Welcome to the 'End of Shame'

Laptop-shooting dad heralds a new era: Meghan Daum
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 23, 2012 1:52 PM CST
Updated Feb 26, 2012 7:00 PM CST
Welcome to the 'End of Shame'
A frame grab from YouTube of Tommy Jordan shooting his daughter's laptop.   (AP Photo/YouTube Channel of Tommy Jordan)

Remember the dad who shot up his daughter's laptop, posted the video on YouTube, and set off a fevered debate on why he was either the best or worst parent in the world? At the Los Angeles Times, Meghan Daum isn't much interested in hashing out those "culture wars." Instead, she points out that Tommy Jordan's video might just herald the "end of shame." To understand why, recall that all this started when Jordan's daughter humiliated him by complaining about her parents on Facebook.

Jordan has the tough luck of being "among the first generations of parents to raise kids who don't vent about their parents by writing in a diary or yakking on the phone or carrying on at the school bus stop—but by posting their grievances online." He intended to repay his daughter in kind by humiliating her in public. The problem is, she and her generation are largely immune. He "tried to embarrass someone who's so accustomed to people exposing themselves online that it doesn't occur to her to be embarrassed," writes Daum. "He hurt himself worse than he hurt her." Read the full column here. Too abstract? Just check out five parodies of the video compiled by Mashable. (More YouTube stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X