outside help to keep this mess from escalating any further than it already has.

I just told my dog that if she's going to eat my food and sleep in my house she WILL come when she's called. This kid is worse. Beyond whining about parents, she looked down with disdain on the household help, complained about not being paid for rather nominal family household duties, then dissed her ol' man's efforts when he found her a job that she refused to persue. And this was the SECOND time she ranted on FB ... not the first ... got caught both times, so what does that say about her thinking?

The truth - since she considers herself a slave held hostage, she can apply for emancipation at 16, be legally declared as an 'adult', and then move out. Since the 50% of Americans who are taxpayers at an average annual income of $37K also provide an average $37K worth of annual support to those who are not taxpayers, this may be a really good option for her.

The axiom - people do not appreciate what is given for 'free'. So, maybe she'll follow through with the job application, now, and find out what it really took to gift her the now dearly departed laptop and appreciate it more. Oooo . No more Facebook or Twitter for a teenage girl until then ... oh, the pain, the pain.

The YouTube presentation might feel over the top (.45 cal rounds are expensive), but it was clear payback with her own medicine and was directed equally at her 'friends', which couldn't hurt. It's the ol' man's laptop, he bought it, he owned it, it's his bat and ball to abuse as he may choose, so considering the grief this laptop has brought the family it sounds to me like a mercy killing. What scares me is that his daughter may be the only one that has yet to get the point.

This sends a terrible message to the daughter. It condones violence and using guns as a way to solve problems between people.

I would never shoot the laptop because I studied psychology in college, and it is just too obvious that the laptop is a symbol for the child. If I were this child, I would leave for my own safety. The father is unstable, dangerous, and needs counseling.

The correct technical action to take is to install a network filter that would not allow her to make contact with internet sites that are inapropriate. But this is not the real issue. The real issues are in the relationship between the child and father. I'm not close enough to this situation to give advice on how to repair their relationship, but the father and daughter should get counseling to help them both. The father especially needs some help with his anger management.