Posted on 11/22/2004 7:39:00 PM PST by PercivalWalks
Why I Launched the Campaign Against Verizon's Anti-Father Ad
By Glenn Sacks
A mother attempts to help her son with his homework, and fails. The son is annoyed with his mother's ignorance, and turns to his father with a look which says "obviously females can't do math--get her out of here." The father tells the mother to go wash the dishes. When she is slow to comply, he orders her away from her son, and then he yells at her.
Is it a Public Service Announcement from the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence? A clip from a documentary about life in the 1880s? No, it is a regularly aired commercial from one of America's largest companies. The difference is that in the real ad it is the father who is portrayed as ignorant and useless as he tries to help his daughter.
This week 2,000 of my radio show listeners sent letters to Verizon Communications protesting the insulting portrayal of the father in its commercial "Homework." Our protest has been covered by over 250 newspapers and media outlets. The Verizon ad's message is clear, and it's a common one on the TV screen--dad is dumb, dad is useless, mom is smarter than dad, hell, even an eight year-old girl is smarter than dad.
One ad would not elicit such fervent responses from so many men and women of all ages were it not symptomatic of a larger problem in our society--the denigration of males in popular culture, and the decline of fatherhood.
Some letters have been from boys as young as twelve who see and are disturbed by negative portrayals of males. One grandmother wrote of her seven year-old grandson, who announced one day that "mothers are smart, fathers are not." When the surprised grandmother asked him where he learned that, he replied "on TV."
Other supporters are men who shoulder a male double burden rarely mentioned--working long hours to be the family's primary breadwinner, yet at the same time struggling to play a substantial role in their children's day to day lives. One of these fathers told Verizon, "when I look around I see men working 50 hours a week or more to support their families, and still managing to help their children with their homework, read them bedtime stories, and be fine role models. Why can't I see any men like that when I turn on the TV?"
Still other protests have come from divorced or separated fathers who have been pushed to the margins of their children's lives. The image of a father being berated while trying to help his child with homework--and then of the child siding with the mother in their mutual contempt for dad--struck a chord with many of these dispossessed dads. Today one out of every three American children lives apart from his or her father.
The fact that the father is being humiliated by and in front of his daughter also fuels the fire. One father sent me his letter of protest to Verizon, adding "I never knew what love really was until I had a daughter." I understood. Of all the bonds between family members, those between fathers and daughters are often the most tender. Yet at the same time, these bonds can be the most tenuous. Many protesters have written to me of the father-daughter bond that was, but that didn't survive divorce, separation, or time.
Some of my critics, such as radio personalities Tony Snow and Dori Munson, say that it's only a commercial, and that we're overreacting. Yet we all agree that it's harmful to portray women as incapable of doing men's jobs, or blacks as being unable to achieve what whites can achieve. Why would the same principles not apply to the denigration of fathers? It is with this in mind that many mental health professionals have publicly endorsed our campaign and condemned the ad.
Susan Lee of the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board accuses me of "working with a really outmoded notion of patriarchy." But is it "patriarchal" to respect a mother's or father's parental authority and dignity?
As I told my listeners when I announced the campaign, I'm sure that Verizon does not mean any harm. Like many, they have developed a moral blind spot towards disparaging males. Our campaign seeks to change that.
This column was first published in the Pasadena Star-News & Affiliated Papers (11/18/04) and the Daily Breeze [Los Angeles] (11/19/04).
To learn more about the campaign against Verizon's anti-father ad, click here.
Glenn Sacks is a men's and fathers' issues columnist and a nationally-syndicated radio talk show host. His columns have appeared in dozens of America's largest newspapers.
Glenn can be reached via his website at www.GlennSacks.com or via email at Glenn@GlennSacks.com.
It would seem that nearly every sitcom portrays married couples as a dominate-intellegent female and a bumbling male. It gets pretty old to me.
It's perfectly okay to demean and belittle fathers and Christians - - everything else is off limits. It's sick out there and getting sicker. Bush's big win shows that (most) Americans are waking up and rejecting the sick Democrat culture that has been hanging off of our nation like an infected boil for decades.
I hate "stupid male" tv.
No one (including myself) is as important in my girls lives than their Daddy.
Belittlng men has become the downfall of our society.
ok, its been years since I've had to read a hex dump and I've lost my cheat sheet. Whats your tag line say?
BTW, I tried Verizon for a couple of weeks. Definately a terrible service.
Muleteam1
I haven't seen this ad, but it is very typical.
It is not considered politically correct to show a father as being anything but a stupid boob. If he is lucky, hise big-hearted wife will lovingly tolerate him, as she might a messy dog. In other cases, she will send him off camera, with some comment like, "George, stick to taking out the garbage." He will meekly comply, sometimes with a goofy expression.
Ad-writers make a living turning out things like this. The only exception is that minority fathers are made to look intelligent, courageous, noble, and disciplined. There is nothing wrong with that, except why do you suppose that the ad-writers think that it is necessary to make this distinction? Is it because they are afraid of minorities? Is it because they think that not enough minority fathers are actually like that, and they wish to establish a better role model for them?
In any case, we all should all write Verizon, particularly customers (like me), and stockholders (like me).
This "Dad dumb, Mom genius" routine has been going on so long, people are completely numb to it.
A man and a woman jumped in a pool and were racing to the end. Incredibly the woman won! She not only won, she was actually sitting in a chair when the man finished. Who would have ever believed that? I guess I should mention that I am being sarcastic.
BTW Verizon has a bunch of ads and I have noticed I hate every single one I have seen.
Moral Absolutes Ping - just another little chip being removed from what actually holds civilization together - the natural family.
Brought to us by "feminism" - Women Who Hate Men (and boys - they sometimes turn into Men!)
Isn't one of the 10 Commandments Honor Your Father and Mother?
Let me know if you want on/off this pinglist.
Me too, and nearly every sit com is like that.
We are DEVO.
this is so '90's! but then again, so is Verizon. The audience for this sort of crap is dwindling along with Dan Rather's.
I'll never have another Verizon cell phone again either. Worst experience ever with a cell phone company. Southwestern Bell (now Cingular? - it was after I switched) and my Sprint phone were better. Not perfect, but a whole lot better.
Very cool. Saved that on in my favorites.
We are not men.
< |:)~
DEVOlution.
Are we not men?!??!
Love the pic!
Ahhh, but see my tag line...
I haven't seen them all but it sure seems like 1/2 of all sitcoms and commercials are as you describe.
But our 'entertainment' is people eating worms, maggots and pig intestines (not to mention other parts) and it's a highly-rated "reality" show. disgusting and dehumanizing.
Muleteam1
my Sprint phone drops a lot of calls but I always am glad I ain't giving another dime to Verizon. Found out it needs a software upgrade so I'm going in later this week. I've suggested other companies to all my friends who are about to get cell phone service. It's a shame but they just became impossible to deal with so I took my business elsewhere and I'm very happy with my Sprint service.
Fortunately we still have access to tv videos where Dad was respected and wise. For now anyway. Home with a cold today and I watched 2 episodes of the Rifleman.
Funny, how the libs are doing both, in the case of Dr. Rice.
[quote=Lancey Howard]
"It's perfectly okay to demean and belittle fathers and Christians " [end quote]
Amen! As I pointed out some time back. The most-discriminated against group in America?
White, disabled males over 50.
That got me billed as "kkk", nazi, "racist pig" and "bigot" by those who obviously aren't "bigots". It seems my biggest sin in their beady little rat eyes was being white and Christian and admitting it.
Thank you & our PC thought police, (george23IQ, slinkspur, texassfouler, etc.) for making my point
c(*:
(This forum is too much fun!)
Well I guess I'm too dumb to pay my Verizon bill this month.
An old F-111 crew chief has to ask you if you are an F-15 pilot?
Muleteam1
The white male is dumb, dorky, bald, etc. but the black male or any-race female is attractive and smart.
while I'm sure it's not the best show, I have emergency 'Seinfeld' tapes behind glass when reality TV shows up. 12 1/2-hour episodes per 6-hour extended taping. I even found a few episodes of 'Magnum P.I.' I taped about 10 years ago. Now they're on DVD but they ain't cheap. 22 episodes for $45. Not bad per episode but wasn't ready to spend $50 (nearly) with tax the other night for 'em.
Or I pop in my favorite Stevie Ray Vaughn from Austin City Limits, Steely Dan or Doobie Brothers concert videos.
LOL! Yeah, I dat dumb 2.
The problem is that now so many movie and TV producers, directors, writers, etc. are either bisexual men, totally gay men, or lesbian feminists.
It is a deliberate act--they are putting in TV show, commercials, and movies the "dumbness" of white men and the "intolerance" of religious people.
This is a major war going on every day. They are trying to brainwash minds, especially the minds of teenagers and children.
Explaining these things to your kids is a good idea-- to get them more and more able to recognize the "wrong message" when it appears on TV or elsewhere.
LOL!
How do you explain the left's vindictive and unabashed racism toward Dr. Rice? Is this how they really feel about all black people, and is Dr. Rice a politically correct way for them to vent? Even when they're called on this, and the racist tenor of their attacks is explained to them, the liberals do not back off. If anything, they redouble their efforts to be offensive.
Yeah, know what you mean about the commercials.
The little bit I watch TV, I always switch channels when a commercial comes on.
As I've tried to explain to my children, people don't treat you the way they do because of who you are. They treat you the way they do because of who they are.
They hate Dr. Rice because, in reality, they hate everyone they cannot use. Dr. Rice hasn't bought into their con came. She's not black, not a woman, not an educated person to them. To them, she is the same as the white, male, uneducated rednecks who wouldn't take their marching orders and vote for their betters.
Not racism. Not sexism. Just simple... diabolical... hatred.
This ad was probably a proud creation a lesbo/gay team, which hates heterosexual Fathers.
The Archie Bunker show started this BS.
If you watch the disney channel it's the same, strong female characters and dorky guy friend and/or little brother.
"freedom of choice is what you want. freedom from choice is what you got."
Disney has been for years promoting all sorts of terrible ideas to children (and adults). If you google on this topic, you'll come up with many good sites to explain the details.
Here's just a little bit:
"Probably the most blatant example of Disney witchcraft is the movie, "Bedknobs and Broomsticks". The star of the show is Angela Lansbury, who plays a spinster in England during World War II. When she is asked by the British Government to take in 3 young children who had been removed from London, she is already an Apprentice Witch, and is striving to learn more about "The Craft". I was stunned as I watched the movie, as all sorts of witchcraft was graphically depicted, from Levitation, to spells that changed people into animals to spells that brought to life inanimate objects, to an ancient spell from Ashtaroth. According to the Holman Bible Dictionary, "ASHTAROTH (ash' tuhrahth) is the plural form of Ashtoreth, a Canaanite goddess of fertility, love, and war and the daughter of the god El and the goddess Asherah." Therefore, Disney portrays in a very favorable light one of the Canaanite goddesses for which God brought physical judgment upon Israel, because He was so angry of their idolatrous worship!! Congratulations, Disney, you have just encouraged our children to think kindly of Ashtaroth, a fake goddess of Antiquity whose worship by the Israelites provoked God to physical judgment of the entire nation!"
Here's the webiste referenced:
http://www.cuttingedge.org/news/n1095.cfm
And for those who might think this stuff is "harmless fables," let me say you're wrong. Before I became a Christian, I studied a little occult teachings and met people invovled in the practice of witchcraft. It's a very real thing. And they were actively using their spells against people.
Most parents don't realize that by letting their kids go to Disney movies, they are exposing them to the occult.
(sorry for the few typos ...didn't proof good enough)
Oops but I am changing the subject of this thread which is Verizon. Sorry for the war stories.
Muleteam1
I remember one group citing that an F-4 required (approx) 57 maint hours for each flying hour. I found that hard to believe; would have guessed more like 25-35 even on bad days.
but I really have no idea.
I never lose.
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