You are passing judgment based on your personal biases not on the facts.
Alec Baldwin has every right to be a jackass. He even has a right to berate his daughter in public or in private. I don’t need to like it or agree with it but it is his prerogative to do so.
What the father does not have a right to, is to berate the mother to the child, any more than the mother has the right to berate the father to the child. If the parents wish to berate each other in public the are free to do that.
The issue at hand is not his parenting habits, it is the estrangement of the daughter based on emotional manipulation of the custodial parent being inflicted on a mind unable to determine the difference. The non-custodial parent unable to retrieve the child to discuss the issues face to face. Unless you have been in Baldwin’s shoes (and I have been there) you are incapable of understanding how this man is being hurt and humiliated, not by his daughter, but by the ex-wife via the daughter. The tirade may have been directed at the daughter, but the daughter was not intended target.
This is a classic case of n Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome, an individual - usually a mother - deliberately makes another person sick or convinces others that the person is sick. The parent or caregiver misleads others into thinking that the child has medical problems by lying and reporting fictitious episodes. He or she may exaggerate, fabricate, or induce symptoms. As a result, doctors usually order tests, try different types of medications, and may even hospitalize the child or perform surgery to determine the cause.
Typically, the perpetrator feels satisfied when he or she has the attention and sympathy of doctors, nurses, and others who come into contact with him or her and the child. Some experts believe that it isn’t just the attention that’s gained from the “illness” of the child that drives this behavior, but there is satisfaction gained by the perpetrator in being able to deceive individuals that they consider to be more important and powerful than themselves.
Because the parent or caregiver appears to be so caring and attentive, often no one suspects any wrongdoing. A perplexing aspect of the syndrome is the ability of the parent or caregiver to fool and manipulate doctors. Frequently, the perpetrator is familiar with the medical profession and is very good at fooling the doctors. Even the most experienced doctors can miss the meaning of the inconsistencies in the child’s symptoms. It’s not unusual for medical personnel to overlook the possibility of Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome because it goes against the belief that a parent or caregiver would never deliberately hurt his or her child.
Does Kim Basinger’s behavior fit the bill here? I think so.
This is an excellent post, very well stated. As the grandmother I can attest to the bitterness of an ex-wife who uses manipulation of the children to get back at their father and wonder how any mother who loves her children can destroy them in this way.
The answer is she hates her ex-husband more than she loves her children.